Truth be told, implementing and managing a board of directors in a family firm isn’t an easy task for a variety of reasons, including the unique nature of each family and company and its specific context and growth stage. Through my years of experience working with family firms, I have gathered several practical insights to […]
The role of an external director
In my last article published in October 2023, I raised the issue of external directors by saying they could either be independent or not. It’s not a question of how much they’re paid, as some people think: it’s far more complex and multidimensional than that. Let’s start by clarifying these two concepts. External versus independent […]
7 ways to alleviate tension in the family council
The family council is the ideal forum for owner families to reach consensus on the core decisions regarding their business. It is the preventive mechanism par excellence to analyze, discuss and debate critical issues, and make solid decisions based on shared criteria and commitment. In this way, family councils serve as firewalls, preventing conflicts from […]
8 pillars of a professional board of directors
Robust corporate governance systems in family firms shouldn’t be any different than those in well-managed non-family firms – at least in theory. In practice, it’s another story. Boards of directors in family businesses have adjacent psychological and psychosocial dimensions, and disregarding these dynamics can easily lead to tensions among board members. During my tenure as […]
Corporate governance in family firms
By their nature as family-owned, some family businesses think they can be more familiar and informal in their approach, and less commercial and regimented. This confusion can lead their operations to move in one direction and business formalities in the other. As a result, their corporate governance structures – shareholder and board meetings, for instance […]
Trust and family firms: what do we know?
Recognized by UNESCO as Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity, castells are human towers whose origins date back to the early 18th century in Catalunya. At a recent teambuilding event with other IESE faculty, I had the chance to discover their history – and experience first hand! – what it takes to build a castell. They […]
Session with Nobel Laureate Bengt Holmström
Bengt Holmström is an MIT professor and the recipient of the 2016 Nobel Prize in Economics. In his recent remarks at the 2021 IESE-ECGI Corporate Governance Conference, he warns of a data-driven tsunami that will radically change how businesses operate and structure their corporate governance systems. Don’t miss this thought-provoking session! Video Session with Bengt […]
Nobel laureate Bengt Holmström: “We see signs of a tsunami”
In early October, IESE’s Madrid campus welcomed scholars and guests – both in person and online – to the 2021 IESE-ECGI Corporate Governance Conference, an annual event that gathers some of the foremost experts in management and economics. On the first day of the conference, I had the great honor of moderating a panel session […]