Why board chairpersons need to be able to recognise the corporate psychopath CEO

This conceptual paper discusses some of the main reasons why, despite headlines indicating that psychopathy and success somehow go together, board chairpersons need to be informed how to recognize and deal with the psychopathic CEO. The consequences of psychopathic bullying and abusive leadership are explored through the literature. The paper concludes that psychopaths in CEO and other leadership positions are detrimental to the longer term interests of the organisations that employ them and that therefore their leadership needs to be countered by board chairs, as the only people who can realistically undertake this daunting task.