Boardroom Games: You’re Fired!
by Peter Crossgrove
About the Book
Boardroom musings and memoirs on what constitutes good corporate governance and values gained from life experiences seen through the eyes of a true entrepreneurial renaissance man.
Are we still living in a clichéd dog-eat-dog corporate world? Peter Crossgrove was fired several times on a matter of principal. His personal narrative describes his youth, illustrating an intricately entwined communal life with the mining company in burgeoning northern Ontario. This is where young entrepreneurial men, including Peter, indulged in hard work, grand goals, and all-encompassing visions to build multi-national, international businesses.
Peter’s mining and boardroom experiences are indelibly etched real-life scenarios—humorous and thought provoking. Having served on close to seventy mining, corporate, and not-for-profit boards, armed with a sense of humour, dignity, dogged determination, and humility, Peter has challenged boardroom antics and relationship intricacies with the skill-sets and values he was raised with.
It’s a time for change around the boardroom table. Described as a one-man show and taking his corporate responsibilities seriously, Peter Crossgrove’s winning attitude to success in life is one he works towards being available to all.
About the Author
Peter A. Crossgrove was raised in Sudbury, Ontario. He obtained his BCom and MBA, and participated in the Sloan Fellow Doctorate Program at Harvard Business School. Appointed VP of Marketing for Seagram’s in Montreal at the age of twenty-eight, Peter went on to purchase Pioneer Construction, Bidwell Investments and Edwards Sudbury Limited. After moving to Toronto he worked for Coopers and Lybrand on corporate turn-arounds.
Peter and another partner invested in Interior Door, a private company that became Masonite, a public company sold to KKR for $3.2 billion in 2004. He served as Vice Chairman and CEO of Placer Dome Inc. in Vancouver, and has sat on forty-six corporate business and mining boards, twenty-three past volunteer board positions in the not-for-profit sector, as well as university and government boards. He currently sits on ten mining, real estate investment trusts, and other business boards.
Peter is the recipient of the Order of Ontario, Order of Canada, The Upper Canada Medal, Queens Golden Jubilee Medal, Queens Diamond Jubilee Medal, Chairman Emeritus, Cancer Care Ontario, and is an Honourary Board Member, University Health Network. Peter Crossgrove travels extensively while still actively participating on corporate boards. Peter currently lives in Toronto.
Praise for Boardroom Games
“Board Games – You’re Fired” is required reading for everyone from the first year MBA student to the seasoned CEO to the government leader. Corporate boards have experienced so much change that Peter Crossgrove’s “behind the scenes” look is a template for corporate governance for many board members today. Peter’s biography is that of a true renaissance man and a miner’s miner. Bravo, Peter!”
John R Ing – Chairman, CEO Maison Placements Canada Inc.
“I trust others will enjoy this book as much as I have. Peter has travelled through so many different worlds and eras. From mining in Sudbury to marketing at Seagrams at age 28; having the legendary Sam Bronfman’s ear; to starting, building and fixing companies; all with a complete rolodex of fantastic and influential friends – affecting so many companies and not-for-profit organizations. Peter has lived up to what he learned – leaving everything better than he found it.”
Michael Cooper – CEO of Dundee REIT
“I read your book and thoroughly enjoyed the journey. To me it is a very Canadian story of your working life. As a young person living in the Sault and having had an opportunity to visit mines, it was fun to reflect with you on your experiences. It was also interesting to see the threads that lead you from one experience to another along your very active and productive professional life. And what wonderful experiences you have had. There are names of those you encountered I knew, but many more were only known to me through you and the media. As you moved in and out of Judy’s and my life we always found you on to another adventure. We loved the stories. Thank you for the read.”
Ken Burgess – Former co-owner of Harlequin Enterprises
“If you want to know anything or anybody connected to leadership in mining, real estate, health care or either corporate or not-for-profit governance in Canada, Peter A. Crossgrove is the person to ask. Peter’s experience in these and other fields is vast. An indefatigable hard- nosed former football player, he is an example of that rare combination of a tough executive and a deeply caring, ethical human being who holds himself and others to a high standard of integrity. Reading “Board Games – You’re Fired” is a trip through the highways (and back alleys) of Canada’s corporate world guided by a man who has been intimate with successive Premiers of Ontario, with business tycoons and CEO’s in North America and elsewhere, but also with miners, fishermen, pilots and farmers from Copper Cliff to Sudbury to Manitoulin Island. Mr. Crossgrove has as well made a career of philanthropy and leadership in the health care field. He richly deserved his induction into the Order of Canada that finally came his way. His memoir deserves to be read.”
Frederick H. Lowy, OC, MD, LLD (HON), FRCPC.