Alexandra Reed Lajoux is chief knowledge officer (CKO) at the National Association of Corporate Directors (NACD). She has more than 30 years of experience as a senior writer and editor of newsletters, articles and books on various business topics. During this time, she has worked with hundreds of influential persons, including corporate directors, senior executives, institutional investors, academics and leading professionals in accounting, finance, management and law. As CKO, she works with the NACD’s educational programs and publications, providing content expertise to line managers, staff and members in all areas. Lajoux began her career as a college teacher. She spent one year at Princeton University as an instructor in comparative literature and one year the State University of New York—College of Oswego as an associate professor of French literature and language. In 1978, Lajoux entered the publishing field, first as senior editor of Directors & Boards (1978‑1980), then as chief editor of Mergers & Acquisitions (1980‑1983, Hay Group, Philadelphia), Lambert’s International World of Trade directories (1983-1984), Export Today (1984‑1986), NACD’s Director’s Monthly (1987‑2002), and NACD’s DMX regulatory alerts (2002 to 2007). She has been involved as a key writer in drafting documents for the NACD, including policy positions and Blue Ribbon Commission reports, as well as confidential reports on board self-assessments. She currently writes the Washington Update column in each issue of NACD Directorship. Lajoux has represented the NACD on various study projects, including most recently the National Infrastructure Advisory Council’s risk management study group (NIAC-RMSG) for the Department of Homeland Security. She serves on the advisory boards of e-know, Inc., in Arlington, Va.; M&A Partners in Dallas; and the M&A Leadership Council, also based in Dallas. Lajoux has helped business professionals publish business books on a variety of specialized business topics with McGraw‑Hill and Simon & Schuster in the United States and Capstone in the United Kingdom. Lajoux is also an author in her own right. She co-authored The Art of M&A: A Merger/Acquisition/Buyout Guide, a best-selling McGraw-Hill book first published in 1988 and now in its fourth edition (2007). She is also the author of The Art of M&A Integration (1998, 2006) and the coauthor of The Art of M&A Financing and Refinancing (1999), The Art of M&A Due Diligence (2000, 2010), The Art of M&A Structuring (2004), and The Art of Distressed M&A (2011), all McGraw-Hill titles. With coauthor Robert A. G. Monks, formerly head of the Pension Benefit Guarantee Corporation, the U.S. Department of Labor, she has recently written a comprehensive book on securities valuation for Bloomberg/Wiley, released in early 2011. A graduate of Bennington College, Lajoux holds advanced degrees in comparative literature from Princeton University (M.A. 1973, Ph.D. 1978), and a master’s degree in business (XMBA 1981) from Loyola University in Maryland. At Princeton she was a Giles Whiting Fellow. She holds a Certificate of Director Education from NACD, and has conducted educational workshops for all staff on a variety of business subjects.