Dear Chairman: Boardroom Battles and the Rise of Shareholder Activism

If you buy this, it is important to realize what it does and doesn't do.What this book is:*well-written - breezy style by an author with superior skills; the periodic headlines were a nice touch, and the book is both clearly well researched but very accessible despite the academic pedigree*history - if you aren't familiar with many of the big names in investing and some of the big events over the last 100 years, this book is a very riveting summary of stories that older investors have heard for years*a glorification of the 'big' names of investing. The pantheon is all here - tales involve Graham, Buffet, Icahn, Perot, Loeb, etc. If you love tales of hedge fund managers doing big things with mostly complicated ideas, then this book is going to be right up your alleyWhat this is not:*this is not a traditional investment book for the masses. Unless you are a hedge fund manager with plenty of clout and more important plenty of money, the tales here are interesting but irrelevant. You aren't going to be involved in actions like this and your options will be limited*there is an odd comment in the introduction essentially suggesting that when investing is concerned there are "...no useful books on the subject" (other than a very good book by Greenblatt) which is ironic when this same manager reveals that three years before running a hedge fund he knew next to nothing about financial statements*this is not an investment book to help you pick the next ULTA or Constellation Software. As noted, the profiles uniformly involve generally complicated ideas picked by very smart people, so there is a clear bias which seems to suggest that complexity is a necessity in this businessI enjoyed the book and recommend it for 1) lovers of history, especially financial history, and 2) otherwise successful investors who have a technique already in place.

As they say, experience is the best teacher. When learning about the broad topics that fall under the umbrella of finance and investing I’ve found reading about other people’s firsthand experience is the next best option.I didn’t really understand the LBO market until I picked up Barbarians at the Gate.Short selling… Fooling Some of the People All of the Time.Investment banking/the financial crisis/HFT… See Michael Lewis (yes, I’m a fan).Dear Chairman by Jeff Gramm is a phenomenal account of shareholder activism over the last century that I group with these great books. It’s well written, entertaining and will leave you with a much better understanding of not only activism but corporate governance and public company ownership. The latter has changed drastically over the years and has implications going forward. There are also memorable insights into Buffett, Perot and many others. The historical commentary on Michael Milken I found particularly insightful.In a world moving towards passive investing and index funds, it’s a good reminder that individual stockholders can and do change the course of companies. This book details how these feats are accomplished... sometimes for better, sometimes for worse.A previous comment suggested the book was “interesting but irrelevant” if you’re not a hedge fund manager. I couldn’t disagree more. While index funds are an incredible invention that have made investing more accessible to the masses, it’s my opinion that if people are investing in stocks they should put at least a small portion of their funds in individual securities. Know what you own. Dear Chairman reaffirmed this opinion. It’s something I plan to eventually instill in my two young daughters: own some individual stocks, read their financial statements, and... importantly... vote the proxies. They’ll retain more from that experience than they will from many finance textbooks assigned in college.Dear Chairman: Boardroom Battles and the Rise of Shareholder Activism is an impressive book that I cannot recommend highly enough.

I purchased this book hoping to provide me insight of how to run big corporations. I thought shareholder activism is a boring topic, and didn't expecting much about the book. I began reading on my train ride, page by page, I found I couldn't put this book down, as author Jeff Gramm explained about the background and purposes of these letters I was intrigued and fascinated. I soon realized why Jeff Gramm is so good at explaining such a dry topic in such engaging manner: as a fund manager Jeff is living such experience, he began his financial career later in life, thus he had to learn how to simplify a complicated matter -- unlike most of finance books only makes simple concept more complicated he made it easier to understand and it's more applicable -- no matter your goal is to become CEO of a public company or become an investor like Warren Buffet, the understanding of shareholder, Board and management dynamics are critical.

The book was an enjoyable read. Jeff Gramm gives a good overview of the historical rise of shareholder activisim by focusing in on eight different battles. Some of the battles or participants you may be familiar with, such as American Express and the salad oil scandal, but others will likely be completely new. Jeff provides the right amount of detail to where you feel you get the overall understanding of the battle without being bogged down in minor details. By organizing the book chronologically it allows the author to give a historical perspective of the changes in activism over the last ninety years. Along the way Mr. Gramm does a good job of offering occasional comments that are helpful to both management and shareholders.

Easily could be broken up by chapter or consumed in one sitting. Informative case studies into the history of activist investing.

Este libro explora un mundo poco conocido en los mercados emergentes, el activismo. Explica el ejercicio de la democracia corporativa llevado a cabo en Estados Unidos desde los 50's hasta ahora. Si estás involucrado en el mercado de valores es para mí uno de los libros más apasionantes.

Love how the author depicts the delicacy details of corporate governance details.It’s a great book for board members, investors and general public who would like to get educated on how corporate world in US functions

Good book

Great read