The Chairman: A Novel (Hardcover)

by Stephen Frey (Author) "CHRISTIAN GILLETTE GAZED OUT FROM the pulpit at a grim-faced congregation, then down on an open coffin-and Bill Donovan's face..." (more)
Key Phrases: next fund, funeral reception, portfolio companies, Everest Capital, New York, Paul Strazzi (more...)

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly
Diminished by dull prose, but distinguished by colorful, well-drawn characters and an arresting, labyrinthine plot, this 10th novel by Frey (after Silent Partner) illuminates the machinations of big business and high finance. Frey introduces Christian Gillette, who will be a continuing character in this inaugural volume of a projected series. As 36-year-old Gillette walks out of a Park Avenue church after delivering the eulogy following the suspicious "accidental" drowning of the late chairman of Everest Capital, he is nearly killed when a firebomb obliterates his waiting limo. Undaunted, newly elected chairman Gillette steps into another car and carries on with his planning: he's determined to make the company's new equity fund, Everest Eight, the biggest in the history of private equity and to eliminate his competition within the firm. Corporate chicanery, boardroom sex and backstabbing abound, and conspiracies proliferate, as Gillette enters into a deal with the chief of a mega-insurance company to increase Everest Eight's capital to $15 billion in a bold attempt to surpass rival Paul Strazzi at Apex Equity and become the nation's dominant private equity firm. Sadly, a perfunctory denouement does no justice to the clever plot. Agent, Cynthia Manson. (Mar. 29)
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

From Booklist
After the chairman of Everest Capital dies and private-fund manager Christian Gillette is elected successor, Gillette finds himself wielding previously unimagined power and exposed to equally unimagined danger (he barely averts being assassinated when his limo explodes). He doesn't mind wielding his might, first by firing one of the managing partners, then by snubbing a U.S. senator; however, accumulating enemies does not stop Gillette from planning the biggest venture fund in history. Frey does not characterize Gillette as a purely evil money-grubber; he is also shown to have a weakness for the downtrodden and gives generously to many needy families--even going so far as to buy them homes and establish trust funds for their children. Frey tries a bit too hard with this fast-paced financial thriller, and his plot contains a few glaringly implausible scenarios--would billionaire Gillette really frequent pool halls in seedy neighborhoods just to win $5,000? This is Frey's first series so perhaps the next Gillette venture will be a bit smoother. Mary Frances Wilkens
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Hardcover: 320 pages
• Publisher: Ballantine Books (March 29, 2005)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0345457609
• ISBN-13: 978-0345457608
• Product Dimensions: 9.3 x 6.2 x 1.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.3 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 3.8 out of 5 stars See all reviews (29 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #686,258 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

14 of 15 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars (3 1/2) Worth Reading Despite Unrealized Potential, April 17, 2005

By	Tucker Andersen (Wall Street) - See all my reviews (TOP 1000 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)

The factors which have made several of Stephen's Frey's previous novels extremely enjoyable are his detailed knowledge of the financial markets and investment industry together with his ability to create action filled plots with enough misdirection to maintain the reader's interest. Thus, I have been willing to overlook what I regard as their main failures - the minimal character development with the usual exception of his central character and the completely unrealistic assumption (usually central to his plots) that desperate business leaders in positions of power who find their secrets or wealth threatened will routinely resort to murder in an attempt to solve their problems. Unfortunately, the plots of his recent books have gotten more unbelievable and extreme; THE CHAIRMAN continues that trend. In addition, this book suffers from several instances of extremely sloppy editing and a conclusion that fails to tie up several loose ends and leaves in doubt the fate of one of the major characters. My four star rating is due to the fact that my enjoyment of the plot, the strong character development of THE CHAIRMAN Christian Gillette, and a few other positive factors outlined below offset the several negative aspects which I will mention. Approximately half way through the story, I was actually tempted to speed read to the conclusion; I was sufficiently hooked to want to follow the plot to its conclusion but was increasingly frustrated at times by excesses in which the author indulged. However, the relative brevity combined with some interesting insights made me glad that I paid attetion to the details until the conclusion.

The story opens with Christian Gillette delivering the euology for Bill Donovan, the founder and former Chairman of Everest Capital, one of largest, most successful, and most powerful private equity partnerships in the world. Donovan's unexpected death has led to the necessity of invoking the stipulation in the partnership's operating agreement to choose a sucessor within three days; Gillette is now THE CHAIRMAN after a controversial and razor thin vote. He knows that he will need to consolidate his power quickly - both with regard to several individuals within Everest (particularly his previously three co-equal managers Troy Mason, Ben Cohen and Nigel Faraday) and also with regard to the many competitors who would be waiting for any indication of weakness or uncertainty on his part. While the police investigation has ruled Donovan's death a tragic accident, Gillette's concern that it might indeed have resulted from foul play is heightened when he narrowly escapes death during an attempt on his life as he leaves the church which results in the death of two innocent bystanders. Immediately, we are treated to the high degree of implausibilty often encountered in the story when everyone at the funeral immediately proceeds to the reception at the mansion now owned by Donovan's widow and acts as if it were business as usual and the fiery explosion and resultant deaths had not occurred. Such behavior is totally ridiculous, both from the standpoint of the emotional impact which it would exact and also police procedure. And what is frustrating is that neither the author or his editor apparently cared that his goals in writing this sequence of events as he did could have been accomplished in a much more believable manner with a fairly simple rewrite that would have made the story much more believable. Such unnecessarily dramatic or over the top scenes occurred throughout the book. One further example that I will mention is the supposed background fact that private equity gunslingers routinely achieve returns of 50 to 100 percent a year. Frey knows this is hyperbole, and furthermore it is totally unnecessary to the plot.

The story races along as Gillette is faced with the need to act on several fronts simultaneously; he confronts a problem by almost immediately firing one of his rivals, then is forced to respond to an offer by a major firm to purchase an energy company in Everest's portfolio which may have an acreage position with huge undiscovered reserves. He soon decides to begin to raise the capital for the next Everest fund, and strives to maintain cordial relations with Donovan's widow, whose unexpected support provided his slim margin of victory and who retains a huge financial interst in the firm. As the story proceeds, further attempts are made on Gillette's life; other actors in this convoluted drama are actually murdered. In a key move Gillette eschews the protection provided by the security firm owned by Everest and hires Quentin Stiles, a security expert with whom he gradually establishes an interesting rapport and an unexpected degree of trust. Nevertheless, events continue to escalate beyond his control and dangers seemed to multiply both to Everest Capital and to his personal safety as well.

Segments of this story are very realistic, and it is made even more enjoyable by the fact that many of these fictional individuals and companies seem to be patterned after similar real life examples. Furthermore, I found the technique of beginning each chapter (with the exception of the final three) with a brief definition that a provided a necessary introduction and/or summary of the subject matter to be very effective. Some are very insightful, e.g. the comment that while our routines allow us the comfort of maintaining order in our lives and avoiding anarchy, they also allow us to avoid original thought and create opportunity for an enemy. The comments in another chapter concerning the benefits of seeking confrontation in the search for progress were also very apropos. In addition, the complexity of Gillette's character is gradually revealed in a clever manner as the story unfolds, often during his interactions with Stiles. Unfortunately, just as in the case of the plot, some elements are carried to such extremes as to lessen the credibility of the portrait that is drawn.

In summary, I decided that the many enjoyable elements of this story outweighed the substantial negatives by a sufficient margin to round up my rating to four stars. But I want to emphasize how sloppy the editing is. While I can't go into detail without providing a spoiler, during the climactic scene one of the participants faces additional danger because there are no cellphone signals in the rural backwater where the action occurs; yet a few seconds later when it becomes necessary for the plot to succeed his adversary in the same location receives a crucial call on his cell phone. If these sort of inexplicable and unnecessary errors ruin your enjoyment of a story, then skip this book. Otherwise, while you may be as frustrated as I was by the unrealized potential of THE CHAIRMAN, you should still find it enjoyable.

One final note: congratulations to the publishers for pricing this slim volume appropriately and at a discount to most hardcovers by established authors. I have become increasingly frustrated at the number of relatively brief novels (often with large print and lots of wasted blank pages) which provide little value for their list prices in excess of $25. This book is a welcome exception.

Tucker Andersen

4 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars WOW! Who knew? High finance is exciting! , October 29, 2005

By	D. Showley (Cypress CA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

I got this book accident, and I thought 'give it a try'.
I found the novel to be riveting. The characters developed before my eyes. The plot and story line grabbed me and would not let go. For me it was a page turner well into the night. Showley

12 of 17 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Cold, March 29, 2005

By	www.bookshipper.blogspot.com/ "www.bookshippe... (Montreal, Quebec) - See all my reviews (TOP 1000 REVIEWER)

Frey's most recent financial thriller is just that.

Set entirely in the corporate boardroom of a top company, our main character Christian Gillette is a rising star. He is appointed (by a narrow margin) as CEO of the large company after the previous CEO is murdered.

This is pretty basic stuff for a Frey novel.

I have not really enjoyed Frey's last novels. This one is another example.

While there is nothing hugely wrong with the book, the writing feels cold and extremely formal to me.

As a matter of fact, the storyline is based almost entirely in the corporate world. By this I mean that we see very little of ANY of the private side of any of the characters. Specifically, the scenes written for Christian are almost always inside the office headquarters - giving us absolutely no chance to "like" or "understand" this character at all. He is written coldly and there is always a distance between the reader and the characters of the book - this is difficult to explain.

The plot and storyline are ok and there are a few holes in them (not enough to remove from the overall effect) however, since I never felt invested in the characters, I really did not care all that much about what happens in the end.

Frey sort of misses the mark on this one.