Company officer

“Officer” is the umbrella term for the people formally appointed to run a company — principally its directors, and its company secretary if it has one. Their appointments, roles and (for directors) month and year of birth are recorded on the public register, along with the dates they were appointed and, where applicable, resigned.

Directors carry legal duties under the Companies Act 2006: to promote the success of the company, exercise reasonable care and skill, avoid conflicts of interest, and more. Because their appointments are public and linked across every company they serve, it is possible to trace an individual’s directorships across the whole register — a powerful tool for research and due diligence.

Officers are distinct from shareholders and from people with significant control. A director need not own any of the company, and an owner need not be a director. Reading a company well means separating who runs it (officers) from who owns or controls it (shareholders and PSCs).

Example

Looking up a director by name reveals every current and past appointment they hold across UK companies — useful for spotting serial founders, connected businesses, or a pattern of dissolved companies.

On Company Shark

Company Shark builds a page for each officer showing their appointments across companies, and links officers and companies together in a relationship graph so you can explore who is connected to whom.

Related

• Person with significant control (PSC)
• Company number
• Companies House
• Guide: How to find a company’s directors