John Smale was arguably the most influential corporate leader of the second half of the 20th century. He grew one great company, Procter & Gamble, more than six-fold during the 21 years he led as president, CEO and chairman of the board. He helped another great com­pany, General Motors, regain momentum in his role as chairman of the board at a critical time in GM's history - and set a new stan­dard for corporate governance that has since transformed the role that Boards of public companies are expected to play. He champi­oned diversity, not only as a US priority but also as a global priority. And he defined a corporate vision for the purpose and social responsibil­ity of business that was decades ahead of its time. And yet, John Smale is largely unknown to many leaders guiding American and global businesses today

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