Our next CEO will be chosen based on capability. We’re professionalizing our leadership. In our company, board seats are earned. Statements like these are common in the realm of family-owned firms, signalling how strongly they value the language of merit. Yet the lived reality often tells a different story: appointments seem predetermined, performance standards become […]
IESE EVENT: Forging next-generation leaders in family firms
You are cordially invited to the March 2 Alumni session, “Acompañando y formando a las generaciones jóvenes de la familia empresaria.” Led by IAE Prof. Pedro Vázquez, the Spanish-language session will explore the opportunities, risks and educational considerations involved in preparing next-generation members to responsibly steward both wealth and family values. Date: Monday, March 2 […]
We have a succession plan—are we actually following it?
What happens when a family council agrees on a succession plan entailing both current and next-generation leaders, but some family members fail to follow through? Consciously or unconsciously, their day-to-day actions slowly deviate from what was agreed and expected. The result: the succession process starts to derail. Imbalances and interference come into play, leading to […]
What should companies expect from their family shareholders?
Last November, I offered some reflections regarding what family shareholders deserve from their family business. This article takes the opposite approach: what do family businesses deserve from their family shareholders? The answer is clear: responsible and efficient performance. As is often the case, this is easier said than done. Let’s start with the essence of […]
NEWS: The role of parenting styles in family firms
Much has been written about the challenges of separating personal and professional roles in family-owned firms, but instilling family values and leadership qualities begins even earlier. This article presents findings from a recent study of 119 successors serving as CEOs in their family firms and 145 employees working directly with them to identify which parenting […]
A conversation with Ibukun Awosika
I recently had the great honor of interviewing Ibukun Awosika for IESE’s This Is Real Leadership podcast. Ibukun Awosika has had a long and illustrious career as an entrepreneur, leader, speaker, former president of First Bank of Nigeria and author of several books, including The Girl Entrepreneur. In this episode, we discuss authentic leadership, decision-making […]
Family businesses have a talent-acquisition advantage
According to a recent PwC survey, next-generation leaders of family firms see talent acquisition, management, and retention as a key priority in the next two years in the wake of Covid-19 impacts and the subsequent labor market moves. In this Harvard Business Review article, the authors explore the pivotal role of talent acquisition in the […]
Bodegas Pradorey: where tradition meets innovation
Fernando Rodríguez de Rivera is the general director of Bodegas Pradorey, a winery located in Spain’s Royal Site of Ventosilla. Here he shares Pradorey’s “long and winding” 30-year path to success as one of the most renowned Ribera del Duero wineries. Pradorey can’t be understood without mentioning the Royal Site of Ventosilla, where the winery […]