Executive Biographies

Questions to consider:

What were his or her previous positions? With which company or companies?
How about educational qualifications?
Can you point to any personal accomplishments at or contributions to the company?

Resources:

Start with Who's Who in Finance and Business (ALEXANDER, DANA, KILMER REF HF 3023 .A2 W5) This companion to the regularWho's Who in America provides biographical data on over 23,000 leaders in business administration, technology, and business-related professions.
Refer also to the Dun & Bradstreet Reference Book of Corporate Managements (DANA REF HD 2745 .D85)
Consult the Standard & Poor's Register of Corporations, Directors and Executives. (DANA Reference Desk) Vol. 2 includes the addresses, education, fraternal memberships, and business affiliations of the major executives of over 27,000 companies.
Use Business Source Premier to find articles about your executive.
Don't forget to check company Websites. Many more resources may be found on the Biographical Resources research guide.

Company Research

Questions to consider:

How is it managing critical issues and trends? Is its strategy sound?
Is the company's leadership strong and smart?
How does the company communicate with all of its stakeholders? (customers, investors, employees, the media)
How does its future look? Are you optimistic about its future? Why?

Resources:

Use Business Source Premier to find articles about your company from magazines and journals. (Note: Use Advanced Search mode and consider the following search terms and phrases: corporate governance, outlook, strategic, strategy, social responsibility, trends.)
From within LexisNexis Academic, select Business and then Company Profiles to locate a Hoover's Company Report on your firm.
Find your company's profile on the MarketLine Business Information Centre.
Public companies in the U.S. are required to electronically file periodic reports with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Start with the EDGAR Company Search to locate reports such as 10-Ks and 10-Qs.
Many firms now post their annual report to shareholders on their corporate Website. The following links will help you locate them:

Find recent newspaper articles in Factiva, or LexisNexis Academic.
More resources may be found on the Corporate Citizenship and Social Responsibility and the Special Topics sections of the Company Research Guide.

Questions to consider:

What does the industry do/produce?
What are the most critical issues and emerging trends currently driving this industry?
Who are the major players in this industry?
How have technology, globalization and competition affected this industry?

Resources:

Start with Standard & Poor's Industry Surveys (CAMDEN, KILMER REF HC 106.6 .S74; DANA Reference Desk) for industry overviews and basic statistics: production, shipment, sales, revenues.
Then, search for your industry's profile on the MarketLine Business Information Centre.
You can also find articles from trade journals with the Business & Industry Database.
Many sources of information are organized by a numeric code representing the industry. The North American Industry Classification System (NAICS) uses a six-digit code; the older Standard Industrial Classification (SIC) uses a four-digit code.
Four print titles with industry overviews are Encyclopedia of Emerging Industries, Encyclopedia of American Industries, Manufacturing and Distribution USA, and U.S. Industry Profiles. (DANA Reference Desk)
The leading companies in your industry may be found with volumes 5 (SIC) and 8 (NAICS) of Ward's Business Directory. (DANA Reference Desk)
Note that most industry analyses are based on the 2002 Economic Census from the U.S. Census Bureau. Many more resources may be found on the Industry Research Guide.