Book : Dear Chairman Boardroom Battles And The Rise Of...

-Titulo Original : Dear Chairman Boardroom Battles And The Rise Of Shareholder Activism

-Fabricante :

Harper Business

-Descripcion Original:

A sharp and illuminating history of one of capitalism’s longest running tensions-the conflicts of interest among public company directors, managers, and shareholders-told through entertaining case studies and original letters from some of our most legendary and controversial investors and activists.Recent disputes between shareholders and major corporations, including Apple and DuPont, have made headlines. But the struggle between management and those who own stock has been going on for nearly a century. Mixing never-before-published and rare, original letters from Wall Street icons-including Benjamin Graham, Warren Buffett, Ross Perot, Carl Icahn, and Daniel Loeb-with masterful scholarship and professional insight, Dear Chairman traces the rise in shareholder activism from the 1920s to today, and provides an invaluable and unprecedented perspective on what it means to be a public company, including how they work and who is really in control.Jeff Gramm analyzes different eras and pivotal boardroom battles from the last century to understand the factors that have caused shareholders and management to collide. Throughout, he uses the letters to show how investors interact with directors and managers, how they think about their target companies, and how they plan to profit. Each is a fascinating example of capitalism at work told through the voices of its most colorful, influential participants.A hedge fund manager and an adjunct professor at Columbia Business School, Gramm has spent as much time evaluating CEOs and directors as he has trying to understand and value businesses. He has seen public companies that are poorly run, and some that willfully disenfranchise their shareholders. While he pays tribute to the ingenuity of public company investors, Gramm also exposes examples of shareholder activism at its very worst, when hedge funds engineer stealthy land-grabs at the expense of a company’s long term prospects. Ultimately, he provides a thorough, much-needed understanding of the public company/shareholder relationship for investors, managers, and everyone concerned with the future of capitalism. Review “. . .an excellent read. . .Mr. Gramm has collected a series of deliciously rich letters, many of which were never before published, sent to chief executives by investors by everyone from Warren Buffett to Ross Perot.” - Andrew Ross Sorkin, The New York Times“An engaging and informative book…Eight investor’s letters that sum up some of the great agency-problem battles in the history of American business. It is a valuable set of stories.” John Lanchester, The New Yorker - John Lanchester, The New Yorker“…concise account of the spread of the particular form of corporate democracy called ‘shareholder activism,’… a grand story.” - Wall Street Journal“Gramm . . . is an engaging and critical guide to a century of US activism and activists” - Financial Times (Summer Reading List)Jeff Gramm shows in his lively, well-researched book - Business Strategya revelation: a lively account of a long war against corporate and investor smugness - The Financial Times“It’s an illuminating read for those wondering what drives activists, and includes occasional references to music (another Mr. Gramm hobby) with lucid observations on investors and corporations.” - Wall Street Journalilluminating and often wildly entertaining - Huffington Post“Jeff Gramm has a refreshing approach to the generations-long conflict between entrenched corporate management and shareholder activists. Gramm illustrates this seemingly never ending struggle for corporate control by examining specific well known and surprisingly interesting examples. Dear Chairman is an engaging and worthwhile read.” - -Alan Greenspan, Former Chairman of the Board of Governors, Federal Reserve System“Public companies face the high standards of the marketplace: fill a need, grow, and remember always that you are the trustee of your stockholders’ money. Dear Cha