A higher plane for friendship

pbest@globeandmail.com

Vancouver-based mining mogul Frank Giustra has an air ride with gold-plated fixtures in the shower-equipped bathroom, leather upholstered reclining seats, flat-panel TVs and original art on the walls. The name of Mr. Giustra's MD-87 jet? "Giustra Air," reads the logo on the blankets. These details come by way of last Sunday's article in The New York Times Magazine, by Peter Baker, about the "mellowing" of former U.S. president Bill Clinton.

In it, Mr. Giustra, who has donated $100-million (U.S.) to Mr. Clinton's sustainable development initiative, is seen accompanying the former leader to Colombia on Clinton Foundation business. Or rather, Mr. Clinton accompanies Mr. Giustra, as the mogul provides the luxury transport. The two continue to enjoy a close friendship, having weathered some adverse publicity a couple of years ago involving a uranium mining deal for Mr. Giustra in Kazakhstan that coincided with a visit by Mr. Clinton to that country. The magazine article depicts Mr. Clinton, at one point, shopping for a gift for Mr. Giustra's girlfriend; at another, the late-night live wire has Mr. Giustra playing a card game (known as Oh Hell!) taught to him by Steven Spielberg.

MANULIFE'S OPEN-DOOR POLICY

Veteran business author and journalist Rod McQueen has churned out many a tome on Canadian corporate life. His latest book, Manulife, is about the insurance company and its recently retired CEO, Dominic D'Alessandro. The book was launched at the Toronto Club earlier this week at an event hosted by the author's son, Mark McQueen, CEO of Wellington Financial. The book is not a paid biography, but it's no unauthorized scandal sheet à la Kitty Kelley, either. The author says Mr. D'Alessandro was "very generous" with his time and sent a note to Manulife directors and executives urging them to co-operate with interviews. "Nobody I phoned turned me down," Mr. McQueen says.

On his website(rodmcqueen.com) the author offers robust opinions about the company and its federal regulator. "Manulife's dilemma was never financial, it was accounting," he writes on his blog regarding the company's forced raising of capital after the global financial meltdown. "Regulators demanded the company put up an additional $11-billion in capital because 250,000 out of 20 million clients had variable annuities. It was a crazy demand at the time ..." It caused the company's share price to plummet and subjected Mr. D'Alessandro to harsh assessments in the last months of his illustrious 13-year reign as CEO.

"Canadian regulators haven't done much. It's more good luck than good management," Mr. McQueen told us yesterday.