Book Review
d'Aquino, Thomas;
Private Power, Public Purpose: Bronowski, Jacob, The Ascent of Man;
Private Power Public Purpose: Adventures in Business, Politics
and the Arts
Published by Signal, an imprint of McLelland and Stewart; 2023
462 pages, plus a 10-page index.
This is yet another book I found in a book box, and one of the most interesting I have read in recent years. In his time, d’Aquino was almost a force of nature on the global stage.
The author spent five decades at the intersection of political and business power in this country. As the long-serving chief executive of the Business Council of Canada, he was an adviser to three generations of prime ministers on the political side, and to business CEOs in the corporate world.
I don’t know whether d’Aquino has an astonishing memory or keeps detailed records: I suspect both are true. Think back on almost any important economic issue in your lifetime: Free trade, the National Energy Program, Quebec separation, the global financial crisis. D’Aquino was a central player in these dramas, and in many more.
The book is riveting from start to finish – a a superb commentary on Canadian and global business since Expo 67, which was about the time he finished university. It’s a dissertation on the evolution of Canadian public policy, but it also delivers warnings about what ails Canada, and ideas about how to fix it.
Ever wondered what happens in Davos, when business and political elite gather in the Swiss Alps for the World Economic Forum? D’Aquino captures – and defends – the magic of these meetings by detailing a 1995 dinner that saw him, hedge-fund billionaire George Soros and mining entrepreneur Peter Munk conclude their meal by writing a sternly worded letter to then-finance minister Paul Martin. The trio warned that Canada’s soaring deficits were turning the country “into an honorary member of the Third World.” Several weeks later, d’Aquino says, Martin tabled the first in a series of austerity budgets and vowed to slay the deficit.
The child of Italian immigrants, d’Aquino spent the early years of his career as a lawyer and business consultant, with stints in London and Paris. His international experience shaped a belief that corporate leaders have a right, and an obligation, to be engaged in influencing public policy. That view was at odds with the two solitudes of business and government that prevailed in Canada through to the 1970s.
When the CEOs running a predecessor to the Business Council of Canada hired d’Aquino in 1981 to bridge the deep divide by building ties to government, they endorsed his vision of capitalism linked to social purpose. D’Aquino was an early advocate of the concept that chief executives must serve multiple stakeholders, not just investors. It’s now a mainstream view.
To illustrate just one of the ideas he covers, consider Chapter 17, titled “Special Moments with Leaders.” Here he covers interviews he had with political and businesspeople we all know: Joe Clark, Jimmy Pattison, Paul Desmarais Sr., Beverly McLachlin, David Johnston, Peter Lougheed, Jean Chretien – the list goes on, and his commentaries are superb.
Summary? I love this book. It's superb!
No comments:
Post a Comment