Transitions West 2018
The conference for family businesses by family businesses
Taking the Business From the Founder to the Future
Transitions West 2018 will address:
- Pivotal Moments for the Family Business
- Family: More Complicated Than It Seems
- Evolution of the Family Council
- Making an Impact as a NextGen
- Building the Family Legacy in a Disruptive World
- Starting Those Difficult Conversations
- Shareholder Buyouts
- Investing Outside the Family Business
- Challenges of G4 and Beyond
Featured Speakers
Register Today!
The cost to attend is listed below. Members of families who have previously attended a Transitions conference receive a 10% discount on their cost of attendance. Your registration also includes a one-year subscription to Family Business Magazine or a one-year extension to your current subscription.
All attendees will be verified prior to acceptance of registration. A family company's advisers may attend only if accompanied by one or more family company members. Other family company advisers may contact Mike Bachman at (215) 405-6070 for information on attending.
All registrants receive a free one year subscription to Family Business Magazine ($79 value), or a one-year extension to their current subscription. Subscriptions include free online access to the magazine's extensive online archive of articles. Registration fees do not include hotel or travel expenses.
Program
WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 7
THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 8
- Resolving Performance Problems with Family Members: Sue Bingham and Annie Snowbarger, HPWP Group
- The Purpose and Development of Key Family Documents: Nancy Drozdow, Founder/Principal, and Debbie Bing, President, CFAR
- Crossing the Chasm: Managing Risk Through Critical Transitions: Jonathan Crystal, CFO, Crystal & Co.
- Creating a Life Balance Sheet: Balancing Your Physical and Intangible Family Business Assets: Thomas J. Frank, Jr., Executive Vice President, Whittier Trust
- Transformation of the Family Enterprise: How Families Are Using Tax Reform as a Catalyst to Implement Business and Enterprise Change: Christina Figueroa, Personal Financial Services Tax Director, PwC
- Leadership Transitions and the Family Legacy: Janice DiPietro, Founder and CEO, Exceptional Leaders International
- Respectfully Addressing Elder Generation Transitions: Aggie Johnson, Founder and CEO, Generations to Generations LLC
- Engaging and Empowering the Next Generation: Scott A. Winget, Senior Managing Director of Family Enterprise Consulting, and Sisi Tran, Wealth Strategist, Cresset Family Office
- Starting Those Difficult Conversations: Jeff Strese, Chief Talent and Learning Officer, and Micahl Wester, Director, Client Advisory Team, Tolleson Wealth Management
- The Family Bank: Funding New Ventures by Family Members: Karen Reynolds Sharkey, National Business Owner Strategy Executive, and Holly Swan, Family Office National Practice Executive, U.S. Trust
- Challenges of G4 and Beyond: Joshua Nacht, Consultant, The Family Business Consulting Group
FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 9
About Conference
Transitions West 2018 is sponsored by Family Business Magazine, and is the only conference created for family companies, by family companies.
- Smaller group sessions to facilitate discussion.
- Topic-based expert briefings to allow you and your family members to drill down more deeply into areas of specific interest or need.
- Some families bring family members who do not attend the conference itself. We've created the opportunity for these families to schedule a working family meeting prior to and after the conference, with a professional facilitator. (Limited space available, please contact Justine Wood at 703-850-5497 for details). Please note: our hotel room block allows families to book rooms before and after the conference, at our group rate, to extend the duration and value of your visit.
- Family Business Basics--a pre-conference session focused on key family business terms and ideas, and on how to get the most out of the conference itself.
- Speakers from family companies: Our focus is on speakers from family enterprises, sharing real-life problems and solutions.
- Intimate, open environment: Limited attendance, and a private "safe harbor" environment in which to openly share challenges and opportunities with other families.
- Collaborative discussions: Opportunities to work through family issues via guided discussions.
- No-Sell environment: Conference sponsors understand and commit to participating as thought leaders and experts, and are restricted from actively selling their products and services.
- Special content and sessions for next-generation and married-in family members
- Networking with families like yours: Hosted networking, opening reception, meals, breaks and workshops are all designed to allow you to meet many family enterprise attendees.
- Family focus: Brought to you by family-owned Family Business Magazine. We use family-owned or family-controlled hotels, transportation services, restaurants and service providers whenever possible. We believe in, and invest in, America's family businesses.
- Hosted family meetings: For attending families who want to meet before and after the conference, professionally facilitated. Limited availability.
Who Should Attend
Attendance at this conference is strictly limited to owners, shareholders, family members, in-laws and executives of 75 family businesses/enterprises. The conference is designed to facilitate conversation on important family issues among generations. There is special programming for family business members aged 15-29, and for those who have married-in to the family business.
The Transitions conference is for family companies and family offices of all sizes. Approximately one third of attendees represent companies with revenues of under $25 million, one third of attendees have revenues of between $26 million and $300 million; and one third have revenues of over $300 million. And approximately a third of attendees are in the third generation or less; a third were in generations 4 and 5; and third were part of companies more than 6 generations old. What all attendees share is a desire to see their family enterprise grow successfully through generational transitions.
68% of attendees at Transitions are coming to the conference for the first time; 100% of attendees at our last conference say they'll attend again, and that they'd recommend the conference to other family members.
NOTE: All attendees will be vetted to ensure that they are family company leaders, members or shareholders. This event is only for family-run companies or enterprises. Senior advisers to family companies may attend ONLY with the family company they represent.
For further information, contact conference director David Shaw at (301) 963-6162 or email dshaw@familybusinessmagazine.com.
Registration
Registration fees do not include hotel or travel expenses. Due to the customization of the conference seating and session assignments, registrations need to be submitted at least one week prior to the start of the conference. On-site registration is not available.
Attire
The dress code for the conference is business casual to casual. Meeting room temperatures will vary, so please bring and wear the appropriate layers of clothing to ensure your personal comfort.
Propose a Topic or Speaker
Contact Peter Begalla, Conference and Education Director, (386) 785-7856 or email pbegalla@familybusinessmagazine.com. Please note that the conference extends a complimentary registration for conference speakers. In addition, conference speakers are featured in Family Business and Directors & Boards magazines and websites. Speakers are responsible for their own expenses, to include hotel, meals, and travel. Proposals promoting company products or services will not be considered.
Advisers and Sponsors
If your company provides services to family businesses, please considering sponsoring the conference. Access to Transitions conference attendees—by attending the conference, a tabletop exhibit and/or by participating as a moderator/panelist is only available to conference sponsors. Alternatively, if you are an adviser to family businesses, you may register to attend the conference with a family member for a business you advise. Contact Mike Bachman at (215) 405-6070, or email mike.bachman@familybusinessmagazine.com.
Student Registration
Students who are interested in attending the conference should apply through the standard attendee registration process (submit a registration form for consideration). Complimentary student registrations are not available.
Press
Press passes are not available for this conference.
What Attendees Say About Transitions
Confirmed Speakers
Morrie Stevens Sr.
Chairman and CEO, Stevens Worldwide Van Lines
Morrie began working for Stevens Van Lines in 1970 as a staff accountant after working seven summers on the trucks during high school and college. He passed the Michigan CPA exam in 1971 and served in the accounting department until 1974 when he was promoted to controller. In 1977, Morrie was promoted to president. In 2007, he became chairman of the board and CEO.
Morrie served as a board member of the Michigan Movers & Warehousemen’s Association 1978-1990, and was president 1984-1985. He was the first recipient of the Michigan Movers & Warehousemen’s Association Mover of the Year Award.
Morrie joined the board of directors of the American Moving and Storage Association in 1998, after the merger of the National Moving and Storage Association and the American Movers Conference, and served as treasurer in 1998, vice chairman 1998-2000, and was chairman 2001-2002. Morrie was honored by AMSA and received the Moving Institute’s Distinguished Service Award in 2005 for life time achievement in the industry. Previously, Morrie served on the board of the National Moving and Storage Association, for 15 years, and was its chairman 1992–1994.
Morrie is an active hunter conservationist, and is a member of Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation, Ducks Unlimited, Ruffed Grouse Society, National Wild Turkey Federation, Quality Deer Management, Pheasants Forever, Trout Unlimited, and has been a regular member of Boone and Crockett Club since 2004. At Boone and Crockett, he has served as a board member, vice president of administration, executive VP of conservation, executive VP of administration and president 2015–2016.
Morrie and his wife, Julie Ann Burnes, received the Saginaw Valley State University Distinguished Service Award in 2005. They have four children and 9 grandchildren.
Allison Parks
Family Council Committee Chairman, Laird Norton
A fifth-generation family member, Allison Parks began serving as Laird Norton Company’s Family President in August 2014 after a previous career in teaching and school administration. Allison is a director on the board of Laird Norton Company and Chairman of the Family Council Committee. She is responsible for overseeing the annual Family Summit and facilitating communication among over 400 Laird Norton family members. Allison also focuses on developing family programs with an emphasis on education and responsible company stewardship.
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.
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.
Kathy Munson
Family Council Chair, Crescent Electric Supply
Katy Wilder Schaaf
Director of Development and Education, E. Ritter & Company
John R. Taylor III
Chairman of the Board, Olmsted-Kirk Paper Company
Summer Worden
President, Port Blakely Family Council
Summer Worden is the president of the Port Blakely Family Council. Summer’s education accomplishments include the NSA Cryptologic School, graduate degrees in strategic intelligence & digital forensics, and an M.B.A. from Rice University. Summer currently serves on the Emerging Leaders Committee at the Baker Institute for Public Policy, a think tank led by former Secretary of State James A. Baker. She shares her passion for inspiring youth through advocating various education programs promoting leadership development and entrepreneurship for K-12 graders and the Port Blakely Eddy Family Assembly Youth.
Maggie Bender-Johnson
President, Warren G. Bender Company
Alex Jackson Berkley
Assistant Sales Manager, Frieda's Specialty Produce
Christie Lloyd Ernst
Vice President of Property Management, Lloyd Companies
Chad Quist
Ernie Patterson
VP, Director of Family Shareholder Relations, Brown-Forman
Campbell Brown
President and Managing Director, Old Forester, Brown-Forman
Campbell Brown has been President and Managing Director of Old Forester, Brown-Forman's founding bourbon brand, since 2015. A 22-year employee of the Company, he previously served Brown-Forman in the emerging markets of India, the Philippines, and Turkey, and most recently led the Company’s wine and spirits portfolio in Canada and the Midwest region of the U.S. He is a founding member of the Brown-Forman/Brown Family Shareholders Committee.
Brown-Forman is a diversified producer of fine quality consumer products. It was founded in 1870 by George Garvin Brown in Louisville, KY, U.S. His original brand, Old Forester Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whisky, was America's first bottled bourbon and remains one of Brown-Forman's finest brands today.
Brown-Forman employs 4,120 people worldwide with about 1,000 located in Louisville. Brown-Forman, one of the largest American-owned spirits and wine companies and among the top 10 largest global spirits companies, sells its brands in more than 135 countries and has offices in cities across the globe. In all, Brown-Forman has more than 25 brands in its portfolio of wines and spirits.
Brown has been with the company since 1994 and spent his early years developing the company's spirits portfolio in India, the Philippines and Turkey. Over the four-year period of 2001-2005, he held positions as both the Southern Comfort U.S. Brand Manager and Jack Daniel's U.S. Brand Manager. Prior to his current role as Vice President, Director Midwest Division and Canada, Brown served as Vice President, Director, Southern Comfort Americas. Brown also had territorial responsibility for a number of key East coast markets, working with one of the company's key distributor partners, Charmer Sunbelt.
Brown is a member of the Board of Directors for Republic Bank and Trust and The James Graham Brown Cancer Center.
He earned degrees from Rollins College and the University of Miami.
Kristin Anthony
Director of E-Commerce and Digital, Anthony’s Ladies Apparel
A fourth generation family member, Kristin Anthony is the Director of E-Commerce and Digital of Anthony’s Ladies Apparel, a women’s retailing company founded in 1895 in West Palm Beach, FL. Kristin joined the family business in 2014 at the request to see if she could build an online store to elongate the shopping season that defines South Florida. In her first year running the website, she was able to triple the annual sales projections and continues to grow the E-Commerce revenue at over 50% year over year.
Kristin earned her B.S. in International Business from the University of Delaware and after college moved to South Africa for a year to work for an HIV/AIDS non-profit. In the years prior to joining Anthony’s, Kristin worked in the youth travel industry leading and managing educational programs for middle school, high school and college students around the world.
When Kristin is not working, you can find her renovating houses in South Florida with her husband or traveling. Kristin serves as the President of the Board for the Broadreach Foundation which provides scholarships to students to study abroad and continues to run a travel blog, which she started in 2009.
Nicole Vermeer
Chad Hardaway
Shareholder and Family Council Committee Chair, Canal Insurance Co.
Chad Hardaway is a shareholder and family council committee chair and liaison with Canal Insurance Company. He co-chairs the family’s philanthropy committee, which is responsible for seeking out and funding philanthropic investment opportunities for the 4th generation.
Canal Insurance Company was founded in 1939 by William R. Timmons, Sr. after he saw a bright future for long haul trucking operators during the Great Depression. Timmons grew the company from the ground up until his untimely death in 1948. The company forged ahead with the help of internal management and the leadership of the family’s second generation. By 1953, Canal had expanded business to nine Southern States. Towards the end of the 1950’s, Canal was operating in 27 states, writing $4.7 million in premium and had a surplus over $1 million. Canal continued
Aside from his work with Canal, Chad Hardaway is Associate Director of the University of South Carolina (USC) Office of Economic Engagement and the Director of the Technology Commercialization Office. As Associate Director of the USC Office of Economic Engagement, Chad works to align USC assets with outside corporate and government partners. As Director of the USC Office of Technology Commercialization, Chad oversees a portfolio of over 500 university technologies and is responsible for moving those technologies out of the laboratory and into the marketplace. Chad also works with University Technology Startups and South Carolina Technology Companies to form partnerships, find capital, explore research opportunities, develop new markets, and ultimately move products into the hands of consumers. Prior to joining the University of South Carolina in 2005, Chad was a Process Engineer with Eastman Chemical Company. These past positions and experiences provide a broad understanding of the early stage technology development cycle and how it can connect with existing corporate market and technology development. Chad has a BS in Chemical Engineering, MBA, and a Juris Doctor all from the University of South Carolina.
Jenny Dinnen
President of Sales & Marketing, MacKenzie Corporation
Katie Rucker
President of Operations, MacKenzie Corporation
Taylor Merritt
Chairman & CEO, Merritt Aluminum Products Company
Lamar Hunt, Jr.
Founder, Loretto Properties, LLC
Lamar Hunt Jr. is the founder of Loretto Holdings, which owns a group of organizations built on the Christian ideals of using wealth and other resources to foster family and community by helping those who are less fortunate. In 2010, Lamar, Jr. founded Loretto Properties, LLC, a real estate investment company specializing in the operation and management of residential properties located in metropolitan Kansas City. He expanded his real estate business activities by creating Loretto Commercial Properties to renovate a historic Kansas City, Kansas commercial office building, and Loretto Commercial Development to pursue additional real estate opportunities in the greater Kansas City area. Lamar Jr. also formed LHJr Funding to finance real estate property and business ventures in the Kansas City and Dallas, Texas markets. In addition, Lamar Jr. serves on the board of directors of Hunt Midwest Enterprises, a real estate development company based in Kansas City, Missouri.
Lamar Jr. founded Loretto Sports Ventures to facilitate the growth of sports teams and other assets in the Kansas City area. He is the owner and President of the Kansas City Mavericks, a member team of the professional East Coast Hockey League, which plays its home games in the Independence, Missouri Events Center. Under Lamar Jr.’s leadership the Mavericks have established affiliations with the New York Islanders and Calgary Flames of the National Hockey League. Lamar Jr. also owns and serves as President of the Topeka Pilots, a member team of the amateur North American Hockey League that plays home games in the Topeka Expocentre in Topeka, Kansas. Through Loretto Sports Ventures, Lamar Jr. continues to promote the sport of ice hockey in Kansas City by expanding area youth hockey programs and adding additional ice rink arenas needed to grow the sport in the region.
Lamar Jr. founded Loretto Foundation as a private charitable organization to fund philanthropic giving throughout the United States. In 2018, Lamar Jr. was named a recipient of the prestigious St. Elizabeth Ann Seton Award given annually by the National Catholic Education Association to those devoted to Catholic education. He has served on the Case Review Task Force appointed by Archbishop Joseph Naumann, which formulated recommendations for the future growth of the Catholic Archdiocese of Kansas City, Kansas. Lamar Jr. was instrumental in the building of the new St. Michael the Archangel High School in Lee’s Summit, Missouri, and in the major renovation of the St. Thomas Aquinas High School facility in Overland Park, Kansas. He is a member of the board of the Hunt Family Foundation and also serves on the Advisory Board of the Catholic Radio Network, a religious broadcasting group operating radio stations in the greater Kansas City, Wichita, and Denver markets.
Lamar Jr. graduated from the University of Cincinnati College‐Conservatory of Music with a Bachelor of Music Degree and completed a Master of the Arts degree in counseling at Dallas Baptist University. He was a flutist in the Kansas City Symphony for nine seasons. He is a Licensed Professional Counselor in both Kansas and Missouri, where he works with neglected and abused teenagers, homeless men with addiction problems, and families in crisis. Lamar Jr. lives in Leawood, Kansas with his wife, Rita. They are the proud parents of nine children and have eight grandchildren.
Lamar Jr. is a member of the founding family of the Kansas City Chiefs, a member club of the National Football League, and serves on the team’s advisory board. As founding investors, the Hunt family remains an owner of the Chicago Bulls of the National Basketball Association and the United Center in Chicago, Illinois. The Hunt family also founded and originally owned the Columbus Crew and Kansas City Wizards (now Sporting KC) Major League Soccer team franchises. Hunt family members continue to own and operate FC Dallas, an inaugural MLS member franchise, and Toyota Stadium which houses the U.S. National Soccer Hall of Fame.
Conference Location
There are certain elements that attract visitors to Southern California: beautiful beaches, incredible cuisine and an attitude that acts as a gentle reminder to slow down and enjoy the present. Guests of The Ritz-Carlton, Marina del Rey are invited to experience SoCal living with the hotel’s collection of amenities, including LA’s only waterfront saltwater pool, farm-to-table dining, a luxury spa and accommodations overlooking the marina or city.
Register Today!
The cost to attend is listed below. Members of families who have previously attended a Transitions conference receive a 10% discount on their cost of attendance. Your registration also includes a one-year subscription to Family Business Magazine or a one-year extension to your current subscription.
All attendees will be verified prior to acceptance of registration. A family company's advisers may attend only if accompanied by one or more family company members. Other family company advisers may contact Mike Bachman at (215) 405-6070 for information on attending.
All registrants receive a free one year subscription to Family Business Magazine ($79 value), or a one-year extension to their current subscription. Subscriptions include free online access to the magazine's extensive online archive of articles. Registration fees do not include hotel or travel expenses.
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Sponsors
Your Hosts
Barbara Spector, who grew up in a family business, has served on the editorial staff of Family Business Magazine since 2000 and has been the magazine's editor-in-chief since 2004. She has also compiled and edited six volumes in the acclaimed Family Business Handbook Series, most recently The Family Business Legacy Handbook. Previously, she was the managing editor of Jewelers' Circular Keystone, a trade magazine for the jewelry industry, which is primarily composed of family businesses.
Caro Rock is the publisher of Family Business Magazine, which is itself owned by a family company with interests in media and information technology research. She was the founder and publisher of Main Line Life, a weekly newspaper with 15,000 readers covering the western suburban communities of Philadelphia. She grew up in a family business that manufactured and sold flour under the labels Ceresota and Heckers Flour. The Uhlmann Company, formerly Standard Milling Company, also produced Wheatena and Maypo hot cereals, Patio Chef Charcoal and Just Add Water jelly mix. Today, her brother and his son-in-law are involved in the family business, which has ventured into additional related businesses.
Peter Begalla is Family Business Magazine's Transitions Conference Chair. Peter taught Family Business courses at Stetson University for over 13 years and currently maintains a consulting practice focused on succession and family enterprise governance. Peter has published, articles and other media and currently serves as an advisory board member to a family held company.