No bumbling here.

• Position: Brief Article

REGULAR READERS of DIRECTORS & BOARDS know that they can always count on lead columnist Hoffer Kaback to skillfully dissect the merits or demerits of a governance matter. From his first column, "Pals on the Board' in our Winter 1997 issue, he has been a standout essayist in the field, fearlessly taking on when warranted the "received wisdom," political correctness, misguided notions, and assorted bumblings and stumblings of all the players -- boards, senior management, institutional investors, and shareholder activists alike.

Not only that, he regularly conducts in-depth interviews with leading business figures. In this day of "sound bite" journalism, these cover-story Q&As allow our readers an unusual Opportunity to listen in on conversations brimming with choice insights and information. True to form, this edition features his trenchant column, "When Deals Go Sour" (page 7), and his conversation with Saul Steinberg. The financier granted DIRECTORS & BOARDS an extraordinarily rare interview, all the more so in that it transpired in the midst of much corporate and personal turmoil.

So it is with pleasure and pride that I congratulate Hoffer on his being named to the advisory board for the Conference Board of Canada/Spencer Stuart National Awards in Governance. Celebrating excellence and innovation in board governance, the awards will be bestowed at a gala blacktie dinner in Toronto on Jan. 30, 2001. He is in august company: Fellow advisory board members include the chairmen of Alcan Aluminium Ltd...