Garten, Jeffrey E. 1946-

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GARTEN, Jeffrey E. 1946-

PERSONAL: Born 1946; married Ina R. Garten. Education: Dartmouth College, B.A., 1968; Johns Hopkins University, M.A., 1972, Ph.D., 1980.

ADDRESSES: Office—c/o Yale University, 56 Hillhouse Ave., Rm. 104, New Haven, CT 06511-3704. E-mail—[email protected].

CAREER: Author and educator in international trade and finance. Worked on Wall Street for thirteen years, including time with Lehman Brothers, Kuhn Loeb, and the Blackstone Group; founded the Eliot Group (an investment bank). Served on the White House Council on International Policy during the Nixon administration and on the State Department Policy Planning Staff of Secretaries of State Henry Kissinger and Cyrus Vance. U.S. Government, Undersecretary of Commerce for International Trade, 1993-95; School of Management, Yale University, New Haven, CT, dean and William S. Beinecke Professor in the Practice of International Trade and Finance, 1995—. Former faculty member at New York University and Columbia University. Military service: U.S. Army, 1968-72; became captain.

WRITINGS:

A Cold Peace: America, Japan, Germany, and the Struggle for Supremacy, Times Books (New York, NY), 1993.

(With Ronald H. Brown) U.S. Industrial Outlook 1994: Forecasts for Selected Manufacturing and Service Industries, Hoover's (Austin, TX), 1994.

The Big Ten: The Big Emerging Markets and How They Will Change Our Lives, Basic Books (New York, NY), 1997.

(Editor and author of introduction) World View: Global Strategies for the New Economy, Harvard Business School Press (Boston, MA), 2000.

The Mind of the CEO, Basic Books (New York, NY), 2000.

The Politics of Fortune: A New Agenda for Business Leaders, Harvard Business School Press (Boston, MA), 2002.

Also contributor to periodicals, including Harvard Business Review, New York Times, Foreign Affairs, Foreign Policy, Columbia Journal of World Business, Wall Street Journal, and International Lawyer. Author of monthly column for Business Week.

SIDELIGHTS: Jeffrey E. Garten served on the White House Council on International Policy during the Nixon administration and on the State Department Policy Planning Staff of Secretaries of State Henry Kissinger and Cyrus Vance. In addition, Garten has worked on Wall Street, applying his expertise in finance and international trade to debt restructuring in Latin America, and investment banking, mergers, and acquisitions in Asia. He served as Undersecretary of Commerce for International Trade for two years before becoming the Dean of the Yale School of Management. Garten's years of business experience and teaching have provided a solid background for his written works, which focus on the world of business.

In A Cold Peace: America, Japan, Germany, and the Struggle for Supremacy, Garten documents the historical relationships of the United States with each of the other "Big Three" countries, including their cultural, economic, social, and political similarities and differences. N. D. Palmer wrote in Choice that Garten feels the United States is "poorly prepared" to deal with world change in the post-Cold War era and is "steadily losing ground … in the race for power and influence." A Washington Post Book World reviewer commented that Garten's position is that America's role in its relationships with Japan and Germany include "the sharing of burdens for peacekeeping." William T. Generous, Jr., writing in Kliatt, called the book "very good … about an important topic, written well and proven impressively."

A critic in Kirkus Reviews wrote that in The Big Ten: The Big Emerging Markets and How They Will Change Our Lives, Garten "changes his mind and policy recommendations." The list of Big Emerging Markets (BEM) was created during the first administration of President Bill Clinton and includes the countries of Argentina, Brazil, China, India, Indonesia, Mexico, Poland, South Africa, South Korea, and Turkey. Garten predicts that the economies of the BEM will grow two to three times as fast as those of the United States and other industrialized countries. Garten wrote, "If they succeed, we all do. If they fail, then they will have thrown a gigantic monkey wrench into the wheel of global economic and political progress." He predicts that between 1990 and 2010, the BEM will consume one trillion dollars in incremental U.S. exports.

Alan Tonelson wrote in the New York Times Book Review that Garten says the BEM "are so potentially wealthy that they may provide producers everywhere with huge new markets—and hence opportunities for profits and job creation…. The bad news … is that the ten don't always agree with the United States on many of the issues that could make or break the world's economic future." A contributor to Kirkus Reviews noted that doing business with the BEM is complicated by "restricted access to markets, corruption, cutthroat competition, and the theft of intellectual property." Tonelson pointed out Garten's observation that several of these countries will be key in "solving or aggravating many noneconomic problems, like terrorism and nuclear weapons proliferation." Tonelson also wrote that Garten fails to address the fact that these markets are "likely to stay small for decades," due to huge debts, discouragement of consumption, low wages and purchasing power, and the need to attract foreign investment. Tonelson stated that China, the largest of the BEM countries, intends to eventually "satisfy most of its own needs," rather than become a major importer.

Thomas K. Grose, writing in Time International, remarked that Garten acknowledges "how difficult and risky trade with the BEMS will be … emerging markets could reward American businesses with billions of dollars of revenues. That would mean millions of well-paying jobs for American workers." Grose said, "In the short run, however, pressures created by the BEMS may result in American job losses and stagnant pay checks." Joan Warner, writing in Business Week, commented, "In places, Garten is vague…. And some of Garten's assumptions are puzzling." Warner noted that the book emphasizes that "U.S. policy toward these markets remains naive. Developing nations don't care to be told how to run their governments … Washington must be sensitive." About Garten's prose, the critic said it was "blessedly free of Washington-speak."

In 2000, Garten edited World View: Global Strategies for the New Economy, a compilation of sixteen essays designed to act as a guide for corporations in regard to the global marketplace in an ever-changing world. The book is divided into four sections that discuss some of the major issues of globalization: emerging markets, Europe and Asia, corporate strategies, and leadership. Garten asserts that the world's economy has undergone many puzzling changes of which the CEOs of major corporations should be aware. Booklist's Mary Whaley remarked, "Themes that emerge from this collection highlight the necessity for CEOs to rethink everything about their strategies and every asset they have." Gina Fraone of Electronic Business commented, "World View is a good starting place for examining some of the most recent successes and failures in globalization."

Garten's The Mind of the CEO, an inside look into the thoughts of high-level executives, was met with mixed reviews. To gather research for the book, Garten conducted private interviews with forty CEOs of giant corporations, who disclosed business strategies and ways to deal with difficulties in the global marketplace, as well as thoughts about the Internet and its impact on business. The CEOs also discussed ideas about finding and keeping quality employees, setting goals, and managing losses. Garten offers his opinions and explains some areas in which he feels CEOs in today's marketplace lack expertise.

In a United Press International (UPI) review of the book, Wendy Wirth wrote, "Ever wonder what it's like to be a chief executive officer, to be in charge of thousands of jobs and millions of dollars? If so, then go inside The Mind of the CEO," which "provides readers with a summary of important business issues." Mary-Beth Corbett Hutchinson, another UPI reviewer, was not quite so upbeat in her critique of The Mind of the CEO, calling it "a book that lacks focus and is bereft of any real insights into how CEOs handle challenges." Hutchinson wrote that, for the most part, Garten is "asking his subjects questions about the future which require either extreme speculation or discussion of forward-looking corporate strategy and results." A reviewer in the U.S. edition of the Economist remarked, "Mr. Garten's real aim is not to get inside the minds of his CEOs, but to plead for them to take a more 'proactive stance' on the world stage." The reviewer continued, "The book is less about what is actually in the minds of CEOs, and more about what Mr. Garten believes ought to be there."

Other reviewers offered high remarks for The Mind of the CEO. Anthony Paonita wrote in the Corporate Counsel that while the cover promises an in-depth look into the thoughts and strategies of CEOs, "it's really Garten who does the talking." Paonita went on to say, however, that the book "contains Garten's suggestions for doing a better job. As such, it's a good primer on the state of both the economy and its main protagonists at the beginning of the millennium." In the Public Relations Quarterly, G. A. Andy Marken observed, "Garten does an excellent job of documenting the CEOs' comments but also analyzing, deciphering, and adding a dose of reality to their statements." Marken noted, "It's impossible for us to walk in their shoes, but books like The Mind of the CEO enable us to understand, interpret, and counsel company presidents on dealing with issues that extend beyond individual country and individual market borders." Paonita echoed Marken's sentiment, writing, "Garten shows how a strong-willed CEO with a clear idea of what's got to be accomplished can do good and do well."

In The Politics of Fortune: A New Agenda for Business Leaders, Garten outlines his plan for big corporations to join with the government and the public to become more favorable in the eyes of American citizens. As John J. Castellani pointed out in a review in International Economy, Garten clearly explains how the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001 and corporate scandals are now common interests among big corporations, the government, and the people of the United States. Castellani observed, "Garten's strength and originality lie in his overall thesis that CEOs should retake the lead in public responsibility, and seek to partner with governments and NGOs in doing so." A Publishers Weekly contributor noted, "There are moral undertones to his arguments, but his call for a stronger public and private partnership is practical…. His points are clear and well-sup ported." Among the issues Garten sees fit for CEOs to examine are homeland security, reducing poverty worldwide, and creating more effective foreign policies. Garten asserts that if CEOs can focus their attention on these issues, they, along with the government and the public can rebuild a more secure, stable America. Castellani concluded, "The Politics of Fortune makes a positive contribution to the debate over corporate responsibility in the changed world that Garten describes," and the Publishers Weekly critic believed the heads of major American companies "would do well to follow Garten's agenda."

BIOGRAPHICAL AND CRITICAL SOURCES:

books

Garten, Jeffrey E., The Big Ten: The Big Emerging Markets and How They Will Change Our Lives, Basic Books (New York, NY), 1997.

periodicals

Atlantic, August, 1984, p. 22.

Booklist, June 1, 1992, p. 1735; May 15, 1997, p. 1545; December 15, 1999, Mary Whaley, review of World View: Global Strategies for the New Economy, p. 744; February 15, 2001, David Rouse, review of The Mind of the CEO, p. 1093.

Business America, November 15, 1993, pp. 6-7; September, 1995, pp. 10-11.

Business Week, June 8, 1992, p. 14; June 23, 1997, Joan Warner, review of The Big Ten, p. 18E12.

Choice, November, 1992, N. D. Palmer, review of A Cold Peace: America, Japan, Germany, and the Struggle for Supremacy, p. 540.

Christian Science Monitor, July 23, 1992, p. 11.

Corporate Board, January-February, 2003, review of The Politics of Fortune: A New Agenda for Business Leaders, p. 29.

Corporate Counsel, January, 2001, Anthony Paonita, review of The Mind of the CEO, p. 75.

Current History, January, 1989, p. 15.

Economist (U.K.), March 17, 2001, review of The Mind of the CEO, pp. 126-127.

Economist (U.S.), March 17, 2001, review of The Mind of the CEO, p. 6.

Electronic Business, February, 2000, Gina Fraone, review of World View, p. 50.

Far Eastern Economic Review, August 7, 1997, p. 58.

Foreign Affairs, winter, 1985, p. 538; winter, 1989, p. 84; April, 1992, p. 203; July-August, 1997, p. 148.

Harvard Business Review, April, 2001, review of The Mind of the CEO, p. 129.

Industry Week, November 6, 1995, p. 10; August 18, 1997, p. 115; December, 2002, John S. McClenahen, review of The Politics of Fortune, p. 13.

International Economy, winter, 2003, John J. Castellani, "Rethinking the CEO," review of The Politics of Fortune, p. 71, Henry S. Rowen, "Will China Take Over World Manufacturing?," p. 72.

Kirkus Reviews, May 15, 1992, p. 648; April 1, 1997, review of The Big Ten, p. 518.

Kliatt, November, 1993, William T. Generous, Jr., review of A Cold Peace, p. 35.

Library Journal, June 15, 1992, p. 90.

Los Angeles Times Book Review, July 19, 1992, p. 6.

National Productivity Review, summer, 2000, Alan Zimmerman, review of World View, pp. 99-100.

New York Times, January 28, 2001, Fred Andrews, "Changing the World, from Top to Bottom," review of The Mind of the CEO, p. BU7.

New York Times Book Review, July 19, 1992, p. 11; June 15, 1997, Alan Tonelson, review of The Big Ten, p. 30; February 18, 2001, David Leonhardt, "The Bosses: Jeffrey E. Garten Interviews Some Forty Business Leaders on How They See the World," review of The Mind of the CEO, p. 23.

Personnel Psychology, winter, 2001, Richard Blackburn, review of The Mind of the CEO, pp. 1007-1009.

Presidential Studies Quarterly, summer, 1993, p. 580.

Public Relations Quarterly, fall, 2001, G. A. Andy Marken, review of The Mind of the CEO, p. 8.

Publishers Weekly, June 1, 1992, p. 47; February 5, 2001, review of The Mind of the CEO, p. 77; October 21, 2002, review of The Politics of Fortune, p. 64.

Reference and Research Book News, May, 2001, review of The Mind of the CEO, p. 89.

Time International, July 7, 1997, Thomas K. Grose, review of The Big Ten, p. 64.

United Press International, July 5, 2001, Mary-Beth Corbett Hutchinson, review of The Mind of the CEO; February 12, 2002, Wendy Wirth, review of The Mind of the CEO.

U.S. News & World Report, December 1, 1997, p. 54.

Virginia Quarterly Review, summer, 1993, p. 26.

Wall Street Journal, August 12, 1992, p. A9.

Washington Monthly, July-August, 1992, p. 57.

Washington Post Book World, August 30, 1992, review of A Cold Peace, p. 5; July 25, 1993, p. 12.