Who was the best leader you ever had?

I have been lucky enough to have had several good leaders (or bosses) but there is one in particular who stands out. I worked for her for 10 years and it was an absolute pleasure. Her knowledge of the business was truly comprehensive so you knew, if you had a question or needed guidance, she would be able to help. She was absolutely professional in every way and a truly excellent role model. It was interesting to see how she employed people to join her team. Yes, she gave every consideration to their professional and / or academic qualifications but, she also paid a great deal of attention to the personality of the person she was interviewing, in part, because she was trying to envisage how well they would interact with members of the existing team. In general, her judgement was spot-on. This meant that she put together a group of people who had a wide range of different talents enabling them to work well together and complement each other's strengths. Inevitably, this made for a happy work environment where individuals pulled together for the good of the team (and thus, ultimately, the company). She encouraged us to work hard and to play hard. I had an enormous amount of respect for this person - she was no pushover and I certainly wouldn't have wanted to cross her but you always knew that she had your back. She was always approachable and ready to listen if / when a member of staff had either personal or professional problems and would always do her very best to help or provide a solution. I am now lucky enought to be able to call her my friend, many years after we stopped working together.