Celebrating 30 Exceptional Families
These business families have made significant progress in governance. Their meaningful — and challenging — work has helped their businesses prosper and kept family members united as responsible stewards.
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To celebrate its 30th anniversary, Family Business honored 30 outstanding family businesses: |
In 30 years of helping family business owners learn from each other and celebrating their achievements, we at Family Business Magazine have had the privilege of meeting families whose commitment to good governance is exceptional.
In this special section, we acknowledge 30 of these families for their significant progress in the following areas:
- Creating family governance structures.
- Developing sound policies to ensure the family continues as good stewards of the business.
- Promoting harmony among the extended family.
- Building connections among family members and encouraging their engagement with the business.
Some family companies profiled here are in the second or third generation; others are in the fifth, sixth and even seventh. The number of adult stakeholders in these families ranges from fewer than a dozen to several hundred. Some families began their governance journeys just a few years ago. Others have been at it for generations, making revisions along the way to accommodate changes in the family’s demographics and needs.
- Finding the proper balance between business and family priorities.
- Educating, developing and supporting NextGens and the youngest generation.
- Managing transitions in the business, family and board.
- Generously sharing their experiences and lessons learned with other business families.
These profiles reveal a variety of approaches to governance, reflecting the families’ individual cultures and traditions. Some have implemented conventional “best practice” structures and nomenclature, while others have forged their own paths.
These families understand that governance work is never “done.” Stewardship of a family enterprise requires a continuing commitment to work together toward the common goal of staying in business as a family. In several of these families, this commitment has lasted beyond the lifespan of their legacy business.
Their stories offer solid evidence that good governance can help business families work through their challenges and move their enterprise forward.
