"After over thirty-five years on more than fifty boards, Bill Dimma has informed opinions on most issues that any director will ever face??? and he states them straightforwardly. Anyone who is, or hopes to be, a director can benefit immensely from reading this delightful, well-written book."
???
James Gillies, Professor Emeritus, Schulich School of Business, York University, and Author of Boardroom Renaissance: Power, Morality and Performance in the Modern Corporation
"This is the kind of book that every CEO and Chairman of a Board should read. It's refreshing material from someone with a great deal of experience. Bill Dimma writes in a very clear manner and presents invaluable advice and insights from many perspectives."
??? Larry Tapp, Dean, Richard Ivey School of Business, The University of Western Ontario
"Bill Dimma's insight into what modern board governance is all about sparkles with intelligence, wisdom, and a healthy dose of common sense. This practical book should be required reading for all directors."
??? Elaine Minacs, President & CEO, Minacs Worldwide Inc.
"This is an easy-to-read, well-written book. It will be invaluable to those who want to learn about, or increase their knowledge of, corporate governance. Teachers of the subject will find the book most helpful."
??? Purdy Crawford, Chairman, AT&T Canada, and Counsel, Osler, Hoskin & Harcourt
"Bill Dimma dares to open the boardroom door to show us governance in action, commenting with clarity and humour! He engages the veteran director while informing a broader audience about the challenges of the boardroom."
??? Gail Cook-Bennett, Chairperson, Canada Pension Plan Investment Board
"Bill Dimma, with his forty years experience of directorship, has explored the most pressing governance issues in today's complex business environment in an invaluable resource book. This is a must-read for current and future directors."??
???Jack L. Cockwell, Co-Chairman, Brascan Corporation
"Written by an experienced practitioner and long-term advocate of good corporate governance, Bill Dimma's Excellence in the Boardroom is a proctical, sensible, pragmatic collection of observations and comments on the many facets of this important topic."
???Lynton Wilson, Chairman of the Board, Nortel Networks Corporation
"Excellence in the Boardroom presents the insider's view on successful corporate directorship. In combining extensive coverage on key issues in board governance with insightful, first-hand reflections, Bill Dimma gives us powerful knowledge with practical sense."
???C. Douglas Caldwell, Chairman, The Coldwell Parners
"As a fellow director, I have observed Bill Dimma's knowledge of, and didication to, the art of corporate governance.??He has created a wonderful, comprehensive reference book base on a lifetime of experience."
???Richard F. Haskayne, Chairman,
TransCanada Pipelines and Fording Inc.
"Guided by his extensive experience. Bill Dimma provides excellent insight into how corporate boards and directors should function."
???Richard M. Thomson, Retired Chairman and CEO,
Toronto-Dominion Bank
"Excelllence in the Boardroom is a common sense treatise on governance founded on Bill Dimma's exceptional breadth and depth of personal experience on corporate boards."
???Dr. John Evancs, Board Chairman, Torstart Corporation
"Bill Dimma has an extraordinary ability to distill general teachings from his wide practical experience. And he is couteous to his reader???his writing is engaging and well organized. There is much current literature on corporate governance, but this book adds a different and valuable perspective."
???James C. Baillie, Counsel, Torys LLP
"This is an interesting, and at times provocative, analysis of corporate governance practices from a seasoned and thoughtful board leader. Bill Dimma's experience has led him to form strong views on how boardrooms should operate to support the creation of value for shareholders. He tacleds all the tough issues."
???JalynH. Bennett, C.M., President,
Jalynn H. Bennett & Associates Ltd
"Recent events have shown that Bill Dimma is right when he argues that good corporate governance matters and is crucial for good
Allinfavouropposedifanycarried!What goes on behind the closed doors of corporate boardrooms is a mystery to most of us. In a complex and volatile business environment where news of corporate disasters is all too commonplace, shareholders, the media, and the general public are increasingly asking, "Where were the directors?"
Directorship may be more of an art than a science, but good boards really matter and do make a difference to corporate performance. Better boards make stronger companies. But what role do directors really play, what should they be doing, and what constitutes good corporate governance?
Bill Dimma draws on his vast experience as a director to shed light into the insufficiently lit boardroom of the business world. Excellence in the Boardroom assembles the collected wisdom and best practices of his distinguished forty-year career, serving on more than fifty corporate boards and another forty not-for-profit boards.
Excellence in the Boardroom offers a uniquely first-hand perspective on how boards actually operate and how they should function. It explores the causes and components of good governance, and examines the key issues and controversies that boards generally have to face:
- Corporate responsibility and accountability
- Relationships of board and management, and of the Chairman and CEO
- Executive and director compensation
- Succession planning
- Assessing performance of individual directors
- Working with pension fund management and with institutional investors
- The role of advisory boards
Refreshing, engaging, and practical,
Excellence in the Boardroom offers views and opinions from a veteran director on what works and what doesn't in real board situations. These lively and prescriptive tales from the corporate boardroom offer a wealth of knowledge and advice to current and future directors everywhere.
