Justin Craig, PhD

Co-Director , Kellogg Center for Family Enterprises; Co-Director, Kellogg ISB MFAB Program

Justin Craig, PhD, is a clinical professor of Family Enterprise at Northwestern University's Kellogg School of Management, and co-director of the Kellogg Center for Family Enterprises.  Dr. Craig’s teaching and research focuses on entrepreneurial multi-generational family enterprises, the people responsible for their stewardship and the intersection of entrepreneurship and family business.  He ensures his research is “practically relevant” through his ongoing facilitation of training to family business leaders, their consultants and advisors. Prior to pursuing a career in academia, Justin worked with and for business families in various capacities, including entrepreneurial ventures
with his brother. 

Ryan O’Melveny Wilson

Vice President and Executive Chef, Lawry’s Restaurants Inc. and Director of Operations for Five Crowns / SideDoor and The Tam O’Shanter

Ryan O’Melveny Wilson is the Executive Chef for Lawry’s Restaurants, Inc. and the Director of Operations at Five Crowns and SideDoor in Corona del Mar and the Tam O’Shanter in Los Angeles. He also serves as a Vice President for the company and represents the fourth generation of the Frank family to become immersed in the Lawry’s brand, proudly carrying on the family’s 90-year legacy. 

Ryan’s desire to learn new cooking techniques fueled a creative fire that earned him a chef’s coat in some of the West Coast’s finest eateries, including San Francisco’s lauded, two-Michelin star restaurant, Quince and Napa Valley’s famed eatery, La Toque. Ryan also spent time in Chianti under renowned Italian butcher, Dario Cecchini, and was mentored by master chefs throughout Italy and Japan. His most recent culinary venture led him into two of New York’s most popular kitchens Danny Meyer’s Gramercy Tavern and Tom Colicchio’s Craft. 

Before pursuing his culinary ambitions around the world, Ryan grew up creating dishes for his mother and sister. He officially stepped into the family business in 2002 as the prep cook at the Tam O’Shanter and later transitioned to the Five Crowns kitchen as a line cook. After following culinary opportunities outside the Lawry’s realm, he returned as the opening chef for The Prime Rib restaurants in China and Japan. Stateside, he served as opening chef for Lawry’s Carvery at L.A. Live and in 2008 returned to the Tam O’Shanter as Executive Chef.  

During his time at the Tam O’Shanter, Ryan worked closely on the concept and execution for SideDoor in Corona del Mar and later became the Executive Chef for both SideDoor and Five Crowns. In 2014, Ryan assisted in opening the SideDoor gastropub in Chicago and remains focused on providing the highest quality food service available through his corporate and operational roles.  For 2015, Ryan’s responsibilities have grown to include the operational oversight of the six licensed Lawry’s Prime Rib locations in Asia and the future growth of Lawry’s international portfolio. 

Lindsay Geyer

Former Chief Human Resources Officer, Port Blakely Companies

Lindsay Geyer has provided thoughtful, creative and compassionate organizational development expertise to a variety of organizations.

Most recently she was Chief Human Resources Officer for Port Blakely Companies, a values-driven, family-owned forestry and forest-products company built on a century of stewardship. As a member of executive management, Lindsay contributed to the overall strategic vision and direction of the Company and orchestrated the CEO leadership succession from third to fourth generation management. She led and oversaw human resources (HR) and communications functions company-wide. Lindsay also provided group facilitation and served as an advisor for the Eddy Family Council, the governing body of the family.

Lindsay brings over 30 years of experience in human resources and organizational development. Her expertise and skills in managing the human side of business dynamics come from a wide range of working experiences as an independent consultant and manager serving diverse industries that include hospitality, technology and manufacturing. Prior to joining Port Blakely Companies in 2000, she worked for Westin Hotels & Resorts where she held several HR-related positions including corporate director of employee relations.  

She is a past executive committee board member of the Washington Health Alliance, a statewide not-for-profit organization that brings together those who get, give and pay for health care to create a high-quality, affordable system for the people of Washington state.

Lindsay holds a Master of Science degree in organization development from Central Washington University and a Bachelor of Science degree in education from Indiana University. She has earned accreditations from both the Center for Creative Leadership and Development Dimensions International.  

Lindsay currently resides in Edmonds with her husband Jon; they enjoy travel, photography, gardening, cooking and spending time with friends and family.

Martha Furst

Vice Chairman, Furst-McNess Company

Martha W. Furst currently serves as vice chairman of the Furst-McNess Company, a $250 million livestock feed and animal nutrition company. She is a fourth generation leader of the 105-year-old family business. McNess markets and distributes vitamin and mineral premixes, commodities, and byproducts from ethanol and food and beverage companies. Its regions include the Rockies, the Great Plains, the Midwest, and the Southeast in the U.S., and most of Canada. Its headquarters are in Freeport, Ill., in Northwest Illinois, and it has feed manufacturing/blending plants in Illinois, Iowa, Nebraska, and Georgia. 

The company is primarily owned by the descendants of the founding families (the Fursts and the McNesses) but is governed by an independent board of directors with a mix of family and independent members. The board currently consists of four family members and three independent members. 

Martha has worked for Furst-McNess since 1995, and served as CEO from 2000– 2011 before transitioning to vice chairman, which has enabled her to pursue community interests. She has also served six years on the American Feed Industry Association board of directors. She has served on the boards of several nonprofit organizations. She recently co-chaired the Freeport Health Network’s fundraising drive for its cancer center upgrade and expansion and has also led a fundraising and membership drive for the Freeport Art Museum. Most recently she advised the City of Freeport for nine months as a financial consultant.

Martha is active in the Episcopal Church in Freeport and the Diocese of Chicago, and spent a month in 2012 in Nzara, South Sudan, with the Episcopal Church of Sudan. She is a member of C200 and WPO (World Presidents Organization), and is a former commissioner of the Freeport, Illinois Water and Sewer Commission and Lincoln-Douglas Sesquicentennial Celebration Commission.

She has a BA from Yale College, 1984, and an MBA from Kellogg School of Management, Northwestern University, 1988.

Yanki Greenspan

President & CEO, Westland Real Estate Group

Westland Real Estate Group develops, redevelops and manages commercial and multifamily properties throughout Southern California. At Westland, we believe that properties, like people, have hidden strengths and potentials that are often overlooked.   Yanki Greenspan is the third of founder Allen and Deanna Alevy’s 18 grandchildren. He received his bachelor’s degree from Sy Syms School of Business in New York. Immediately after college Yanki came back to California to work by his grandfather’s side in 2006. He started as a commercial leasing agent; by 2012, he was the president and COO of the company. Yanki is in constant communication with his grandfather, who he considers his greatest mentor.

Cynthia Watts

Director, Furst-McNess Company

Cynthia Watts is the CFO and general counsel of Brighter and has over a decade of experience leading successful Internet companies. She is a member of the board of directors of family-owned Furst-McNess Company, an independent agricultural company providing customized vitamin and mineral premix, commodity blends and feed ingredients to the beef, dairy, poultry and swine industry throughout the United States and Canada. Cynthia is also a partner in Blue Waters Research LLC and a managing director of eCompanies LLC, an internet incubator. Prior to her work with Brighter, she served as eCompanies’ chief operating officer, as well as managing partner of eCompanies Venture Group, an Internet venture capital fund. Businesses founded by eCompanies include Business.com, JAMDAT Mobile, and Boingo Wireless and USBX. eCompanies Venture Group was an early investor in LowerMyBills Inc., as well as other digital media companies. Cynthia has also been a partner in a private equity firm specializing in retail and consumer manufacturing companies, and SVP and general counsel to a publicly traded national retail company. She holds honors degrees from Yale College and Harvard Law School, and lives in Santa Monica with her husband and sons.

Charles R. Kelley, M.D.

Chairman of the Board, Outrigger Enterprises Group

Charles Roy Kelley, M.D., MPH, MBA, is chairman of Outrigger Enterprises Group. Prior to joining the family enterprise, he was a physician in the Department of Occupational Medicine at Straub Hospital. He is board certified by the American Board of Internal Medicine and the American Board of Preventive Medicine. In addition to his medical training, he earned an MBA from Chaminade University of Honolulu. He is a member of the WPO and serves on the boards of Friends of Waikiki Aquarium and Kahala Nui Senior Living.He is married to Jennifer Kelley, M.D., and they have two children. His interests include water sports, marine biology, tennis, gardening and woodcarving.

Hawaii-based Outrigger Enterprises Group is one of the fastest growing privately held hospitality companies in the Asia Pacific, Oceania and Indian Ocean regions. The company operates and/or had under development resorts in eight nations and is actively exploring management opportunities in regions worldwide. An entrepreneurial outlook and sound business practices have driven the successful growth of Outrigger Enterprises Group for over 67 years. Founders Roy and Estelle Kelley transformed leisure vacationing in Hawaii, and Roy Kelley has often been referred to as the “Father of Hawaii’s Modern Tourism.” Today, family-owned Outrigger Enterprises Group continues the legacy of its founders with a global vision for hospitality-based innovation, effective partnerships and a deep respect for culture, tradition and environmental sustainability.

The board currently consists of four family members and five independent members. Six family members work inside the business, including a third-generation family member CEO. 

Lauren Tracy

Business Development Manager, Dot Foods, Inc.

Lauren Tracy is a third generation Tracy family member working for Dot Foods. While Lauren started working for the family business at the age of 14, her full-time career with Dot didn’t begin until 2007. Lauren has held her current position, business development manager, since 2009. Prior to that, she served Dot’s South region as a district sales manager. Of the 47 third generation family members, Lauren was the second born. She is the Tracy Family Foundation board treasurer, and she held a seat on the Tracy Family Council for numerous years. Lauren graduated from Illinois State University in 2002 with a bachelor’s degree in communications and received her MBA from the University of Colorado Denver in 2007.

Dot Foods, Inc., carries 105,000 products from 650 food industry manufacturers, making it the largest food industry redistributor in the United States. Through Dot Transportation, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Dot Foods, the company distributes foodservice, convenience, retail and vending products to distributors in all 50 states. Dot Foods operates nine distribution centers, which are located in Modesto, California; Vidalia, Georgia; Burley, Idaho; Mt. Sterling, Illinois; Cambridge City, Indiana; Williamsport, Maryland; Liverpool, New York; Ardmore, Oklahoma; and Dyersburg, Tennessee. 

Kyle Fernley

Director, Fernley and Fernley

Kyle Fernley is a graduate of the University of Colorado at Boulder holding a Bachelor of Arts Degree in Psychology. He currently serves as Executive Director for the Society for Social Work Leadership in Health Care and CFA Society of Philadelphia. He is the fifth generation of this family company who origins date back to 1886. 

Kyle also serves as Director of Premier Meetings by Fernley, a strategic partner of Fernley and Fernley where his responsibilities include hotel contract negotiation for conventions concerning groups over 300 guests.
Kyle is currently serving on the Mid Atlantic Society of Association Executives Board of Directors, Conference Committee and Marketing Task Force Committee. He served on an additional 3 MASAE committees in 2014 and was also a presenter at the 2014 MASAE Annual Conference.

Kyle is also an active volunteer in his community serving as a volunteer in Big Brothers Big Sisters of America and is founder and member the Young Professionals Network for Education Works, which helps underprivileged students in the Philadelphia community.

Darcy A. Howe

Advisory Board Member, Bama Companies; Director, Heatron

Darcy A. Howe is an advisory board member of family-owned Bama Companies, and an independent director of privately-held Heatron.  She is a high performance executive and board director with extensive experience building an entrepreneurial business within a Fortune 100 company in the financial services industry. As the founding partner and co-development lead for an elite private banking and investment group, she brings 30 years of financial services experience with strategic planning skills, general business management expertise, and business advisory services. Her clients include entrepreneurs, family business owners, Fortune 500 executives and two Forbes 400 families. Darcy is an experienced board director, who brings a strategic perspective with financial discipline and risk assessment expertise to the boards, companies, and the families she serves.

As a Senior Vice President of Investments for Merrill Lynch, Darcy’s group also functions as the family office for many high net-worth clients. Her practice, The Howe/Hise/Lowry Group, founded by Darcy, delivers a full range of seamless services that include portfolio management, risk assessment, regulatory insight, governance oversight, multi-generational financial education, and business advisory services. Additionally, as a senior executive of Merrill Lynch, Darcy is responsibility for practice vision, development, growth, talent acquisition and management, and full P&L accountability. Her group is focused on creating a defined vision for her clients, intentional strategic planning, continuous education on options and opportunities, and a collaborative partnership with effective communications that serve her clients’ growth plans. As a result, she delivers clear business and financial decision-making processes that incorporate leadership succession.

Darcy founded her investment practice in 1984. She established her credentials by developing new business and operating models which helped define financial planning road maps that resulted in robust diversification and higher performance to those she serves. Her innovation, business expertise, and collaborative style led to her being selected in 2000, from 16,000 colleagues, to form the elite 300-advisor Private Banking and Investment Group at Merrill Lynch. From 2006-2008, Darcy was a member of the Merrill Lynch Private Wealth Advisory Council to Management. The Council was established in 2000, with the intention of forming a collaborative relationship with executive leadership in support of business imperatives, improvements to company platforms, and to drive innovation.

In 2012, Darcy received the Kansas City Business Journal “Women Who Mean Business” award. In 2009, Barron’s Magazine named Darcy “Top 100 Women Advisors in the U.S.” and, in 2007, Darcy was honored as Worth Magazine “Top 100 Wealth Advisors in the U.S.”

Darcy has brought her diverse experience and talents as an advisor to numerous boards and committees. Her value to these boards includes: strategic oversight on growth, expansion, consumer insights, alliances, process improvement, branding, and change initiatives. As a founding member of a women-led angel investing network, she helped the organization create a path for 72 women-led ventures to apply for angel funding, with 25 of those companies moving forward for investor presentations. To date, 6 companies have received funding.

As further evidence of Darcy’s diverse board experience, from 2010 to present, she has been serving on the Board of Directors and is a member of the Compensation and Audit Committees of Heatron, an engineering company specializing in custom heating and LED integration. In January 2013, Darcy was nominated to the Board of Advisors of The Bama Companies. An international foodservices company that manufactures and distributes bakery goods, Bama’s operations facilities are located in Tulsa, OK, Beijing and Guangzhou, China and in Poznan, Poland.

She launched her career with Armstrong World Industries in the New York City office as a representative for commercial accounts. Darcy’s tenure with Armstrong provided her with an invaluable foundation on production and distribution systems, brand building, marketing, and sales.

Paula Marshall

Chief Executive Officer, Bama Companies

As Bama’s Chief Executive Officer, Paula Marshall provides strategic leadership and direction to the entire organization. Her vision stands as a beacon for Bama team members, inspiring the organization to achieve the Bama mission – “People Helping People Be Successful”.

Paula assumed responsibility as CEO of the Bama Companies in 1984, which now includes Bama Pie, Bama Foods, Bama Frozen Dough, Beijing Bama and Bama Europa. Under her leadership Bama has expanded to provide a wide variety of frozen desserts and baked goods to fast food chains and casual and family dining restaurants.

Paula received her Bachelor of Science in business from Oklahoma City University (OCU) in 1982, and her PhD in commercial science, also from OCU, in 1993.

Paula is the author of four books, the most recent was co-authored with New York Times bestselling author Jim Stovall. The Executive Entrepreneur is an important conversation starter about how all business people must embrace both entrepreneurship and management to succeed. 

Bama Companies was founded in the 1920s as the Bama Pie Company by Cornelia Alabama Marshall and her husband Frank. Since the 1960s, Bama Companies have been an innovator of wholesome bakery products that cater to the needs of the largest and most well known restaurant chains on the planet. The company’s core product lines are hand-held pies, biscuits, buns, pie shells, and pizza crusts and it develops and maintain long-term partnerships with customers that include:

• the #1 hamburger chain in the world
• the #1 pizza chain in the world
• the #1 Mexican food chain in America
• the #1 retailer in the world
• the #1 fried chicken chain in the world 

Kelly Conklin

President, Gordon's Window Decor

Kelly Conklin is the second-generation president of Gordon's Widow Decor, founded by her father Gordon Clements in 1986. Kelly has been working in the family business since 2003, and assumed presidency in February of 2015. She is passionate about manufacturing, family business, and the role a business plays in its community. As the exclusive manufacturer of EcoSmart Insulating Window Shades, Gordon's Window Decor is a pioneer in developing high-quality window treatments that benefit both the customer and the environment. 

Kelly was recognized by Family Business Magazine in the "25 Under 35" edition and by Vermont Business Magazine as a "Rising Star." This year, Gordon's Window Decor was named "Vermont Family Business of the Year" by the Small Business Administration.  

Kelly is proud to call Vermont home and loves taking advantage of all it has to offer - from skiing to ice cream! 

Shayne Wittwer

Board Member, Wittwer, Inc., CEO, Abbey Inn Hotels

Shayne Wittwer began working in the family business at a very young age, picking up trash, sweeping parking lots and cleaning hotel rooms.  He is currently a member of their family business’s Board of Directors, Compensation and Continuity Committee, Business Growth Committee and is CEO of their hotel group, Abbey Inn Hotels.  His previous 19 years were spent managing the Best Western Plus Abbey Inn in beautiful St. George, Utah. When the Wittwer Family Council was created he served as Chairperson for the first three years and helped draft their original constitution. While primarily working in the tourism industry he has been very involved promoting the St. George and the Southwestern Utah Area and has chaired the St. George Area Travel Board and helped develop and is serving on the St. George Area Sports and Events Committee.  He is a Past-President of the St. George Lodging Association, currently serves as a Governor with Best Western and was recently appointed to serve on the Utah Office of Tourism Board.  His education includes a Business Management Degree with an emphasis in Marketing from Southern Utah University. 

Wittwer Inc. and Wittwer Management began in the 1920s when Lester and Vanola Wittwer started a fruit and vegetable business that included growing, harvesting and trucking. After a short stint in Las Vegas owning a small hotel during the 1950s, the family moved back to St. George, UT, where they built and operated a motel. With the help of their four sons they added hotels and purchased a furniture store. Today they own and operate several hotels in southwestern Utah and sell furniture, appliances and electronics from retail locations in Utah and Nevada. Each of the four brothers has six children, making 24 in the third generation, and the 4th generation is quickly growing. 

Mark Contreras

Chief Executive Officer, Calkins Media Inc.

Calkins Media Incorporated, established in 1937, is a family-owned integrated publishing, broadcasting and digital media company with a commitment to digital innovation and providing high-quality local news and information to the communities it serves. Calkins Media brands today include daily newspapers and digital sites in Pennsylvania and New Jersey, a weekly newspaper and digital site in South Dade, FL, and ABC television broadcast affiliates located in Huntsville, AL and Tallahassee and Sarasota, FL Corporate and digital headquarters are located in Bucks County, PA.

Mark Contreras has a long career in the local media industry. He has served as chief executive officer of Calkins Media Incorporated since 2011. Prior to Calkins, Contreras served as senior vice president/newspapers for The E.W. Scripps Company in Cincinnati, OH. He was also senior vice president of Pulitzer Inc. in St. Louis, MO; and worked for more than a decade with Capital Cities/ABC, Inc. in newspaper leadership roles in Pontiac, MI and Kansas City, MO. He served as president and publisher of The Times Leader in Wilkes-Barre, PA. 

Contreras served as chair of the Newspaper Association of America and the American Press Institute, and is a 1998 Henry Crown Fellow of the Aspen Institute. He is a board member of the National Hispanic Foundation for the Arts in Washington. He holds an A.B. in history from the University of Chicago and a MBA from Harvard Business School.

Noah Felton Rhodes III

Family Council Member, Pine Bluff Sand and Gravel

Noah Felton Rhodes III is a fourth-generation shareholder of the McGeorge Family of Companies and great grandson of the founder, Percy McGeorge. He was elected by the shareholders to the first family council in 2012 and currently serves in that capacity. His roles on the council have included drafting the initial charter, code of conduct and shareholder agreement for the company. Noah is a principal at Great Point Partners, a healthcare private equity firm with more than $800M of capital under management, and he currently serves on the board of directors for five companies. He graduated cum laude from Washington & Lee University with a B.S. in business administration and serves on the Young Alumni Council for the Williams School of Commerce, Economics, and Politics. He serves on Clemson University’s Behavioral Healthcare Board for Aiken Creek and autism programs and on the Greenwich Juvenile Review Board. He grew up in Little Rock, AR, and currently lives in Greenwich, CT, with his wife, Jordan and their two children, Scotland Jane and Noah IV.

Pine Bluff Sand & Gravel Company recently observed its 100th anniversary and is currently managed by third- and fourth-generation McGeorge family members. The company is a diversified aggregate and marine construction company with operations in crushed stone, sand dredging, hot-mix asphalt, ready-mix concrete and marine construction, including dredging, barge transportation, bank stabilization, rock structures, levees and marsh creation, restoration and protection. Its operations are performed in Arkansas, Louisiana, Texas, Kentucky, Tennessee, Alabama and Mississippi. The McGeorge family also owns a stake in McGeorge Contracting Co. Inc. and Cornerstone Farm and Gin Co. Inc., plus other entities associated with these two operations. McGeorge Contracting is a crushed stone producer, hot-mix asphalt producer, specialty miner and earthwork contractor in Arkansas. Its mining operations include bauxite and kaolin clay mining. Its earthwork operations include highway construction, industrial site development, mine reclamation and retail site development. Cornerstone Farm and Gin is a farming operation that primarily grows soybeans and corn in southeast Arkansas. Pine Bluff Sand & Gravel Co.’s main office is located in White Hall, AR.

Chris Harrison

Director of Operations, Irvine Marriott

Chris Harrison is the great-grandson of J.W. Marriott Sr., and grew up in the hospitality industry.  He lived in a hotel for two years at the Hong Kong JW Marriott where his father was the GM. His life abroad in China, Belgium, and India has shaped his education and passion for global tourism.

Mr. Harrison attended BYU where he earned his BA in English to fulfill his childhood dream of Sports Journalism. He joined Rising Star Outreach, a Non-Profit in Chennai India, with a hope of solving leprosy and helping those affected with it in third world countries. In Chennai he helped establish a school and English curriculum for the children of the Leprosy Affected. He later earned his MBA at the Harvard Business School where he was President of the Hospitality and Tourism Industry Club.

Mr. Harrison completed internships at various hotels and brands acquiring deep hotel operations training experience.

Additionally, he completed a Corporate and Development Finance program with Marriott International Headquarters, served as Regional Sales Manager at Marriott’s San Diego Regional Sales Office, Assistant Front Office Manager at Boston Marriott Copley Place, and recently as the Director of Rooms at the Irvine Marriott.

A key leader in Marriott’s Emerging Leaders Program, he leads a small group of high potential MBAs in deploying innovative concepts within hotels across the world. Currently he acts as the Director of Hotel Operations at the Irvine Marriott Hotel where he has opened the model Great Room on the West coast and continually incubates Marriott Proof of Concept initiatives for the brand. His goal is to better understand how to attract and retain both Millennial guests and associates throughout Marriott. He lives in Ladera Ranch, CA with his wife Jessie, and two young children. 

Ken Gorman

Vice President and Shareholder, Power Construction Company

Kenneth Gorman is a vice president and an owner of Power Construction Company and the chief executive officer of Power Wellness. Power Construction Company was founded in 1926 by Kenneth’s grandfather and is recognized today as one of the Midwest’s largest construction managers, with annual revenues exceeding $700 million. Kenneth founded Power Wellness in 1995, which focuses on the planning, development and management of wellness centers for hospitals and community colleges. Power Wellness now has 23 facilities nationwide and over 2,000 employees. Born and raised in the Chicago area, Kenneth attended North Shore Country Day School in Winnetka and graduated from the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania with a degree in finance and real estate development in 1985. Kenneth is a member on the Wings Leadership Board and Good Shepherd Hospital Development Council. Kenneth has served on numerous professional and charitable boards, including the Illinois Facilities Fund, Roosevelt School of Real Estate and Harper College Foundation. Kenneth has been married for 25 years, has three children and lives in North Barrington, IL.

Jack Ouellette

Executive Chairman, American Textile Company

Peter Latta

Chairman & CEO, A. Duie Pyle

Since joining A. Duie Pyle in 1985, Peter Latta has held a number of leadership roles, currently serving  as Chairman & CEO.  Over the past 33 years, he has been part of a leadership team that has guided the company’s growth from a Philadelphia area Less-Than-Truckload Common Carrier with annual revenue of $11 million to the Northeast’s leading asset-based supply chain service provider with 2018 revenues exceeding $400 million.  Today, Peter’s focus is on strategic planning, real estate matters, tax and financial planning, perpetuating the company culture, business continuity and succession planning.  He also works in conjunction with Pyle’s independent board of directors to ensure that A. Duie Pyle remains a privately owned family business by establishing the foundation for a successful transition to the next generation of ownership and family leadership.

Peter currently serves on the board of directors of a family owned $1.7 billion nationwide transportation business.

Prior to his position with A. Duie Pyle, Peter practiced law with McNees, Wallace & Nurick in Harrisburg, PA, and worked as a CPA for Greenawalt & Company and Asher & Asher in Philadelphia.  He holds a B.S. in Accounting from the University of Delaware, and earned his law degree from the Dickinson School of Law in 1983. 

Peter and his wife Robin have four children and three grandchildren. Interests outside of work include tending to his vegetable garden & fruit trees, raising beef cattle and pigs, and hunting wild pheasants and ruffed grouse with his German Shorthair Pointers.

James D. "Jamey" Power IV

Managing Director, Power Family Enterprises

Jamey Power is a former Senior Vice President and Strategic Advisor at J.D. Power and Associates. He left the firm in 2009. Today, he works on a number of new business activities, public speeches, and philanthropic interests for the Power family. He recently assisted his father on a new book that chronicles Dave’s 50 years in the automobile business entitled Power: How J.D. Power III Became the Auto Industry’s Adviser, Confessor, and Eyewitness to History (Fenwick Publishing, late 2013). Jamey is exploring work on a follow-up to SATISFACTION: How Every Great Company Listens to the Voice of the Customer, a best-selling book he co-authored in 2006. In addition, he advises selected organizations globally on quality, customer service, and marketing.

As the son of J.D. “Dave” Power III, founder of J.D. Power and Associates, Jamey literally grew up with the business. He, like the other children in the Power family, worked at the company in a variety of jobs throughout his early school years and into college. After college he worked both for a major advertising agency and then for General Motors. He joined J.D. Power and Associates in 1990.  Ultimately he became Senior Vice President for the firm’s International Division.

Today, Jamey manages several of the Power family’s community and philanthropic activities, which focus on education and the National Multiple Sclerosis Society. He also serves on the Board of Trustees at the University of San Diego from where he earned his BA degree in History in 1985.

Jamey and his family live in Westlake Village, CA. 

Doug Baumoel

Founder, ContinuityFBC

Doug Baumoel brings an extensive background in family business operations and executive management to his work with clients.  He served as a second-generation executive in his own family’s business and has held key executive positions in other family and non-family businesses.  He started businesses in both the US and Europe, and lived overseas for six years while founding and managing the European offices of his family’s business. He has applied more than 20 years of business experience in developing The Conflict Equation, a process for analyzing key variables of family business conflict. 

Doug’s expertise is in helping family businesses manage the inherent, and often extraordinary, conflicts of working or owning together, as well as to develop reliable succession plans and effective governance. 

Doug contributed the chapter on managing family business conflict to the legal reference, ‘Alternative Dispute Resolution Practice Guide’, published by Thomson West.  He is also the author of ‘The Stakeholder Map’, a core tool used by many family business consultants and educators to identify the roles, motivations and concerns of each stakeholder of the family enterprise.  He has also had several articles published in Family Business Magazine.  

Doug earned his MBA from the Wharton School and a BS in Engineering from Cornell University.  He is a dual certificate holder in both Family Business Advising and Family Wealth Advising from the Family Firm Institute and received his certificate in Civil Mediation from MCLE. He is a past president of the New England chapter of the Family Firm Institute and has been awarded status as an FFI Fellow for his commitment and contribution to the field of family business advising.  Doug was awarded Fellows status with the National Association of Corporate Directors and has completed the NACD Director Professionalism program.  Doug is also adjunct Professor of Family Business for the Endicott College MBA program.

Debbie Bing

President, CFAR

Debbie Bing, President, is a member of CFAR’s next generation of leaders. She heads up CFAR’s Boston office and is a member of CFAR’s board of directors. She also co-leads the firm’s Family and Owner-Led Business practice group. Debbie’s specialty is helping family businesses and philanthropies create leadership, strategic and continuity plans that bridge the interests of family, business (when an operating company is in the mix) and its owners, across generations. Debbie works with senior and next-generation family members to design governance structures and forums that engage family members, guided by shared goals for the entire family enterprise. Debbie views conflict as a useful starting point for a productive exchange about organizational priorities and performance. She helps business leaders and executive teams build collaborative approaches to their most pressing challenges, particularly when managing the multiple pressures of mission, performance, culture, competencies and competition.

She is an experienced speaker and has presented to many owner-led and family business audiences, including the Family Firm Institute, the Council on Foundations Philanthropy Conference and the International Society for the Psychoanalytic Study of Organizations (from which she won The Bridger Award in 2008 for her paper “Crowding Out the Space: The Weakness of a Strong Leader”). As a second-generation owner of CFAR, she draws on personal experience in working through the dilemmas of strategy and succession. Debbie holds a master of arts in international law and diplomacy from the Fletcher School at Tufts University.

Daisy Medici

Managing Director of Family Governance and Education, GenSpring

Daisy Medici joined GenSpring Family Offices in 2006 and is the managing director of governance and education. In addition to her primary role, Daisy manages GenSpring’s Women & Wealth Initiative, advises GenSpring’s executive committee and is a member of GenSpring’s leadership team. Daisy focuses much of her time on developing and administering GenSpring’s proprietary tools and processes designed to help families increase their chances of sustaining wealth over generations. Daisy leads a team of GenSpring professionals skilled in the non-investment components of these processes, who work alongside the firm’s advisers as they help client families identify wealth objectives and develop appropriate methods for governing their shared assets.

Daisy is a frequent speaker on the topic of family governance and all that effective governance involves. Among the many topics Daisy addresses are family communication, family conflict and recovering trust, non-investment risk management, the emotional impacts of wealth and the importance of family governance and family policies in sustaining wealth across generations. Daisy has been a contributing author for Families in Business and was recently published in Family Business Magazine.

Daisy brings to GenSpring Family Offices extensive experience in the family business space. Prior to joining the firm, Daisy was a partner at The Roseview Group, an investment banking and family business advisory firm, where she worked with client families and focused on new business development and marketing. Prior to Roseview, she was managing director of Genus Resources LLC, a business consultancy catering exclusively to the needs of family enterprises.

Daisy earned her graduate degree in communications management at Simmons College in Boston, MA. She has been an active member of the Family Firm Institute for many years and served twice as co-chair of FFI’s annual conference. Daisy currently co-chairs the program committee for FFI’s New England Chapter.

In addition to her career, Daisy’s main passion is her large, loving, gregarious family, who span the country from coast to coast. Daisy hails from a family who proudly spent five generations in the newspaper business.

Jonathan Flack

Partner and US Family Business Services Co-Leader

Rhona E. Vogel

CEO and Founder, Vogel Consulting

Robert H. Rock

President and CEO, MLR Holdings LLC

Bob Rock is president and CEO of MLR Holdings LLC, an investment company with holdings in publishing and information businesses, including the technology industry analyst firms The 451 Group and Tier1 Research and the Uptime Institute, a data center, consulting, research and education firm. MLR also owns and manages companies that publish journals, newspapers, online newsletters and databases, including Family Business and Directors & Boards. From 1989 to 2001, Dr. Rock was chairman and majority owner of Montgomery Newspapers, which published 17 weekly papers in the Philadelphia suburbs, including Main Line Life, The Ambler Gazette and The Times Chronicle, as well as a number of specialty publications, including Philadelphia Golfer, Parents Express, Art Matters, and Bucks County Town & Country Living, In June 2001, Montgomery Newspapers was sold to the Journal Register Company. From 1991 to 1995, Dr. Rock was also chairman and majority owner of IDD Enterprises, which published magazines and newsletters and provided online data for financial executives. IDD's publications included Mergers & Acquisitions, Investment Dealers' Digest and The LPO Reporter. Its databases included Tradeline and Gari Software. In 1994 IDD's M&A database was sold to Goldman, Sachs, and the remainder of the company was sold to Dow Jones & Company in 1995. Prior to joining MLR in 1998, Dr. Rock was the chairman and chief executive officer of the Hay Group, a management consulting firm with more than 90 offices in 27 countries specializing in compensation, benefits and human resources consulting. He received his B.A. (magna cum laude), MBA and DBA degrees from Harvard University. His book publications include The Chief Executive Officer (Heath 1977), Corporate Restructuring (McGraw-Hill 1991), and The Mergers & Acquisitions Handbook (McGraw-Hill 1993). Bob resides in Gladwyne, PA, with his wife, Caro, who is publisher of Family Business Magazine. They have two grown sons.

Mark Haranzo

Partner, Withers Bergman LLP

Mark Haranzo's practice at Withers Bergman is focused on domestic and international private client matters for affluent individuals and their families. He has more than twenty years experience in all aspects of estate and gift planning for individuals and families, many with complex multi-generational or multi-jurisdictional issues.  He regularly advises corporate and individual fiduciaries  and beneficiaries on all aspects of trust and estate administration.  He also represents clients in connection with disputes including Will and Trust contests, fiduciary appointments and contested accountings.

A former estate tax attorney with the Internal Revenue Service, Manhattan District, Mark has extensive experience handling tax audits of complex estates and substantial gifts.  He also counsels charitable organizations and advises individuals on philanthropic matters.

Scott A. Winget

Senior Managing Director,  Center for Wealth Impact, Ascent Private Capital Management

From the earliest years of his career, Scott has been a planner. Even at a young age, Scott was keeping a ledger to manage his own allowance money and to this day prides himself as the financial and social planner for trips and events with his friends and family.

Scott sees himself “organized and analytical” and takes great pride in helping families tackle complex financial situations with a mix of sophisticated planning and forensic sleuthing. “I find it very satisfying to take a detailed look at complex family arrangements and then to help families start to work together as a unit – setting aside old family dynamics and setting up new decision-making and wealth-transfer systems.”

Scott brings more than 20 years experience in the planning and financial-services industries to his position. Scott holds a J.D. from The Ohio State University Moritz College of Law and graduated cum laude from The Ohio State University with a B.S.B.A. degree in accounting and finance. He also has several years of previous experience as a CPA in public accounting. Scott is a frequent lecturer on wealth planning and has authored a number of white papers and articles on wealth-management topics.

Debbie S. Brown

Chairman of the Board, Laird Norton Company

Since June 2012, Debbie has served as Chairman of the Laird Norton Company Board. She also serves as Board Chairman for one of their subsidiary companies, TimberRiver Properties. Prior to being named Board Chairman, Debbie served as a director of the company from 1996 to 2007 and beginning in 2011, was elected to a second term.

During her prior term, she chaired their Compensation Committee and served as a director on their Winona Capital Management Board. Debbie also served on their Investment and Nominating Committees and recently, on the company’s 2010-12 Long Range Planning Committee. Prior to joining the board, Debbie played a leadership role in the planning and implementation of the Family’s Children’s Program, affectionately known as “Camp Three Tree.”

Outside of the family company, in 1990, Debbie founded and served as CEO of Pacific Preschools, Inc., a network of private, high quality, work-site child care programs. In 1997, she led the sale of the company to Bright Horizons, the premier provider of employer-sponsored child care, early education, and work/life solutions and, later that same year, participated in their IPO. In addition to her leadership role at LNC, Debbie continues to work for Bright Horizons as Vice President of Regional Development.

From 1990- 2007, Debbie also served as a founding director and board member of Child Care Resources, a non-profit agency that works with families and communities to ensure that all children have access to high quality child care and early education.

Debbie and her husband Henry live in Seattle, Washington. They enjoy kayaking, skiing and hiking and most recently, spoiling their four grandchildren ages infant through age 3.

In 1855, William Laird joined forces with his cousins James and Matthew Norton as partners in a frontier lumber operation. A family company was born. Now seven generations and over 400 members later, the Laird Norton family continues to promote intellectual growth, responsible investing and business experience in order to ensure excellence for generations to come. 

Lloyd E. Shefsky

Founder and Co-Director, Center for Family Enterprises, Kellogg School of Management

Lloyd Shefsky is Clinical Professor of Entrepreneurship, Founder and Co-director of the Center for Family Enterprises and Co-Founder of the Center for Executive Women at the Kellogg School of Management. Professor Shefsky has taught courses, lectured and spoken in China, Japan, Thailand, Canada, Israel and throughout the United States.

He has written professional articles on family business, entrepreneurship, and other related topics, and is the author of Entrepreneurs Are Made Not Born, published by McGraw-Hill and translated into seven languages.

Lloyd is a consultant, coach, mentor and advisor to family businesses and public companies controlled by families on matters including: establishing and improving corporate governance; developing and implementing succession of leadership, ownership, and voting power; creating fair bases and techniques for hiring and compensating family members; facilitating and encouraging enterprising activities within family enterprises; instituting philanthropic efforts and
selecting the most appropriate vehicles; and introducing courses, programs and events to educate, and develop relationships among family members. In addition, Professor Shefsky has co-founded several businesses and not-for-profit organizations.

Lloyd is also a coach, consultant and mentor to entrepreneurs. Over the years he has worked with hundreds of entrepreneurs, often from their earliest stages through expansions, public offerings, sales of the businesses, and in some cases succession to one or two additional generations of the founders' families.

Shefsky has received honors, including the 1995 Entrepreneur of the Year Award for his support of entrepreneurship from Ernst & Young and Merrill Lynch, the 2002 Civil Rights Award from the Anti-Defamation League, and the 1992 Award of Excellence from the Sports Lawyers Association.

Lloyd founded and is now Of Counsel to the Chicago law firm, Shefsky & Froelich Ltd. He received his JD from The Law School at the University of Chicago and is also a CPA.

Lloyd has a new book coming out this summer from McGraw-Hill: "INVENT, REINVENT, THRIVE: The Keys to Success for Any Start-Up, Entrepreneur or Family Business."

Andrew D. Pitcairn

Pitcairn Family Council Chair

Andrew Pitcairn, John’s Pitcairn’s great grandson, is a 4th generation member of the Harold Pitcairn Family line and is the current Pitcairn Family Council Chair. The Pitcairn Family Council was one of the first in the nation, established in 1982 as a platform for identifying family talent, educating family members about the operating business, identifying and implementing solutions for family connectedness and interfacing directors, management and owners, among other duties. Growing up in the small suburban town of Bryn Athyn and attending the community Swedenborg faith based school gave Andrew a spiritual sense that we are all here for a greater purpose and that to live life helping others was the highest calling one could achieve.  

After studying psychology at Temple University, Andrew entered the world as a small business owner and from 1999-2008 owned and operated two small businesses in the Philadelphia area. This proved to be invaluable in gathering real world experience and setting the path for the next chapter in his life.

As a Pitcairn Family member Andrew has spoken at many events, including Transitions, South Eastern Family Office Forum, Hamptons Family Office, New York State Society of Certified Public Accountants, Opal Financial, Delaware Family Business Center and the Private Asset Management Group.

In 2009 Andrew moved from a Family Council member to the Co-Chair position, and after one year he took over as Chair of the Board. In 2010 he became a committee advisory member of Pitcairn's Capital Committee, a member of the Governance Committee as well as Chair of the Nominating Committee. Recently Andrew completed a course from Cannon Financial for qualification to sit as Co-Trustee with Pitcairn Trust Company on Family Trusts. Andrew sits on the Board of Directors for Pitcairn as well as Chairman of the Board for LighTouch Medical.

Anna Nichols

Director of Communications, Altair Advisers LLC

Anna has more than 12 years’ experience of marketing, research and educational programming in the family wealth industry. Prior to joining Altair Advisers, she was the Managing Director for Content at Family Office Exchange (FOX), a membership organization for ultra-high net worth families and their advisors. Anna has authored multiple studies, articles and whitepapers and is a well-known writer and speaker on a wide range of generational wealth issues. Her work has been published in the Journal of Trusts and Estates, Private Wealth Management, Family Business, and SRR magazines among other publications. In addition she has presented at numerous wealth management industry conferences, including the Schwab IMPACT Conference, the Family Firm Institute (FFI) International Conference, the Southeastern Family Office Forum and the Family Business Magazine Transitions Conference. 

Previous to her work at FOX, Anna held management positions with the New York City Bar Association, and the YWCA of New York City. Anna came to Chicago as a consultant for the real property probate and trust section of the American Bar Association. 

Anna received a bachelor’s degree from Guilford College and an MBA from Fordham University. She lives in Evanston, IL with her husband and two children.

Stephanie Brun de Pontet, PhD

Senior Consultant, Family Business Consulting Group

Stephanie Brun de Pontet, Ph.D., is a senior consultant of The Family Business Consulting Group. She specializes in advising family enterprises facing important transitions.  She has extensive experience working with sibling teams, and developing training programs to educate next generation family members.

A recognized expert on the topic of succession, Stephanie frequently collaborates with clients on key aspects of this process, such as establishing succession plans, drafting needed policies and governance structures, and building a framework for next-generation collaborations.  Her work is driven by knowledge and experience from the fields of management, entrepreneurship and psychology.

In addition to her consulting work, Stephanie co-authored Building a Successful Business Board and Siblings and the Family Business two well-regarded, practical books published by Palgrave.  A regular contributor to thought leadership in the field, Stephanie is also the Executive Editor of the Family Business Advisor.

Fluent in English and French, Stephanie has lived in Atlanta since 2005. Building on her passion for helping families, Stephanie serves on the Board of Kate’s Club, an Atlanta non-profit whose mission is to empower children and teens after the loss of a parent or a sibling.

Jeff J. Saccacio

Partner, PwC

Jeff Saccacio brings over 30 years of experience to PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP as the tax practice leader for its Southern California private client services, as well as its personal financial services practices. Jeff returns to PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP from the financial services industry where he served as Managing Director and Head of Wealth Planning for Deutsche Bank Private Wealth Management for the Western United States. Before joining Deutsche Bank, he served as a Managing Director and Senior Wealth Strategist providing services for The Citigroup Private Bank and Trust Company for the West Coast, Pacific Northwest and Manhattan offices.

Jeff specializes in planning for high-net worth individuals, entrepreneurs, and closely held businesses, and he has extensive experience in estate and trust planning. Jeff is widely published and quoted in financial journals such as Fortune, Bloomberg Wealth Manager, Financial Planning Magazine, Investment Advisor, and Benefits & Compensation Solutions. He has spoken before various professional societies, bar associations, and civic groups, speaking before the AICPA Conference on Strategies for High Net Worth Individuals, AICPA Advanced Estate Planning Conference and University of Miami Philip E. Heckerling Institute on Estate Planning.

He hosted a popular financial and tax planning radio show, "Talkin' $ with Jeff Saccacio," for over 8 years in Los Angeles, has served as a financial expert and consultant for various print and electronic media, and has been named one of the "Best Financial Advisors" in the country by Worth Magazine for 10 years. Jeff is a member of the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants and earned from this institute his Personal Financial Specialist (PFS) designation. He holds a BBA in accounting from the University of Notre Dame and a Chartered Financial Consultant (ChFC) designation from the American College. He is a member of The Society of Trust and Estate Practitioners - USA which has granted him its Trust and Estate Practitioner (TEP) designation.

He holds a third degree black belt in American Tae Kwon Do. Jeff is a past President and member of the Board of the Alzheimer's Association of Orange County, where he served for over 10 years. He is also a former member of the Board of Trustees of the Orange County Museum of Art.

Arne Boudewyn

Head of Family Dynamics and Education, Abbot Downing

Arne Boudewyn is Head of Family Dynamics and Education, a national practice of PhD-level consultants who collaborate closely with clients on strategies for addressing the complex personal, familial and financial dilemmas that can accompany significant wealth and that often determine its impact on current and future generations. The work of this group includes helping clients to integrate core values into wealth planning and decision making, translate vision and mission statements into actionable solutions, implement successful family communication strategies and establish effective family governance structures and processes.  Comprehensive education is a key component of this work as is the design and delivery of family meetings.  A significant emphasis is placed on engaging and preparing next generation family members for not only the wealth, roles and responsibilities they may inherit, but also various business, family and community roles they may wish to inhabit.

Arne has been with Wells Fargo – Abbot Downing’s parent company – since 2003 and has spent the better part of his career collaborating with executive leaders, entrepreneurs, and both families and individuals on strategies for enhancing and leveraging human, intellectual and social capital.

Arne earned a doctorate degree in psychology from the University of Massachusetts and completed his clinical training at the University of California San Francisco and Harvard Medical School.

Arne is a member of the Family Office Exchange (FOX) and the Society of Trust and Estate Practitioners (STEP); a recent speaker at FOX, STEP, Tiger 21 and the Institute for Private Investors; and has been quoted in the Wall Street Journal, NXG Magazine and Barron’s. He currently sits on the board of directors for Meals on Wheels  of San Francisco.

Nancy Drozdow

Principal and Co-Founder, CFAR

Bryant W. Seaman III

Managing Director and Head of Private Asset Advisory Services, Bessemer Trust

Mr. Seaman is a Managing Director responsible for Bessemer's Private Asset Advisory Group, which includes Family Company Advisory, Real Estate Management and Advisory, Oil & Gas Advisory and Property and Casualty Insurance. Mr. Seaman also works closely with Legacy Planning to manage the delivery of Bessemer's expertise to family businesses held in trust.

While at Bessemer, Mr. Seaman served for several years on the Board of Directors of GeoResources, Inc. (NASDAQ: "GEOI"), an independent oil and gas company, where he was Chairman of the Compensation Committee and a member of the Nominating and Governance Committee. He also serves on the Boards of several private companies owned or controlled by Bessemer's clients.

Prior to joining Bessemer in 2005, Mr. Seaman was Head of International and a member of the Management Committee at the NYSE, Head of Large Cap Telecom and Media Investment Banking at Deutsche Banc Alex. Brown and Co-head of Global Corporate Finance at CSFB. He started his career practicing corporate and securities law at Sullivan & Cromwell.

Mr. Seaman earned an A.B. degree in Political Science with Distinction from Stanford University, and J.D. and M.B.A. degrees from Columbia University, where he was a Harlan Fiske Stone Scholar. He has been a member of the New York State Bar, the NASD International Advisory Committee and the National Committee for US-China Relations.

Jim Ethier

Chairman of the Board, Bush Brothers & Company

Jim Ethier is a third generation member of the Bush family. "BUSH'S BEST" is the nation's leading brand of bean products. Founded in 1908 by Andrew Jackson Bush, the company is headquartered in Knoxville, Tennessee and has production locations in Chestnut Hill, Tennessee and Augusta, Wisconsin.

Jim is Chairman of the Board of Bush Brothers & Company after having served as Chairman & CEO from 2003 to 2009, and President and COO from 1992 to 2003. Prior to that Jim served as CFO. He has been with the company for 42 years.

Jim has served the food industry as a Board member of the Grocery Manufacturers Association and Board member and Chairman of the Food Products Association. He received the Guard Society Honorary Life Member Award for 2000 which recognizes individuals for their years of service and their contribution to the food industry. In 2005 he received the Distinguished Leadership Award from the Food Products Association.

Jim currently serves on the board of the American Family Business Institute. He also serves as Board member for a number of businesses, educational and non-profit organizations.

Jim received his undergraduate degree from Georgetown University and an MBA from the Kellogg School at Northwestern University.

Jim and his wife, Melinda, live in Knoxville. He has three daughters, one son, and one grandson. In addition to civic activities, Jim enjoys golf and travel.

Sylvia Shepard

Former Chair and Founder, Smith Family Council, Menasha Corporation

Sylvia Shepard is a fifth generation member of the Smith Family, which has owned Menasha Corporation (a Wisconsin-based manufacturing company) for 160 years. While serving on the Menasha Corporation Foundation board she was introduced to the idea of family governance. Over the past ten years Sylvia has been the driving force behind the development of family governance within the Smith Family, beginning with the founding of a family council seven years ago.

She is the founder and former chair of the Smith Family Council. Sylvia recently completed her MBA from Babson where she studied family entrepreneurship with Tim Habbershon, and in October, was awarded her certification as a family business advisor from the Family Firm Institute.

Sylvia also holds a Masters in Psychiatric Occupational Therapy from Columbia University and a BA from Smith College. She spent 25 years in college textbook publishing as an editor at McGraw-Hill and then in a freelance capacity. She is the executive director of the Jane and Tad Shepard Family Foundation.

Philip A. Clemens

Retired Chairman and CEO, The Clemens Family Corporation

Mr. Clemens has spent his entire working career with the family business. He began working in the legacy business, Hatfield Quality Meats, on a part time basis while going to school. He began his full-time career in 1967 while attending Peirce College. His career has allowed him to work in all areas of the business. He began on the clean-up crew and worked his way to be the CEO and President of the Company. He began both the Data Processing and Human Resource Departments. He spent 20 years of his career in Human Resources and 7 years as CEO and President of the legacy business.

In 2000 he became Chairman and CEO of The Clemens Family Corporation - a holding company. He currently serves as the CEO of all of the businesses in the Clemens Food Group: Hatfield Quality Meats, Country View Family Farms, PV Transportation, and CFC Logistics. He also serves as the CEO of Clemens Development which is the real estate arm of the Corporation with several holdings including Hatfield Pointe and Clemens Business Center.

Mr. Clemens received the American Meat Institute's Industry Advancement Award, the highest award given in the meat industry; The Edward C. Jones award for community service; the Knowlton Award for innovation in the meat industry; Pride of Peirce for outstand alumni of Peirce College; Pillar of the Community from Harleysville Senior Center; Philadelphia Area Sunday School Association's Superintendent of the Year; and the Research Institute of America for the outstanding management suggestion of the year.

Mr. Clemens is active in his community and other organizations. He serves as the Chairman of the Board of Trustees of Lancaster Bible College; former Chairman and member of the Executive Committee of the American Meat Institute; Board member and Compensation Chair of Delaware Valley Wholesale Floral Group, Sewell, N.J.; Barron Collier Partnership, Naples, FL.; Board member of Ambassador Foundation; Center for Ministry Advancement; Three Springs Ministries; and North Penn United Way.

Mr. Clemens has been married to Linda for 40 year and has 3 adult children - Julie who works in the family business; Beth, married to Paul College and serving as a missionary in Indonesia; and Ruth, married to Brett Harris and is a school teacher in North Carolina. He also has 5 grandsons. His hobbies are hunting and fishing.

Timothy B. Hussey

President and CEO, Hussey Seating Company

Tim Hussey, President and Chief Executive Officer of Hussey Seating Company, joined Hussey in 1982. After holding positions in manufacturing, sales and operations, he was named President in 1995, and was named President and CEO the following year.

Tim received his bachelor’s degree from Colby College in 1978, and his master’s of business administration from Cornell University in 1982. 

Tim currently serves as a Board member of Educate Maine and the Davis Foundation. He has previously served on the Boards of Colby College, Maine Economic Growth Council, Maine Development Foundation and RSU 21 School Board. He is a member of the World Presidents Organization.

Tim lives in Kennebunk, Maine with his wife Marcia, and they have three adult children.

Founded in 1835, Hussey Seating Company is one of the oldest family-owned business in Maine, and currently managed by the 6th generation of the Hussey family.  Hussey is a world leader in developing and manufacturing seating solutions, and their full line of top quality spectator seating products includes fixed plastic, padded and upholstered chairs, telescopic platforms and telescopic gym seats.  Hussey serves the education and sports markets including installations in stadiums, arenas, gymnasiums, auditoriums, convention centers, and performing arts venues.  Hussey products can be found in more than 75 countries and are available from more than 60 dealers, some of which have been offering Hussey products for more than 50 years.

Doug Baumoel

Founder/President, Continuity Family Business Consulting

Doug Baumoel brings an extensive background in family business operations and executive management to his work with clients.  He served as a second-generation executive in his own family’s business and has held key executive positions in other family and non-family businesses.  He started businesses in both the US and Europe, and lived overseas for six years while founding and managing the European offices of his family’s business. He has applied more than 20 years of business experience in developing The Conflict Equation, a process for analyzing key variables of family business conflict. 

Doug’s expertise is in helping family businesses manage the inherent, and often extraordinary, conflicts of working or owning together, as well as to develop reliable succession plans and effective governance. 

Doug contributed the chapter on managing family business conflict to the legal reference, ‘Alternative Dispute Resolution Practice Guide’, published by Thomson West.  He is also the author of ‘The Stakeholder Map’, a core tool used by many family business consultants and educators to identify the roles, motivations and concerns of each stakeholder of the family enterprise.  He has also had several articles published in Family Business Magazine.  

Doug earned his MBA from the Wharton School and a BS in Engineering from Cornell University.  He is a dual certificate holder in both Family Business Advising and Family Wealth Advising from the Family Firm Institute and received his certificate in Civil Mediation from MCLE. He is a past president of the New England chapter of the Family Firm Institute and has been awarded status as an FFI Fellow for his commitment and contribution to the field of family business advising.  Doug was awarded Fellows status with the National Association of Corporate Directors and has completed the NACD Director Professionalism program.  Doug is also adjunct Professor of Family Business for the Endicott College MBA program.

Debbie Bing

Principal, CFAR

Debbie Bing is a member of CFAR’s next generation of leaders. She heads up CFAR’s Boston office and is a member of CFAR’s Board of Directors. She also co-leads the firm’s Family and Owner-Led Business practice group. Debbie’s specialty is helping family businesses and philanthropies create leadership, strategic, and continuity plans that bridge the interests of family, business (when an operating company is in the mix), and its owners, across generations. Debbie works with senior and next-generation family members to design governance structures and forums that engage family members, guided by shared goals for the entire family enterprise. Debbie views conflict as a useful starting point for a productive exchange about organizational priorities and performance. She helps business leaders and executive teams build collaborative approaches to their most pressing challenges, particularly when managing the multiple pressures of mission, performance, culture, competencies, and competition.

She is an experienced speaker and has presented to many owner-led and family business audiences, including the Family Firm Institute, the Council on Foundations Philanthropy Conference, and the International Society for the Psychoanalytic Study of Organizations (from which she won The Bridger Award in 2008 for her paper “Crowding Out the Space: The Weakness of a Strong Leader”). As a second-generation owner of CFAR, she draws on personal experience in working through the dilemmas of strategy and succession. Debbie holds a Master of Arts in International Law and Diplomacy from the Fletcher School at Tufts University.

Jonathan Flack

Partner, US Family Business Services Leader, PwC

Rhona E. Vogel

CEO and Founder, Vogel Consulting

Rhona Vogel is the CEO and Founder of Vogel Consulting Group. While working in public accounting, Rhona recognized an unfulfilled need in the wealth management industry. Her clients, affluent individuals and business owners, desired a depth of integrated service in tax and estate planning, as well as unbiased investment advice. As a result, she formed Vogel Consulting – an independent multi‐family office.

Jordyn Rowntree

Rowntree Enterprises

Jordyn Rowntree is currently the Digital Experience and Marketing Intern at Minto Group Inc., in Toronto, Ontario. She received her Bachelor of Arts Honours diploma from Queen's University in the spring of 2015; majoring in Media Cultural Studies. Throughout her time at Queen's University, Jordyn was a part of the Women's Rugby Team, which won the Ontario Championship in 2013. Rugby was a significant aspect of Jordyn's life, as she was a part of the Championship Canadian Under 20 Nations Cup Team in England in 2012, and Captained the Senior Women's Ontario Team in 2014. Since graduating and taking a leave from rugby, Jordyn has been traveling the world, most recently returning home from Israel, London, Ireland, and Scotland. Jordyn is an avid reader, and enjoys the works of Ken Follett, Khaled Hosseini and Lisa Genova. 

In the future, Jordyn will continue her schooling to obtain a Marketing Management certification, and enter the the world of financial investment. Jordyn is bringing a new insights and opportunities to her family's business, like most of their third generations, by expanding the areas of interest.