Part I: Principles 1: Purpose 2: ValuesPart II: Provenance 3: Evolution 4: OwnershipPart III: Practice 5: Governance 6: PerformancePart IV: Policy 7: Law 8: RegulationPart V: Partnership 9: Finance 10: Investment
Colin Mayer is the Peter Moores Professor of Management Studies at the Saïd Business School at the University of Oxford. He is a Professorial Fellow and Sub-Warden of Wadham College, Oxford and an Honorary Fellow of Oriel College, Oxford and St Anne's College, Oxford. He was appointed Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE) for services to business education and the administration of justice in the economic sphere in the 2017 New Years Honours. Colin Mayer was the first professor at the Saïd Business School, and the first Director of the Oxford Financial Research Centre. He was also previously the Peter Moores Dean of the Business School. He was a Harkness Fellow at Harvard University, a Houblon-Norman Fellow at the Bank of England, the first Leo Goldschmidt Visiting Professor of Corporate Governance at the Solvay Business School, Université de Bruxelles, and has had visiting positions at Columbia, MIT, and Stanford universities.
Mayer of the Saïd Business School at Oxford is one of the world's
foremost critics of the idea that the aim of companies is to
maximise shareholder value. This, he argues cogently, represents a
betrayal of one of humanity's most extraordinary inventions.
*Martin Wolf, Books of the Year 2018, The Financial Times*
[A] remarkable and radical new book.
*Martin Wolf, The Financial Times*
Mayer's manifesto recasts the company's place in society.
*Andrew Edgecliffe-Johnson, the Financial Times04/01/2019*
His [Colin Mayer's] book is a resounding paean and radical road map
towards a bright future for the corporation and capitalism.
*Andrew Hill, The Financial Times*
The book is far more than a manifesto for change ... Mayer's book
performs a great service.
*Richard Bronk, the Society of Professional Economists, Reading
Room (open access)*
Excellent ... a vitally important subject and it's a really
well-written book.
*Diane Coyle, The Enlightened Economist*
A book that will transform the attitudes and perspectives of
corporations.
*Robert L. Brown, Juriste International*
A powerful reply to the steadily increasing criticism of free
market business... So far, the defenders of capitalism have failed
to find a convincing voice or to offer any significant ways to
improve how business is perceived. Now Colin Mayer provides answers
and a coherent manifesto for change.
*Peter Chadwick, IEDP Book Reviews*
Our world does not have long for business to escape its 40
year-long capture by the Chicago school. This book is an historic
milestone in economic theory because it marks the final nail in
Milton Friedman's intellectual coffin. It does this by illuminating
a pragmatic pathway for business and policy makers to follow, to
escape an anachronistic orthodoxy that is killing our beautiful
planet and our precious communities. They must study it closely and
then move fast, so that we all - and those who come after us -
might avoid calamity and, instead, prosper.
*James Perry, Chairman of Cook*
Here is the case for reinventing the corporation so that it serves
human well-being. Colin Mayer shows both why an exclusive focus on
shareholder value is damaging, and how purposeful changes could
support trustworthy corporations that combine social and business
benefits.
*Baroness Onora O'Neill of Bengarve, Emeritus Professor of
Philosophy, University of Cambridge*
In his humane and readable book, Colin Mayer makes a compelling
case for a new concept of the corporation, and the need to treat
corporate purpose as far more than shareholder value. In showing
how restoring trust is key to a true future prosperity, it will
reframe much of our thinking on this central subject.
*The Hon. Mr Justice William Blair, High Court Judge of England and
Wales.*
A wonderful manifesto for change and essential reading for any who
remain to be convinced that business can - and should - be a force
for a societal good. One of the most insightful and comprehensive
accounts yet of how - and why - the corporation needs to change if
it is to meet the needs and expectations of a new era. Thoughtful
and well-argued, Mayer has done the cause of enlightened capitalism
great service.
*Paul Polman, CEO, Unilever*
Rarely in the history of economics and law does a person observe
the current state of the world, recognize its deficiencies, and put
forth a policy and paradigm that is destined to change the world.
John Maynard Keynes in the twenties and thirties and now Colin
Mayer are prime examples. This book is destined to be the "bible"
of the Mayer-Paradigm of corporate governance and the template for
the policy changes that are necessary to implement it.
*Martin Lipton, Senior Partner Wachtell, Lipton, Rosen & Katz*
Businesses have a duty to do well by stakeholders as well as
shareholders. How did too many corporations lose their sense of
purpose? What is the right path to build responsible, sustainable
relationships with society? This insight-rich book offers a
comprehensive guide for restoring trust between companies,
consumers, and communities. Professor Mayer makes a compelling
argument that the purpose and values of modern corporations have
been diluted and it will take the work of executives, legislators,
regulators, bankers, investors, and even shareholders to fix.
*Dominic Barton, Global Managing Partner Emeritus, McKinsey &
Company*
The financial crisis and its aftermath called for answers -
questions were raised instead. Our corporate and political
environments have been severely shaken for more than a decade. We
have to find new approaches and look for better answers to bring
our social market economies into balance. Colin Mayer relentlessly
challenges conventional wisdom, combining diverse academic fields
and bringing business to meet academia. Prosperity is building on a
wealth of research looking at the broader picture and its many
corners to seek appropriate answers to the challenges of our world.
Is 'purpose first, prosperity follows' the answer?
*Daniela Weber-Rey, non-executive director of HSBC Trinkaus &
Burkhardt and Fnac-Darty*
Colin Mayer has elevated the conversation about business and
society. Bold enough to reimagine an economic system, specific
enough to drive action, Prosperity introduces the higher-order
thinking necessary to build a more Inclusive Capitalism.
*Lynn Forester de Rothschild, CEO of E.L. Rothschild and the
Coalition for Inclusive Capitalism*
With characteristic courage and purposeful passion, Mayer
challenges the status quo as to who corporations serve and benefit.
Prosperity presents a paradigm shift, revealing tomorrow's
corporation today. It marks the start of a new age of
enlightenment, which will stimulate the sensibilities of all who
care about the role of business in society.
*Guy Jubb, former Global Head of Governance and Stewardship,
Standard Life Investments*
This is a timely and highly insightful treatise on the urgent need
to revisit today's misguided and simplistic views on the purpose of
the corporation. It is a significant contribution addressing the
growing economic and social challenges confronting us today.
*Cyrus Ardelan, Chairman, Citigroup Global Markets Ltd*
Prosperity makes a limpidly clear and convincing case for an urgent
re-think of the role of business in society. The fifty years since
Friedman gave the doctrine of 'shareholder value' totemic
significance have seen the interests of proprietors, governments
and communities diverge. This has produced unacceptable
inequalities in outcomes and shocking destruction of the
environment. The arguments Colin makes for radical reform of the
role of the corporation in society are compelling, and rooted in
common sense and fairness. I hope that many others involved in
defining the purpose of their businesses learn as much from
Prosperity as I have.
*Peter Norris, Chairman of Virgin Group*
One of the most pressing questions facing the world today is 'What
is the role of the corporation in society?' Thanks to Professor
Colin Mayer we now have a definitive answer: the corporation's role
is to fulfill its purpose. In an intellectual and very readable
tour de force, Professor Mayer brings to bear an astonishing range
of academic disciplines to present a very practical framework for
how company's need to be managed today. For their own sake and the
sake of us all.
*Robert Eccles, Founding Chairman of the Sustainability Accounting
Standards Board and Professor of Management Practice, University of
Oxford*
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