The Family Business Voice

Ahmed Nawara was always expected to join his family’s automobile parts importing business, the Al Manar Group. After graduating from university in 1997, he assumed a role in the organisation, along with his twin brother, Mohamed. We talk to him about his journey to becoming CEO.

Every year, up to 1.2 million children fall victim to trafficking, and many remain undetected, hidden from national authorities and anti-trafficking organisations. Of global trafficking victims, 66% are girls. Often, these victims are young migrants seeking refuge, only to become vulnerable to trafficking and its inherent exploitation. The horrifying "business" of human trafficking is thriving, generating billions in profit at the expense of the lives it destroys. Paul Hutchinson was managing the multi-billion-dollar investment fund he co-founded, as well as working with several charitable organisations when he received a phone call that would alter the course of his life. He was told that rescuing 100 trafficked children in Colombia required more than just the usual philanthropic cheques he had become accustomed to writing. He would have to become part of an undercover operation at great personal risk.  The request was extremely dangerous, with unimaginable reasons underlying its urgency. The events that transpired as a result of that fateful phone call not only transformed Paul's perspective but also became the foundation for his new purpose – to eradicate child trafficking and its root causes. The organisation he founded as a consequence, the Child Liberation Foundation, is to date responsible for over 70 undercover missions in 15 different countries, recovering more than 5000 children.  In this interview, Paul Hutchinson, entrepreneur, investor, philanthropist, and executive producer of the highly successful film "Sound of Freedom," partially based on his experience in Colombia, shares his extraordinary journey: one that saw him leave the investment fund he co-founded to spearhead a global movement to create a world in which every child can experience safety, freedom, and hope.  

Ana Maria Guerrero Carvajal, president of the Board of Directors of her family’s Fundación Carvajal, recognises the considerable challenges the charitable foundation currently confronts. In response, Fundación Carvajal, an organisation dedicated to helping Colombia’s most vulnerable overcome poverty, has remodelled its strategy, promoting a holistic approach aimed at addressing the elements of poverty on many fronts. The organisation primarily focuses on its home city of Cali, which has been significantly impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic.   We spoke to Ana Maria about her family’s unwavering commitment to its community, why social impact has to be redefined in a rapidly changing context, […]

Cristina Carvajal remembers exactly what it was like to visit her family’s printing business with her father when she was a little girl. The sights, sounds, and smells of the printing presses left a life-long memory that later, she confesses, shaped her involvement in the family’s enterprise. Now serving as the council’s president, Cristina continues to work on the unity among the more than 300 family members and to embrace the transformative change she believes will benefit the family’s future generations.  We spoke to Cristina about the importance of the Carvajal family council, how international family members get involved and contribute to the different sectors of the council, and what the family council is doing to evolve and change as younger generations start to get involved with Carvajal.  -Carvajal's family council is in its sixth generation with around 322 family members and growing. Cristina was the first family council member to be appointed who didn't live in the region, which opened the door to other family members joining from around the world. Today, Carvajal family council members live in Mexico, Miami, and Panama, in addition to Colombia — all committed to attending meetings and making contributions.  -The family council was initially established to create a family protocol but has developed into an integral piece of Carvajal's organisation. The council interacts closely with the company's leadership and often acts as an information funnel for Carvajal's executive team where they can ask questions or communicate concerns.  -In 2018, Carvajal's family council began a process of strategic planning to determine the programs that would be most beneficial to support. The council's areas of focus are communication, education, family unity, and legacy, while also overseeing the family protocol. Many of the council's programs are designed to inform, unify, and engage Carvajal family members. The council also acts as a pipeline for finding and cultivating new talent for the business within the family.  Listen and Subscribe on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Stitcher, TuneIn, Amazon, and YouTube.

Despite the formidable challenges of a global pandemic, Pedro Carvajal and the entire Carvajal organisation united around the company’s longstanding culture of putting people first and “doing things right”. Obstacles presented by the crisis became opportunities for Pedro and his team, who implemented changes to improve the organisation and its resilience to future disruptions.   We spoke to Pedro about how his family’s core beliefs and social agenda are critical factors in maintaining the company’s performance and longevity, why he doesn’t think about the future too often, and how he balances his many roles.  -Pedro was appointed CEO of Carvajal in 2020, just as the COVID-19 global pandemic was disrupting operations around the world. Pedro worked closely with the company's chair to address critical decisions and devise strategies that would see the company emerge from the crisis even stronger. -The importance of sustainability and social responsibility has always been an important pillar of the family business. Today, ESG, conscious capitalism, and sustainability initiatives form the foundation of Carvajal's activities. The Carvajal organisation considers the community its largest shareholder, making the company's social objectives just as important as its economic ones.  -Pedro believes that structure follows strategy, underscoring how important planning and preparation are for the business. While actively working to provide solutions for today's market demands, the company also focuses on the future and tries to anticipate what disruptive forces may lie ahead.  Listen and Subscribe on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Stitcher, TuneIn, Amazon, and YouTube.

Philip Mackeown is an author, career coach, and fifth-generation business director. After spending 25 years working in his family’s leading food retail group in Ireland, the Musgrave Group, Philip set out to write the book he wished he’d read upon entering the family business. His book, “The Successor’s Voice”, is a practical guide aimed at empowered family enterprise successors looking to develop, grow, and make a difference in their roles. Join Philip as he discusses the succession process from the perspective of the successor and why he feels preparation brings key advantages to the opportunity. -Intentionally, or unintentionally, many families put pressure on their next generation to join the business, often asking leading questions about their inevitable involvement. Consequently, successors can view their role through the lens of the family’s needs, instead of their own. Rather than answering the question of when they will join the business, successors would be better served asking themselves if they’ve taken command of the value they bring. -Family business continuity depends on several factors, from asset growth to asset stewardship and a host of other details in between. But building family consensus is equally important. A critical task for successors is fostering agreement among family members that the enterprise will continue to progress forward from one point to the next, and the next again. -Successors who take agency over their role and its function are better prepared for meaningful development and superior outcomes in their family’s business. A part of that is acknowledging how being a successor will probably always inform who they are and the approach they choose in their family enterprise and other professional contexts. Listen and Subscribe on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Stitcher, TuneIn, Amazon, and YouTube. “The Successors Voice” is available at http://www.philipmackeown.ie/

Traditionally, family enterprises focused their philanthropic efforts in the communities close to their operations, where they could generate the greatest impact. Today, there’s an abundance of worthy global causes all competing for their attention. To maximise their impact, families need to align on the issues important to them while also addressing the challenges of harmonising and orchestrating philanthropic strategies in a fast-changing world. On this episode, Dr Malgorzata Smulowitz, Research Fellow, and Dr Peter Vogel, Professor of Family Business and Entrepreneurship at the IMD Global Family Business Center, discuss the findings in their study, “Navigating your family’s philanthropic future across generations”, and how it suggests a real need for families to transform, organise, and codify their philanthropic activities in a rapidly changing world. - Considered a soft topic by many, secondary to the running of a company, philanthropy often emerges as a challenge for families, especially when philanthropic activities are an integral part of the family system. The emotion that drives charitable efforts makes uniting families around a common cause complex. - The innovative and entrepreneurial spirit that drives the business activities of family firms can complement their philanthropic efforts, generating new opportunities and maximising the scale of their resources. - Communication is key if families are going to align their philanthropic goals. The engagement itself can also be rewarding for family members, reshaping individual perceptions and testing rivalries. For next generation family members, finding a supporter respected within the family is often an important first step to initiating meaningful change in the family’s philanthropy program. Listen and Subscribe on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Stitcher, TuneIn, Amazon and YouTube. View the IMD study, “Navigating your family’s philanthropic future across generations”.

On this episode of The Family Business Voice, Ryan Margolin talks about the entrepreneurial path that led him to become CEO of Professional Hair Labs, a global leader in cosmetic bonding. Growing up with business-owning parents helped influence Ryan’s pursuit of personal and professional development, which continued after relaunching his father’s business and shaped the strategies he used to expand it. Ryan discusses the process that led him to alter the trajectory of the business and the lessons learned along the way by its family of stakeholders. Ryan also talks about how following his core principles informed his approach to leadership and why that is still so important to him. -Failing is as much a part of the entrepreneurial experience as succeeding. Often moving forward means examining failures from different perspectives, and empathy is the key to understanding those diverse points of view. -Ego can act as a barrier to greater growth as an entrepreneur. Realising you need help to achieve your goals, especially as those goals shift upward, is an important step to taking your business to the next level. -For many people, the business journey is reflected in direct relation and proportion to the effort they’re willing to put into figuring it out. The difference between finding the right direction and staying lost is sometimes simply a failure of commitment. Listen and Subscribe on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Stitcher, TuneIn, Amazon and YouTube.

On this episode of The Family Business Voice, Laurette Rondenet discusses her journey with Edlong, a family business and leading innovator in the food-flavourings industry. Laurette has been Edlong’s principal owner, President and CEO since 2012, making her the first and only woman to own a food flavouring company in the world. She sits on the board of several national and international business organisations and currently serves as the Vice President & Secretary of the Flavor and Extract Manufacturers Association of the United States. Laurette talks to us about what it takes to build a culture of innovation in a legacy business, the role of family dynamics and the journey towards defining her own leadership style. - Fighting imposter syndrome and acknowledging your true power is the first step in owning your legacy. Trust that you own your accomplishments. - The next generation can’t be their parents; they have to find their own voice and approach to leadership, which is difficult. - Create an atmosphere that engenders authentic belonging. A culture where people can be themselves means that people will find their own way to success both for themselves and for the business. Listen and Subscribe on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Stitcher, TuneIn, Amazon and YouTube.

On this episode of the Family Business Voice, author, consultant, and business coach Jonathan Goldhill speaks about the unique emotional and psychological hurdles many next-generation business owners confront. Jonathan and Ramia also discuss the importance of redefining how success is measured for the next-gen leaders of family enterprises, and the paradox they face when attempting to introduce disruption to long-standing business models that covet stability in pursuit of longevity. -Many next-gens feel the burden associated with believing they are not worthy enough compared to previous generations, which can result in a form of “imposter syndrome”. But the unique circumstances that contributed to the success of earlier generations must be taken into account. Next-gen business leaders must realise that contexts change and redefine what constitutes success for them using their own metrics. -Where previous generations were driven by a hunger to survive, next-gens need to find their own motivation, such as increasing profitability, bettering processes, improving culture or introducing transformative technology. -Creating a “sticky” environment that encourages employees to stay with the business is potentially critical for business successors, but next-gen’s should also realise that some changeover is healthy. There is a Darwinian process for every business in transition. It may be difficult, but not everyone is well suited to continue on a company’s journey when new leadership takes the reins. Listen and Subscribe on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Stitcher, TuneIn, Amazon and YouTube.