Agency theory considers the problems that can arise in a business relationship when one person delegates decision-making authority to another. The traditional view in the investment community is that directors and managers are agents of shareholders. More recently, however, many legal experts have argued that in several countries, corporations are separate “legal persons” and thus directors and managers are agents of the corporations rather than shareholders (or a subset of shareholders).

https://themoderncorporation.wordpress.com/company-law-memo.