A shareholder is a person who owns stock in a corporation. In many small corporations, the shareholders act as the officers and directors, but many shareholders do not have these roles in large corporations. Sometimes small corporations have shareholders who are not officers, such as when the stock is in one spouse's name and the other spouse runs the business. Specific laws regarding issuance of shares and shareholders' rights vary from state to state, and are listed in the various state statutes. Shareholders must meet once a year to elect directors and make other major decisions for the corporation.