The Chairman of the Board of Directors: Role and Contribution

Eleanor O’Higgins
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Eleanor O’Higgins: University College Dublin

Chapter 9 in Global Boards, 2009, pp 217-235 from Palgrave Macmillan

Abstract: Abstract From the early 1990s, there has been a growing awareness of the relevance of positive leadership in corporate governance for the sustainability of companies and the business system. This awareness stems from manifest failures in corporate governance, which gave rise to scandals worldwide, and arguably, to the global banking crisis of 2008. An early scandal, which was a factor initiating corporate governance reform in the UK, was the 1991 Maxwell downfall, when it was revealed that Robert Maxwell, Chairman and CEO of Maxwell Communications Corporation, had caused a GBP 441 million-sized hole in the company pension fund to cover hidden personal debts of GBP 4 billion. Subsequent analysis highlighted a number of corporate governance deficiencies and lack of accountability and controls because of the concentration of power that had facilitated Maxwell’s fraudulent activities.

Keywords: Corporate Governance; Executive Director; Audit Committee; Board Meeting; Company Secretary (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2009
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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:pal:palchp:978-0-230-25051-2_10

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DOI: 10.1057/9780230250512_10

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