As detailed in a McKinsey survey, most US corporations have an executive chairman of the board of directors; typically, the CEO serves as chairperson. The US is relatively unique among major economies in this regard; in most, companies generally separate the CEO and board chair roles by law or practice.
Nonexecutive board chairs (and/or so-called lead independent directors) have been one of the major corporate governance "reform" proposals in recent years. Curiously, however, I can't find much evidence that separating the two roles improves corporate performance and/or has a positive stock price effect.
ProfessorBainbridge.com: The nonexecutive chairperson
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