Learn English – “Director at”, “founder of”. What is the correct usage of “at” and “of”

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I have a twitter account and I see some people having in their profiles mention:

Company Director at ABC

and others

Company Director of ABC

Also, I come across:

Founder of ABC

and

Founder at ABC

As English is not my mother tongue, my question is: what is the correct usage of at and of in the following examples?

  • Company Director __ ABC
  • Founder __ ABC

Best Answer

"Founder of ABC" means that the person founded ABC. Likewise "Company director of ABC" means that the person directs ABC.

"Founder at ABC" means that the person is a founder, and that ABC is their place of work. It strongly implies that ABC is what that person founded. To me it sounds a little clunky.

For a job where the company isn't the subject of the job title, "of" doesn't work:

"Salesman of ABC" — not what you would use unless the person was selling the company ABC!

"Salesman at ABC" — typical usage. The person is a salesman. ABC is their place of work.

Bonus: you also get "Salesman for ABC". The person is a salesman. The selling they do is for ABC.