A director is a person from a group of managers who leads or supervises a particular area of a company. Companies that use this term often have many directors spread throughout different business functions or roles (e.g. director of human resources). The director usually reports directly to a vice president or to the CEO directly in order to let them know the progress of the organization. Large organizations also sometimes have assistant directors or deputy directors. Director commonly refers to the lowest level of executive in an organization, but many large companies use the title of associate director more frequently. An executive director is roughly equivalent to Vice President or Senior director in some businesses. Some companies also have regional directors and area directors. Regional directors are present in companies that are organized by location and have their departments under that. They are responsible for the operations for their particular country. Though directors are the first stage in the executive team, area directors are seen as higher up, based on their area of control.