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Feb 07, 2011

Bob Monks interview: part two

Monks explains why stock market investing is like gambling, and considers when an IRO has no choice but to resign



In the second part of a two-part interview, Bob Monks, the corporate governance veteran, begins by discussing how regulatory environments shift as governments change. He recounts his time working for former US president Ronald Reagan, when the White House would cancel Monks’ lawsuits.

Monks goes on to explain that stock market investing is similar to other forms of gambling. ‘It is a method of evaluating a given number of imponderables and taking your chances as to whether you are going to win more often than you lose,’ he says.

In the interview, Monks also discusses what obligations IROs have as professionals, including under what circumstances they should tender their resignation. ‘They’re not obliged to be perfect, but they are obliged not to mislead people, and at the point they are uncomfortable, they really have no alternative but to resign,’ he says.

See part one of the interview here.

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