Some years ago, the Blackglama mink company developed a magazine ad campaign that featured the likes of Lauren Bacall, Katherine Hepburn and Barbra Streisand wearing nothing – it appeared – but a gorgeous Persian lamb coat against their bare skin. The women were beautifully captured in black and white by Irving Penn. The campaign ran for several years and the tag line haunts me still: “What becomes a legend the most?”

A variation of that statement could easily be turned into a question for today’s executives: “What makes a leader the most?” Authenticity and integrity? Strategic vision and insight? Intellectual depth and acuity? Competency and superb managerial skills? Ivey has already tried to answer that question with the recent release of a major report, Leadership on Trial. Undoubtedly other institutions and individuals will contribute to the discussion, all with the goal of finding out what makes a leader succeed the most.

I am especially proud of the Business Journal’s contribution to the discussion on leadership. If you go to our archives you’ll find that we have published almost 200 articles on leadership in the past ten years. All of those articles are thoughtful as well as practical and many have been written by distinguished thought-leaders around the world. That tradition continues in this issue. Enjoy.

Stephen Bernhut,
Editor