Anybody with some form of interest in a business. As well as shareholders, this includes directors, managers, other employees, customers, subcontractors, and even the general public in cases where the firm’s activities impact on the environment. A stakeholder is thus anybody who stands to lose if a business is run badly. While formally directors are supposed to run companies in the interests of the shareholders, in many cases they are expected by others, and often claim themselves, to consider the interests of the other stakeholders as well.