Robert A. G. Monks
Encyclopedia
Robert A. G. Monks is a shareholder activist. He is the author of Corpocracy and The New Global Investors, and with Nell Minow
, Watching the Watchers, Corporate Governance and Power & Accountability.
and Cambridge University. At Cambridge, he was a member of the winning Cambridge
boat in the 1955 Boat Race. He was then at Harvard Law School
. and became a partner in a law firm in Boston. He was vice president of Gardner Associates and then was president and CEO of C.H.Sprague & Son, a coal and oil Company. Then he was a board member and later chairman of the Board of The Boston Safe Deposit & Trust Company and the Boston Company. Ronald Reagan
appointed him as director of the United States Synthetic Fuels Corporation and as one of the founding Trustees of the Federal Employees’ Retirement System. He worked for the US Department of Labor as Administrator of the Office of Pension and Welfare Benefit Programs which gave him jurisdiction over the whole U.S. pension system.
Monks has written widely about corporate governance and has published more than a hundred papers in publications around the world.He was the recipient of the Award for Outstanding Financial Executive from the Financial Management Association
in 2007.
Monks is the subject of a biography chronicling the corporate governance movement, A Traitor to His Class by Hilary Rosenberg.
In the above documentary film, Monks was interviewed and featured to address issues of corporations including how their profit models historically involve being "lean, mean, externalizing machines."
Nell Minow
Nell Minow is a film reviewer and writer who writes and speaks frequently on film and media, and corporate governance and investing.-Personal:...
, Watching the Watchers, Corporate Governance and Power & Accountability.
Biography
Monks was educated at Harvard CollegeHarvard College
Harvard College, in Cambridge, Massachusetts, is one of two schools within Harvard University granting undergraduate degrees...
and Cambridge University. At Cambridge, he was a member of the winning Cambridge
Cambridge University Boat Club
The Cambridge University Boat Club is the rowing club of the University of Cambridge, England, located on the River Cam at Cambridge, although training primarily takes place on the River Great Ouse at Ely. The club was founded in 1828...
boat in the 1955 Boat Race. He was then at Harvard Law School
Harvard Law School
Harvard Law School is one of the professional graduate schools of Harvard University. Located in Cambridge, Massachusetts, it is the oldest continually-operating law school in the United States and is home to the largest academic law library in the world. The school is routinely ranked by the U.S...
. and became a partner in a law firm in Boston. He was vice president of Gardner Associates and then was president and CEO of C.H.Sprague & Son, a coal and oil Company. Then he was a board member and later chairman of the Board of The Boston Safe Deposit & Trust Company and the Boston Company. Ronald Reagan
Ronald Reagan
Ronald Wilson Reagan was the 40th President of the United States , the 33rd Governor of California and, prior to that, a radio, film and television actor....
appointed him as director of the United States Synthetic Fuels Corporation and as one of the founding Trustees of the Federal Employees’ Retirement System. He worked for the US Department of Labor as Administrator of the Office of Pension and Welfare Benefit Programs which gave him jurisdiction over the whole U.S. pension system.
Monks has written widely about corporate governance and has published more than a hundred papers in publications around the world.He was the recipient of the Award for Outstanding Financial Executive from the Financial Management Association
Financial Management Association
Financial Management Association is an organization for finance and economics students and professionals. Its primary objective is to encourage and recognize academic and professional excellence in the finance field. FMA promotes the study and practice of financial education...
in 2007.
Monks is the subject of a biography chronicling the corporate governance movement, A Traitor to His Class by Hilary Rosenberg.
- "The corporationCorporationA corporation is created under the laws of a state as a separate legal entity that has privileges and liabilities that are distinct from those of its members. There are many different forms of corporations, most of which are used to conduct business. Early corporations were established by charter...
is an externalizingCost externalizingCost externalizing is a socio-economical term describing how a business maximizes its profits by off loading indirect costs and forcing negative effects to a third party.-Business to society:...
machine, in the same way that a sharkSharkSharks are a type of fish with a full cartilaginous skeleton and a highly streamlined body. The earliest known sharks date from more than 420 million years ago....
is a killing machine." - Robert Monks (2003) RepublicanRepublican Party (United States)The Republican Party is one of the two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Democratic Party. Founded by anti-slavery expansion activists in 1854, it is often called the GOP . The party's platform generally reflects American conservatism in the U.S...
candidate for SenateUnited States SenateThe United States Senate is the upper house of the bicameral legislature of the United States, and together with the United States House of Representatives comprises the United States Congress. The composition and powers of the Senate are established in Article One of the U.S. Constitution. Each...
from MaineMaineMaine is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States, bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the east and south, New Hampshire to the west, and the Canadian provinces of Quebec to the northwest and New Brunswick to the northeast. Maine is both the northernmost and easternmost...
and corporate governance adviser in the film "The Corporation".
In the above documentary film, Monks was interviewed and featured to address issues of corporations including how their profit models historically involve being "lean, mean, externalizing machines."