“A way to learn, a mark to make, a world to change”, rightly said by the IESE Business School, University of Navarra, which is embarking on a long-term vision and mission to pass on to the next generation.

IESE’s First MBA Family Business Conference

The IESE Family Business Club, in collaboration with ESADE, conducted the 1^st MBA Family Business Conference held at IESE Business School on 1^st and 2^nd April, 2016 at Barcelona in Spain. Students who registered for the conference could learn from leading family business leaders, network with students from leading business schools in Europe and start shaping their strategic entry into family businesses. The conference promised three essential benefits:

1. Share experience with others
2. Meet like-minded individuals
3. Prepare for your future

The important take-away from the conference was that students could share experiences regarding family businesses, exchange opinions and lessons learned from the work experience, gain relevant insight about the challenges from open discussions, constructive feedback and deep-diving workshops, meet young entrepreneurs, build stronger networks, strategize the plan laid out for a family business, learn key methodologies for success and better communication with the family members.

There were a series of keynote speakers who enlightened the crowd regarding the idea of family businesses and their better functioning. The crowd could then discuss and clear their queries with a panel consisting of world-renowned experts in family business.

Keynote Speaker: Jan Frey

Jan Frey (IESE MBA ‘83), a fifth-generation member at the Henkel family, was one of the keynote speakers at the Family Business Conference. “A certain amount of flexibility”, he says, is the backbone for growing a small German family business to a multi-billion dollar, multinational business with a stronghold in three markets. There are various opinions floating across about the contributions of a family business. People like Frey believe that “You can’t have someone leading the company just because they’re family”, and that is when in 1990, Henkel appointed its first external CEO. And in 2009, an external chairperson was appointed to the shareholder committee and supervisory board again disrupting four generations of family leadership and governance. This change of strategy has helped them evolve exponentially into new markets. The decision also freed them from a colonial rule and the possibility of an unworthy future descendant. The family still holds the majority of family shares but are not permitted to sell them. He also advises to make a family contract and for every active member to sign it.

IESE’s Family Business Chair & Keynote Speaker: Josep Tàpies

Some vouch for the growth of such family businesses. “A sense of legacy differentiates family businesses from others,” says IESE’s Family Business Chair and Strategic Management Professor, Josep Tàpies – another keynote speaker. For Tàpies, family businesses are the “backbone” of the world’s economy. “They are loyal to the values they stand for”, he says, addressing the family businesses across the world. The values being generosity, commitment, humility, service and quality, showcases their long term vision and mission. He also clarifies certain scruples surrounding family businesses. “Despite what some people claim, family businesses aren’t all small. And they do last,” says Tàpies. He then provides a very convincing statistical report about Spain. Out of the top 2,254 companies with a turnover of over 50 million euros, 1275 are family businesses, of which 14 percent are third generation or more. Only 11 percent of the other companies are over 60. He also gives the perfect recipe for maintaining a business for over 60 years in today’s competitive market. Long term vision to cross this gap and keep growing is all it takes, advises Tàpies.

It was a unique conference, a creative initiative to focus on family owned business firms and to understand its functioning and plus points. The students could learn and rebuild their ideas.

The Family Business Club is part of IESE Business School and inaugurated in 2015 with the goal of developing a global network of successful family businesses who can learn from each other.

Family Business Clubs and Conferences at other Leading MBA Programs

Family Business Clubs and Conferences have been seeing increased traction at other leading business schools as well. For example, London Business School’s Family Business club is organizing its 4^th Annual Family Business Conference on Friday, April 15 2016. Harvard Business School has an extremely talented crowd as a part of its Family Business Club. Columbia Business School organized its 3^rd annual edition of the Family Business Conference in March 2016. The Wharton Family Business Club is dedicated to providing opportunities for education, networking and dialogue among students interested in both domestic and international family businesses. It organized its First Family Business Conference in 2015. The University of Chicago’s Booth School of Business has a Private Family and Business Group. Kellogg’s Family Enterprise Club fosters communication and networking among members of the community who have an interest in Family Business.