Commemorating a quarter-century milestone for Directors & Boards.

• Position: A Governance Milestone - Brief Article

ON A SPLENDID SPRING EVENING high on the rooftop of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce building, with a stunning view overlooking the White House and other Washington landmarks, a group of authors and colleagues of DIRECTORS & BOARDS gathered to mark its quarter-century publishing milestone. [A special 25th anniversary edition of the journal was published in December -- see page 14 for more details.] Host for this event was Greg Lebedev, chief operating officer of the Chamber, which is the world's largest business federation. Special sponsors for the reception were the law firm Debevoise & Plimpton, Marsh & McLennan Companies Inc. (represented by Ambassador L. Paul Bremer, chairman of Marsh Crisis Consulting), and the National Association of Corporate Directors.

Also in his role as president of the Center for Corporate Citizenship, a Chamber affiliate dedicated to providing a forum for corporate citizenship issues and advancing the Chamber's civic initiatives, Mr. Lebedev took the commemorative occasion to address the governance tumult roiling the corporate landscape. Following are his remarks.

MAY 16, 2002

GOOD EVENING, ladies and gentlemen, and welcome to the U.S. Chamber of Commerce. This year we are celebrating our 90th anniversary as the voice of American business.

Our magnificent view of the White House is topped only by the good company of this evening.

Twenty-five years ago, the Securities and Exchange Commission began taking an aggressive stance on the accountabilities of corporate boards of directors. And, directors, chairmen, advisers, CEOs, and senior management needed a highly authoritative information source and thought leader to help them identify and implement best practices that were consistent with the SEC.

DIRECTORS & BOARDS filled that void, and has continued to do so for the past quarter century. Chairman and Publisher Bob Rock, Editor and Associate Publisher Jim Kristie, and the rest of the journal's staff deserve immense credit for making this publication the premier voice on corporate governance and responsibility -- when the subject was not in vogue.

We at the Chamber often say that "Business should stop apologizing for being the one thing that really works in this country." To be sure, there's not another institution that contributes as much to the health and well being of employees, their families and their communities as does business.

But, with that said, the Chamber is also the first to acknowledge when business...