Chris Bart

Chris Bart is an educator, former university professor, professional speaker, business consultant and author. He is a notable authority on organizational mission and vision statements, and also for his knowledge both on the roles and responsibilities of corporate directors and the strategic governance of for-profit and not-for-profit organizations.

Bart received his PhD from the Richard Ivey School of Business of the University of Western Ontario and his MBA and BA (Hons. Bus.) from the Schulich School of Business, York University. He is a Fellow of the Institute of Chartered Professional Accountants of Ontario.

After 33 years of service, Bart retired from his position as Professor of Strategy and Governance at McMaster University's DeGroote School of Business in Hamilton, Ontario. During this time, he co-founded The Directors College of Canada where, from its inception in 2003 to 2013, he served as its inaugural Principal and Lead Professor and remained the College's top rated instructor. The College is Canada's first university-accredited certification program for corporate directors. He now assists the College as its Lead Faculty. Bart is also Associate Editor of the International Journal of Business Governance & Ethics, a Research Fellow at the Asian Institute of Corporate Governance and both Co-Founder and Chairman of the Caribbean Institute of Directors and the Caribbean Governance Training Institute.

He was named "Outstanding Undergraduate Business Professor" in 1982, 1987 and 1996 and "MBA Professor of the Year" in 1984, 1989 and 1991. Bart became DeGroote's most decorated professor in 1995, when he won the school's highest teaching award: The President's Award for Teaching Excellence.

In 1993, Bart helped found the Management of Innovation & New Technology Research Center at McMaster University and was named its first director. The following year, he created the Innovation Management Network, a global association of professionals who collaborate through the Internet on matters of innovation and new technology.

Bart retired from the university in 2013 after he and 5 other professors were suspended by a secret university tribunal that found they had pressured other faculty in an effort to deny their faculty's Dean a second term. However, with the moral support and financial backing of the Canadian Association of University Teachers (CAUT), the five professors asked, in 2014, the courts to review the tribunal's work, conduct and penalties. Commenting on the case, CAUT's representative Jim Turk claimed that the tribunal's process was fatally flawed and added: "This was a staged trial ordered by the university under rules that violated every concept of natural justice in this country…It had some of the character of a show trial, except it was in secret." For instance, none of the three academics on the panel had any training in law and the University's policies allowed no right of appeal, leaving an application for judicial review as the only available response. A decision from the courts was rendered in 2017 ordering the University into remedial arbitration.

Bart is a featured speaker of the National Speakers Bureau with two unique presentations: "Sex, Lies and Mission Statements"; and "Achieving Excellence in Customer Service through Leadership & Mission". Among his other popular presentations are: "The Service Mission"; "The Role of the Board in Strategy"; and "Competing in the Experience Economy" (Reference 6). In the past, Bart has lectured at institutions around the world, including the University of Cape Town, South Africa, Cranfield Institute of Technology, the UK, Monash University, Australia, the Czech Management Center and both Fudan and Tsinghua Universities in China.

Bart conducts keynote speaking and business consulting through his company, Corporate Missions Inc. He serves as a consultant to many organizations helping them to improve both their mission/vision statements and governance practices. Bart has consulted in numerous industries such as banking, health care, high technology, municipal governance, human resources and manufacturing.

Bart has internationally published more than 180 articles, cases and reviews. He is the author of the number 1 bestselling business book of 2010 in Canada, A Tale of Two Employees and the Person Who Wanted to Lead Them,.Among his other works are the acclaimed CICA publication 20 Questions Directors Should Ask About Strategy: Second Edition. Business publications such as The New York Times, The Financial Post, Profit magazine, The Globe and Mail, Maclean's, and Canadian Business have each quoted Bart in their articles.

In 2011, Bart was awarded the TD Insurance Meloche Monnex Corporate Governance and Strategic Leadership Award. Previously, Bart has also received the Ontario Chamber of Commerce Outstanding Business Achievement Award for Corporate Governance, the Hamilton Chamber of Commerce HR Hero Award, the United Way Chairman's Award and McMaster's Innovation Award. In 2009, his Chartered Accountants designation was elevated to FCA (Fellow of the Institute of Chartered Accountants). In the past, Bart has served on a number of organizational Boards and continues to maintain some of those positions. He is a past director of the Planning Executives Institute and listed in the Canadian Who's Who.

Books

• A Tale of Two Employees. Corporate Missions Inc. Press, 2002. ISBN 0-9732247-0-3.

Monographs

• Twenty Questions for Directors Should Ask about Strategy. Canadian Institute of Chartered Accountants, 2003, ISBN 1-55385-031-9.
• Twenty Questions Directors Should Ask about Strategy – Second Edition. Canadian Institute of Chartered Accountants, 2006. ISBN 1-55385-031-9.
• Twenty Essential Questions Directors of Not-for-profit Organizations Should Ask about Strategy. Corporate Missions Inc. Press, 2009. ISBN 978-0-9732247-3-3.

Other publications

• "IT and the board of directors: An empirical investigation into the 'Governance questions' directors should ask about IT, JIS, 224, 2, Fall 2010, 147–172.
• An exploration into the content of the compensation discussion & analysis document", Corporate Board, 5, 2, 2009, 6–15
• The role of the board in IT governance: Current and desired oversight practices." International Journal of Business Governance and Ethics, 4, 4, 2009, 316–329.
• Leveraging human intellectual capital through an employee volunteer program and service-learning: The case of Ford Motor Company of Canada." Journal of Intellectual Capital, 10, 1, 2009, 121–134.
• Improving the board's involvement in corporate strategy: Directors speak out", International Journal of Business Governance and Ethics, V 3, no. 4, 2007, pp. 382–393.
• A comparative analysis of mission statement content in secular and faith based hospitals", Journal of Intellectual Capital, Vol 8, No. 4, 2007, 682–694
• Issues in Canadian board transparency", Corporate Board, Vol 3, No 1, 2007, pp. 43–48.
• The performance impact of content and process in product innovation charters", Journal of Product Innovation Management, V24, No. 1, 2007, pp. 3–19.

• TD Insurance Meloche Monnex Corporate Governance and Strategic Leadership Award
• Outstanding Undergraduate Business Professor in 1982, 1987 and 1996
• MBA Professor of the Year (1984, 1989 and 1991)
• DeGroote Research to Practice Award of Excellence