Description

The bestselling business book of 2012, now in paperback

Michael Woodford was a company man. He’d risen through the ranks of giant Japanese firm Olympus to become CEO. But just weeks into the job in Tokyo he came across allegations of enormous fraud.

Yet his every attempt at investigation was blocked. Losing his job, facing a cover up and possible threats to his life, Woodford fled the country.

Then he did something Olympus didn’t expect.

He fought back. Risking everything, Woodford went on the offensive. He exposed the crimes at the company’s heart, brought down those who tried to silence him – and became a hero.

‘Brace yourself. Woodford tells his tale like a thriller’
The Times

‘A brilliantly gripping book with a great hero at its heart. Has all the hallmarks of a John Grisham novel…. But Exposure is all the more frightening for being true’
Evening Standard

Born in 1960, Michael Woodford grew up in Liverpool, and after moving to the south of England spent the next 30 years of his professional life working at Olympus. In April 2011 he was appointed President of the Olympus Corporation – the first Western ‘salary-man’ to rise through the ranks to the top of a Japanese giant. That October he was also made CEO, but only two weeks later was dismissed after querying inexplicable payments approaching $2 billion.

Woodford was named Business Person of the Year 2011 by the Sunday Times, the Independent and the Sun, and in 2012 he won the Financial Times ArcelorMittal Award for Boldness in Business. In 2013 he was the winner of the inaugural Contrarian Prize.

Woodford is married with two teenage children and lives in London. He now spends his life writing and lecturing on business culture, and the frailties of human nature in the workplace.

Publisher Review

This memoir of one of Japan's biggest business scandals is for more than corporate governance experts, with its fascinating tale of good versus evil * Japan Times * Michael Woodford could have spent years turning a blind eye to the shady dealings of executives at Olympus. Instead he dove headfirst into allegations of corporate misconduct * Time * Woodford has emerged as a hero, named by at least one British newspaper as its 2011 executive of the year. And rightly so. His gift for candor, so evident as a whistle-blower, serves him well as a memoirist. -- Bryan Burrough, author of Barbarians at the Gate * The New York Times * He is one of the few foreign businessmen to have penetrated deep inside a Japanese corporation and to report back unflinchingly on what he saw. What he found was not pretty * Financial Times * A gripping chronicle by a corporate whistle-blower who achieved a stunning victory * Kirkus * Michael Woodford has proven himself a hero, though he never wanted the battle. He risked everything -- Clive Stafford Smith, Founder and Director, Reprieve In a world increasingly dominated by global multinationals, he just felt someone had to speak out * Sunday Times * Woodford tells his tale like a thriller. A fine book by a fine man who did the right thing. * The Times * Michael Woodford took a considerable risk in exposing wrongdoing. He was a study of boldness in action -- Lionel Barber * Financial Times * The kind of integrity and courage that Woodford displayed is unusual. * The Economist * A must-read for businesspeople, politicians and would-be movers and shakers * Bloomberg * A sensational account of a man of great courage and principle who got to the top, and blew the whistle to glorious effect. In the corporate world Woodford is too rare and exceptional a breed. -- Jon Snow * Channel 4 News * The most celebrated international whistleblower of recent times... his story is filled with mystery, suspense, duplicity and betrayal * Management Today * The business book of the year has to be Michael Woodford's Exposure * Evening Standard *