Table of Contents

Acknowledgements IX

Note to the Reader XI

1 From an Old World to a New: 1896–1956 1

2 My Next Education, 1956–1960 15

3 I Cut My Teeth on Glass, 1960–1968 23

4 Looking Past Glass, 1969–1971 35

5 From Candy Mergers to Cable Mergers, 1971–1974 49

6 Cable Wars Go Public, 1973–1977 67

7 Oral Assurances, 1977–1979 89

8 Trolling for Takeovers, 1975–1978 109

9 Weaving a Recovery, 1979–1982 121

10 From Supergun to Handgun, or Down and Out in L. A., 1979–1984 137

11 Crisis at Mitel and then British Telecom Calls, 1984–1987 153

12 From Provincial Bailout to Financial Collection, 1987 183

13 Extraordinary Financial Escapades, 1987–1990 195

14 Mitel: Second Time Around, 1987–1991 215

15 British Imperialism Enters the Boardroom, 1992–1993 233

16 A New-World Colonial: The Ondaatje Corporation, 1992–1995 257

17 Catalyst for Change: The Saga of Confederation Life, 1989–1994 281

18 In Closing: What To Do When Faced with a Company in Trouble 305

Appendix: Board Membership 315

Endnotes 319

Index 327

About the Author

Anthony "Tony" Griffiths was born in Rangoon, Burma, and educated in the U.S. and Canada. He holds an MBA from Harvard. He is the chairman of Russel Metals, Inc. and Novadaq Technologies Inc., a director of Vitran Corp., Fairfax Financial, Gedex Inc., Jaguar Mining Inc., and The Brick Group. Previous directorships include Alliance Atlantis Communications Inc., Canadian Cablesystems, Canadian Tire, Consumers Packaging, Harding Carpets, Hub International Ltd., Leitch Technology Corp., Shaw Communications, and Slater Steel—and, once upon a time, even the Edmonton Oilers. Tony and his wife Penny reside in Toronto.