Download Dear Chairman Ebook PDF

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.

I have a crush on Mr. Lee, the chairman of the board at O'Connell, Thompson, and Taylor Enterprises, the company where I clean. One night, I get a little tipsy and blurt out to him, "You're so freaking hot. I want to have your baby." FML. To my surprise, he ends up taking my words seriously... ***A standalone story in the OTT Enterprises series featuring alpha male businessmen and the women they want to make theirs. Warning: this story is full of over-the-top instalove! Enjoy!*** WORD COUNT: 4,500 Excerpt: "I'm sorry for inconveniencing you," I say. And I'm sorry for saying I want to have your baby. I'm too embarrassed to say the second apology out loud. "You're not an inconvenience." He touches my hair, causing electricity to go through my body. Should he be touching my hair like that? But I can't deny that a part of me likes him touching me. He nods at the food. "You should eat before your breakfast gets cold." For some reason, he stares at me as I eat. I'm tempted to ask him, What are you looking at? But I don't want to jeopardize my job any further, so I eat in silence. Fortunately, the food is delicious enough that I'm (mostly) able to ignore him. After I finish my orange juice, I let out a breath and tell him, "Um, I'm sorry about what I said last night. It was unprofessional, and I hope it won't affect my employment — " "I don't want you working anymore." I blink. "What?" "I don't want you cleaning the office anymore." Tears sting my eyes. I want to shout curses at him, but he is justified in firing me. I drank stolen champagne on company property. I'm considering going on my knees and begging him to reconsider his decision when he says: "I can't have the mother of my children be on her feet all day." Additional keywords: Asian heroine romance, Asian hero, diverse romance, steamy romance short stories

Just for a moment, consider: What If Chairman Mao Woke Up Today? Proud of being Chinese, author Lei Shi finds it interesting to revisit China now that she lives overseas, and wonders if Mao would feel the same. What would he think of modern China? Her cleverly humorous novel follows an American businessman and his wife visiting China for a month. Chairman Mao “wakes up” and wishes to go undercover with the couple to discover how China has changed in the nearly forty years since his passing in 1976. Science preserved Chairman Mao, and he discovers a newly powerful and fruitful China that has superseded his dream for the country. The fear that a rich Chinese people would overturn his agenda proved not to be the case. After Chairman Mao meets dozens of women under the influence of Western and modern culture, he falls in love.