Henry Silverman Quotations

Any dope with a checkbook can buy a company. It's what you do afterward that matters.

I'm on the Business Roundtable, the CEOs of the largest 100-odd companies in the country. Most of these people wanted very much to be the CEO of a large public company but realize that it's not exactly what they had anticipated, for lots of reasons. One is competition has gotten a lot worse, and more global.

I've always dreamed of franchising an airline, but I haven't been able to figure out how to do it.

When you are buying companies, everyone in the company feels very good. Their chests are puffed out. At Blackstone, I used to tell people that there is nothing more fun than buying a company with somebody else's money. The business is growing, which creates more opportunity for your employees.

We are very focused on growing our business internally but also externally. We like this business very much. We have a comparative advantage -- we can use our comparative database in order to qualify leads.

There is a fiduciary duty here. It's really inconceivable to us.

We did wage a very effective campaign to put pressure on the ABI board to do the right thing ... These contests are won or lost by how many mistakes you make. We didn't make any mistakes.

Walter Forbes's decision and the corporate governance changes approved today end any uncertainty about the future direction and leadership of Cendant. That uncertainty was a serious impediment to conducting our business and the process of restoring trust in our company.

This report brings to a close a difficult period for Cendant employees and shareholders alike. The investigation has identified how a group of people at CUC deliberately deceived and misled investors and business partners -- and reveals a corporate culture that encouraged this behavior.