It's 2004. Do You Know Who Your Chairman Is?

If the first rule of business is to know your customer, the second should be to know your board of directors. In an ironic admission for an industry that has embraced customer background checks, the parent company of Smith & Wesson, the second-biggest handgun maker in the U.S., last week acknowledged it recently named James Minder, 74, chairman of the board without knowing he had spent 15 years in Michigan prisons for a string of armed robberies and an attempted prison break. Although his days as a sawed-off-shotgun-toting college student are long gone--he has had a clean record since 1969--by law...

Want the full story?

Subscribe Now

Subscribe
Subscribe

Learn more about the benefits of being a TIME subscriber

If you are already a subscriber sign up — registration is free!