Family Governance
Profit and perpetuity are the primary objectives of every family business. As the generations grow, owner-families need to balance the conflicting demands of family, business, and ownership in order to accomplish these objectives.
As trusted advisors, we work with promoters and business-owning families to build a culture of governance and transparency. Through our Family Governance development process, multi-generational members can synergize personal and business interests, discuss sensitive issues without being judgmental, and plan for the family's future well-being.
- Align diverse aspirations and expectations, develop a common purpose, shared values, and a road-map for the family-business continuity
- Define roles, responsibilities, and rights of family members, owners, successors, and stakeholders
- Prepare policies, guidelines, and Code of Conduct for the family’s harmony, management control, ownership, succession planning, and distribution of wealth
- Design and implement a suitable family governance structure including the Family Constitution, Family Council, Family Board, and Family Office
We assist owner-families and promoters to:
Next-Generation Leadership
In a family business, passing the baton to the new generation is not just about transferring ownership and leadership, but also about preserving family values and legacy. As the next generation enters the workplace, tensions may arise concerning their roles, expectations, and performance.
Our objective is to empower next-generation scions to take on new responsibilities, make prudent decisions, develop capabilities to preserve family business legacy.
- Formulate and implement a plan to ensure a smooth transition of management and leadership responsibilities to the next generation
- Develop an induction and orientation program that allows young family members to seamlessly integrate into the organizational culture
- Identify family scions' behavioural competencies and personality traits, and mentor them for professional and personal development
- Guide and assist younger successors in establishing their own independent start-ups or new family ventures
- Recommend appropriate business and ownership structures, including mergers, splits, and exit plans in the event of multiple successors or branches of the family
We work with multi-generational owner-families to:
Conflict Resolution
Every owner-family has its unique way of communication rooted in the family culture. Communication among family members fails and conflict occurs when there are divergent interests, feelings of frustration, or concerns about the future among the members.
Conflict management is a critical component of ensuring the continuity of a family-owned business. We assist families in managing conflict effectively. Our advisors structure solutions to facilitate the resolution of irreconcilable differences within the family and with stakeholders.
- Identify multiple factors and triggers leading to differences in the family and develop protocols for members to mitigate conflict
- Create a sense of belongingness and bonding among different generations and family branches through family meetings, events, and outbound retreats
- Facilitate family discussions on sensitive issues involving members of different generations, key professionals, and the Board
- Resolve conflict through mediation and out-of-court settlement in the event of severe disputes concerning ownership rights and control, succession, wealth, and inheritance
We take a holistic approach to resolve conflict: