All Above Board

Based on unique access interviews with leading chairmen and senior executives, All Above Board examines the key functions of the ideal 21st century board, how and why badly led boards fail, and what changes can be made to improve board behavior and efficiency for best practice.

'Corporate Governance has come to the forefront as a key to corporate success or failure. In this book Ulf Lindgren summarizes the issues around the board such as the composition, its role and responsibilities as well the relationships between the chairman, CEO and the rest of the board. But most importantly he gives very good real examples of what works and what doesn't. This is a must read for anyone engaged in corporate boards or corporate governance.' - Dr. Lars Thunell, Board member of Standard Chartered Bank ltd. Former Executive Vice President and CEO of the International Finance Corporation, part of the World Bank Group

'This book is equally valuable for Owners, Board Members and CEOs. All Above Board offers concrete insights and compelling examples of models that enable these three parties to not only achieve effective synchronization and communication of their core mission and strategy, but to excel in the execution of this beyond the mere sum of their collective competence. It is highly readable and full of practical takeaways.' - Nick Kaye, Executive Director, Stockholm School of Entrepreneurship

'Ulf Lindgren clearly knows his topic well and he gives many practical examples how to improve the role of the board in creating value for the corporation. All Above the Board has many real life stories and will be a must read for any business leader. The book summarizes in an excellent way practical lessons learned on the issues any board could have.' - Kjell Spångberg, Founder of Canyon Equity and chairman of the board of HEG

'As a member of multiple Boards I highly recommend anyone interested in, or, engaged in the functioning of corporate Boards to read All Above Board. The author gives, with his vast experience, very valuable insight into the actual and real functioning of the Board and the experiences learned in some of the world's leading corporations. This book is a must for both practitioners and academics interested in good governance!' - Dr. Laurent Leksell, Executive Director and Founder of Elekta AB

'The impact of the Board of Directors on corporate values is powerful and often overshadowed. This book is a must-read tool for all companies aiming to enhance theirs and create enduring organisations.' - Ann O'Leary, Co-founder of O'Learys Bar and Restaurants and Entrepreneur

Ulf Lindgren founded the Nordic Management Group in the 1980s. After that, he became the Director and Board member of Bain & Company International Inc., and was the Founder and Managing Partner for Bain & Company Nordic. He was actively involved and played a role in the foundation of Bain Capital Europe in the late '90s and was the Founder and Executive Chairman of Net Insight AB and also co-founded and was a Director of BTS Group. He remained a Senior Advisor to a small number of private equity firms and served as senior advisor and Board member of several large global corporations through his London based advisory company, Nordic Advisors Limited. He was involved in the establishment of Endeavor Inc., USA (a not-for-profit supporter of high-impact entrepreneurship). Ulf Lindgren has been Adjunct Professor of Entrepreneurship at INSEAD, a Visiting Professor of Entrepreneurship at the Stockholm School of Entrepreneurship and the Dean and Executive Director of Lorange Institute of Business in Zurich.
Ulf Lindgren passed away in June 2012 and was up until that time the Director and principal investor in Safe Technologies Limited, UK. Besides that he was Assistant Professor of International Business and Finance, Stockholm School of Economics, and a Visiting Lecturer at IMD, and at the Swedish Institute Management.