A Road Taken

Nineteen years ago, David McLean was appointed by the prime minister of Canada to the board of directors of CN, after which he was elected chairman. McLean has been reelected each year and will retire in April 2014. In A Road Taken, the longest-serving chairman of the board in CN history explains complex business issues in very human terms. McLean's stories include his leadership role in the privatization of the company and the intrigue and egos in the behind-the-scenes race to launch the biggest IPO in Canadian history at that time. They also include the adventure and challenge of a prairie childhood, a university education fueled by team sports and ambition, and a successful career in law and business. McLean plumbs the depths and delivers a treatise on leadership in business and life that is as moving as it is honest.

David McLean left a successful law practice in 1972 to establish the McLean Group, which specializes in real estate, film production, communications, and aviation. MacLean is the longest-serving chairman of the board of CN Rail, and he played an important leadership role in the privatization of the company in the largest IPO in Canadian history.

Patricia Finn is an established film and television script writer and editor and the director of communications for the MacLean Group.