SUCCESSION SUCCESS
UofL’s Family Business Center can help with that
BY MELISSA CHIPMAN | PHOTOS BY CHRISTIAN WATSON
SMALL OR LARGE, SUCCESSION – the action
or process of inheriting – can rock a family
business.
Some weather the passing of the torch from
generation to generation better than others. For
example, Nanz & Kraft Florists has been in the
Nanz family for nearly 170 years and in both the
Nanz and Kraft families since 1895. Brown-Forman
was founded by young pharmaceutical salesman
George Garvin Brown in 1870 and still the Brown
family is very involved.
Planning for succession is critical. A business
owner or CEO can’t just hand over the keys to
the new owners and expect the next generation
to help it grow and shine.
“The departing owners have to get what’s in
their heads out of their heads,” said Brittany
Boone, interim director at the University of
Louisville Family Business Center. This means
the documentation of policies as well as of
relationships both with customers and with
whom the company does business.
“It’s important to make sure the next generation
is introduced to long-lasting relationships that
carry the business,” said Boone. But there must
be room for the business heirs to forge their own
connections and new sources, too.
The Family Business Center (FBC) offers
educational events about topics like succession
planning and opportunities for family business
owners and employees to build relationships
with other people experiencing similar successes
and challenges.
The FBC also hosts roundtables with like-
minded professionals. There are four different
types of roundtables: for CEOs, next generation,
women and non-family member executives.
“They’re all on the same playing field,” said
Boone. No two people from the same industry
66 EXTOL : FEBRUARY/MARCH 2019
sit on the same roundtable, so everyone feels
secure when sharing information that might
benefit a competitor. Each group has eight to 12
members and meets monthly to bi-monthly. There
are currently 12 roundtables, each facilitated by
a professional advisor.
Membership prices are on a sliding scale,
depending on a company’s revenue. Membership
covers all family members and all non-family
member employees. The majority of member
companies gross between $1 million and $25
million and have an average of 100 employees.
The FBC was founded in 1993, but fairly quickly
dissolved. It was resuscitated in 2009 by then-
University of Louisville College of Business Dean
Charlie Moyer. Boone said the FBC officially has
“no touch” with the UofL student body, but they
are “moving toward having more in-reach” in
the future.
Family Business Center
Interim Director
Brittany Boone
This year, the Family Business FBC will begin
reoccurring 101 workshops, which will be
taught by professional advisors. They include:
Family Harmony 101
Family Governance 101
Strategic Planning 101
Succession Planning 101
The classes will be 1.5 hours for 30 to 60 people.
Workshops are free for FBC members and include
a free meal.
Currently, there are around 90 members of the
FBC. Most come to their memberships through
word of mouth; others find the FBC when they’re
looking for support for their business decisions.
Of the members, 75 percent are family members,
while 25 percent are advisors, including bankers,
lawyers, and CPAs, all of whom are focused on
family businesses.
For example, the university will be launching a
graduate-level Family Business Certificate soon,
likely in 2020. This also means as the search
progresses for a permanent director for the FBC,
they will be looking at candidates with a strong
academic background. Few universities offer
such programming where people involved in
family businesses can study topics like succession
planning and family harmony on the graduate
level.
Most businesses that are members at the FBC
have had at least two successions of leadership,
but some have as many as five generations behind
them and even more with four generations.
Boone said that members face similar challenges
unique to family businesses. They mentor each
other and work with advisors. These relationships
are at the core of what the FBC offers.
“That’s where the real value is,” Boone said. “People
can speak confidentially in a unique situation where
they can talk to a group of people who will not judge
them and will give them critical feedback.”
Contact the University of Louisville Family
Business Center by calling 502.852.8874, visiting
UofLFBC.com or sending an email to Brittany.
[email protected].