A remarkable collection of exclusive, first-person stories on leadership during the COVID-19 pandemic from 29 chief executives at iconic Canadian companies.

Unprecedented is an extraordinary business book for extraordinary times: a collection of exclusive, first-person stories on leadership during the COVID-19 pandemic from twenty-nine chief executives at Canada’s most iconic and largest companies. These are unforgettable accounts from senior leaders at companies on the front lines during the pandemic—nursing homes, grocery stores, airlines, hotels, pharmacies, shopping malls—along with valuable lessons on crisis management.

The insights in Unprecedented are remarkable. Readers get a seat at the table when the CEO of Tim Hortons visits the White House to discuss financial relief initiatives for business. Canada Goose’s CEO tells of retooling the parka maker to turn out surgical gowns. The head of one of Canada’s largest paper producers reveals what happened when the country almost ran out of toilet paper.

COVID-19 is a shared challenge, a crisis that touches everyone. Unprecedented captures that shared experience with personal essays that mix struggle and achievement, fear, humour, and compassion. At their heart, these are stories about overcoming adversity, a theme that resonates with managers, professionals, entrepreneurs, and students of business.

Unprecedented gives us rare insight into how leaders navigated the pandemic and the social unrest and technological changes that marked this era—what was gained, what was lost, and what was learned that can help serve companies, employees, and customers better in an uncertain future.

The authors’ net proceeds from the sales of Unprecedented are being donated to United Way Centraide Canada for COVID recovery across Canada.

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STEVE MAYER is one of Canada’s pre-eminent investment bankers, and is currently the President of Greenhill Canada and a Vice Chairman of Greenhill & Co. Prior to joining Greenhill in 2016, Steve was the Head of Diversified Industries at Goldman Sachs Canada for 11 years. Previously, Steve was the Head of Communications, Media & Technology at Scotiabank and was an Executive Director at Morgan Stanley Canada. Steve graduated from Columbia University with an MBA and from University of Toronto with a Bachelor of Commerce and Finance. He is a recipient of Canada’s Top 40 Under 40 award and is a member of the board of directors of Sinai Health Foundation. ANDREW WILLIS is a business columnist for the Globe and Mail. He has been in business communications and journalism for more than three decades, and his work has been nominated for Michener Awards for public service journalism and National Newspaper Awards. From 2010 to 2016, he was senior vice president of communications for Brookfield Asset Management. Andrew's wrote the Streetwise column at the Globe and Mail from 1995 to 2010. He also worked at The Financial Post, The Financial Times of Canada, Dow Jones/Wall Street Journal, and Maclean’s magazine. Andrew co-wrote a book, The Bre-X Fraud, with colleague Douglas Goold. He holds a Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of Western Ontario and a Bachelor of Arts degree in Journalism from University of King's College, Halifax.​