His relentless commitment to others has been an inspiration to his peers as underscored by the testimonial letters written by fellow board members who nominated him for this year’s award.

Compensation, of course, is a determinate factor in director and CEO appointments, an already difficult process. Peter Lupo described how, though director pay has shown little change, the structural components of payment have been significantly altered.

In Europe, the percentage of incoming CEOs who also hold the chairman role dropped from over 60 percent in 2002 to 7.1 percent in 2009. North American companies showed similar tendencies.