Lunch event is the first in new MassINC author series
John Gillespie, co-author of “Money for Nothing: How the Failure of Corporate Boards is Ruining American Business and Costing Us Trillions,” will speak and answer questions on his new book on corporate accountability on March 25th. This event, sponsored by Nutter, McClennen & Fish, is the first in a series with local and national authors.
The book, co-authored with David Zweig, explores the weakest yet most important link in our capitalist system. According to the authors, corporate boards have been commandeered by CEO interests and lack of perspective. The author/insiders reveal how this shifting relationship, where a group of elites seemingly elected by everyone but accountable to no one, has literally brought us to the brink of ruin.
“Directors are supposed to be the conscience of corporations, our voices in the boardroom, but they have presided over the decline of entire industries, the alienation of investors, excessive payouts, the corruption of government, loss of faith in the American dream, and a falling standard of living for everyone, save those at the very top,” said Gillespie.
“At last someone turns the spotlight on the most overlooked element of the financial meltdown – the boards of directors. With an unerring eye for details and the structural and personal failures they reveal, the authors fill this book with insight about the failures of directors and what it takes to make things work,” Nell Minow, Editor and Co-Founder of The Corporate Library, co-author of “Corporate Governance.”
With almost two decades of experience as an investment banker at some of America’s top financial institutions, including Lehman Brothers, Morgan Stanley and Bear Sterns, as well as his recent position as CFO at a national human services company, Gillespie is considered a “blue chip capitalist insider.” He is a graduate of Harvard College and Harvard Business School.
The MassINC 2010 author series aims to highlight authors whose work is relevant to our mission of promoting the Massachusetts middle class. The event is sponsored by Nutter, McClennen & Fish, and will be held March 25, 2010 at 12:00 p.m. at their offices at 155 Seaport Boulevard, Boston, MA.
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About MassINC – MassINC is an independent think tank using non-partisan research, civic journalism and public forums to stimulate debate and shape public policy. Our mission is to promote a public agenda for the middle class and to help all citizens achieve the American dream.