In chapter two we used a range of aggregated time series and pooled cross-sectional data on the economy and firms to present a broad picture of the growth of big business in the Australian economy, and drew parallels with the experience of other nations. We were able to identify in which sectors our largest firms have been located, how this changed over the course of the twentieth century, and who these firms were. This provides the basis for a closer investigation of some of these firms in this and the subsequent chapters. Thus, in the current chapter, we develop the concept of the corporate leader, design a methodology for identifying corporate leaders in Australia, and then examine who these firms actually were. This enables us in chapters four and five to investigate the pattern of their development using the methodological schema outlined in chapter one, notably the methods, resources, directions, and structure of development. From this we seek to identify any typical patterns. In chapter six we then assess what sort of role corporate leaders played in the evolution of individual industries, the business sector, and the economy as a whole.
