Corporate Governance and Chairmanship: A Personal View [Hardcover]

Adrian Cadbury (Author)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 0199252009 | ISBN-13: 978-0199252008 | Publication Date: November 7, 2002

Corporate governance has become a major issue in business over the last decade. Adrian Cadbury has played a central role in developing policies, good practice, and our understanding of the complex issues involved. In 1992 he chaired the committee, sponsored by the Bank of England, whose Report on the Financial Aspects of Corporate Governance (commonly known as the 'Cadbury Report') put issues of corporate governance on the map. Ten years on, Cadbury now reflects on issues of corporate governance and chairmanship drawing on his own business and policy-making experience. In the book, he discusses and explains the central issuse of corporate governance; provides practical advice to chairmen and directors on their roles and responsibilities; and surveys the major codes of practice that have been developed in the last decade. He also considers the implications of the current review of company law and speculates on the implications of electronic developments for shareholders' voice and voting, the extent of a company's social responsibility, and the changing relationship between boards, managers, and investors. This book is both an informed commentary and a practical guide.Cadbury's insights will prove essential reading for anybody taking on senior roles in companies and other public organizations, and will provide well-grounded analysis for management academics, students, and advisers.

Editorial Reviews

Review

Every book is at its core the story of its author and this is a splendid tale. Bob Monks, EBF The world is stacked with books claiming to offer the definitive formula for running a succesful company. Give them a wide berth and opt instead for Sir Adrian Cadbury's memoir on corporate governance. Cadbury has a depth of experience and insight on running companies and boards which shows on every page. John Plender, Financial Times The elder statesman of corporate governance ... has distilled his experience ... in an illuminating account of the consequences of the corporate governance movement ... a comprehensive primer on the art of chairmanship. Simon Caulkin, The Observer This book provides an admirably clear and insightful appraisal of the many unresolved issues surrounding the role and effectiveness of boards of directors, and their relations with shareholders. Drawing on his own board-room experience as well as his deep involvement in the international drive for better corporate governance over the past decade, the author offers wise and helpful advice for chairmen and directors, and for policy-makers who may be contemplating changes in company law. At a time when the responsibilities of directors are under renewed scrutiny, this book is an authoritative contribution to a debate which is central to the future of the capitalist system. Sir Geoffrey Owen, LSE Based on vast personal experience with boards, chairmen and CEOs, governance codes and legislation, Sir Adrian Cadbury has captured the current state of corporate governance in 2002, for all readers. He explains and demonstrates how a credible board, earnestly applying itself to assisting the CEO, together with a chairman who has the authority and time to lead the board, can be a major factor in creating trust and credibility in the market system. While much of his wise explanations and advice are based on UK sources, they are equally, or even more so, applicable to the US. Ira Millstein, Weil, Gotshal and Manges, NY I can imagine no better primer for a FTSE-100 chairman. A ruch needed primer too. Sarah Hogg, Chairman of 3i Of all the people I know in the corporate governance world, Adrian Cadbury is the one I would trust the most. The personal view he gives in this book is exactly what I would have expected: comprehensive, balanced, stuffed full of experience and common sense, helpful without being prescriptive, dead relevant to today's circumstances, and human. This book is a well-times reminder to all chairman of how much we owe to him for what he has contributed to governance thinking. Sir Christopher Hogg, Reuters; Chairman, GlaxoSmith Kline

About the Author

Adrian Cadbury is Chancellor of the University of Aston. From 1969-74 he was Deputy Chairman and Managing Director of Cadbury Schweppes before becoming Chairman in 1975. In 1992 he chaired the committee, sponsored by the Bank of England, whose Report on the Financial Aspects of Corporate Governance (commonly known as the 'Cadbury Report') put issues of corporate governance on the map. Amongst many positions held, he has been Director of the Bank of England (1970-94); Director of IBM UK Ltd (1975-94); Director of the National Exhibition Centre (1989-present); Chairman of the West Midlands Economic Planning Council (1967-70); Chairman of the Economic and Financial Policy Committee (1974-80); and Chairman of Promotion of Non-Executive Directors (1984-present). He was made a Freeman of the City of Birmingham in 1982 and was High Sheriff of the West Midlands from 1994-5.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 280 pages
• Publisher: Oxford University Press, USA (November 7, 2002)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0199252009
• ISBN-13: 978-0199252008
• Product Dimensions: 9.4 x 6.5 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,855,761 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Authoritative Guide to the Cahirman's Role, August 5, 2003

By 

Bill Godfrey (Mt Stuart, TAS Australia) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Corporate Governance and Chairmanship: A Personal View (Hardcover)

This could hardly be bettered as a guide for chairmen and board members on roles, relationships, key tasks and how to accomplish them. The author chaired the UK review, The Committee on the Financial Aspects of Corporate Governance and is a world authority in the field. He provides clear and well-organized coverage of the essential features of good governance and how boards can achieve it, without getting lost in legal/accounting technicalities.
He also provides some discussion of the issues of governance arising in a changing world (social responsibilities, environmental issues, responsibilities to stakeholders other than shareholders), but covers these rather more superficially.
He also includes some interesting reflections on the differences between US and UK Board structures - at a time when US practice is changing towards the separation of the Chairman and the CEO roles.

0 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Positive Insight, August 3, 2010

By 

K. K. Ray "Kastuv Ray" - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Corporate Governance and Chairmanship: A Personal View (Hardcover)

Sir Adrian Cadbury is the Godfather of Corporate Governance. He really set the standard and bar for this field. I found this book intriguing as it went into the beginnings of corporate governance and it had a lot of reflective thought and insight from a Chairman's perspective (especially an effective one in the form of Sir Adrian). I think this is one book to be held on the shelf or library of any Chairperson.