Mitzi Perdue is the daughter of one family business titan (her father founded the Sheraton Hotel Chain) and the widow of another, (her late husband was the family business poultry magnate, Frank Perdue), and she is also a businesswoman in her own right. She started the family wine grape business, now one of the larger suppliers of wine grapes in California. Mitzi likes nothing better than to share insider tips for successful family businesses. Her family of origin (the one that started the...

Ginny Gilder, is an American former competitive rower and Olympic silver medalist. As a second generation entrepreneur, Ginny’s day job is running her family investment office, Gilder Office for Growth but her heart leads her to focus on expanding access to opportunity in the realms of sports and education, especially for youth. A serial social enterprise entrepreneur, co-owner of the WNBA Seattle Storm, and a writer, Ginny continues to look for ways to expand the footprint of women's...

Khalid Muhmood is from the UK and through the family business holding company Dragonfly Education Group, is an operational investor in education. He has been active in the business of education since 1994 when he and his wife, Arabella Peters, co-founded Apollo English and then the British University Vietnam. Since then they have invested in a number of businesses all focused on education. Khalid and Arabella see themselves as the founding generation of their family enterprise and...

Ashok Melwani started his career as a teenager, working in his family’s fashion retail stores during the school holidays. In 1982, he joined the business full-time, working his way up from brand manager to an executive director of the 4th generation Indian family business. He's a seasoned entrepreneur with decades of experience in retail, food & beverage and distribution, and now an executive coach. Ashok is a guide to the road less travelled. His story is a facinating journey of a...

George Isaac’s grandfather founded the first Isaac family businesses in 1899 in Bryan, Ohio, beginning a long history of serial entrepreneurship and the subsequent creation of several successful enterprises. A lot has changed since then, but the Isaac Group continues to thrive, now under board oversight and management by its third and fourth generation. George grew up as a child of family business owners and has run several Isaac multigenerational family businesses as a CEO and board...

Gautam Goel is the fourth generation Managing Director of Dhampur International Pte Ltd, the parent company and Dhampur International Pte Ltd. Founded in India in 1933 by Gautam’s great grandfather, he along with fellow members of the current generation continue to steward the family and business legacy today. Listen on to hear how the business was intentionally split off from a wider family group to resolve in-fighting, how they’ve professionalised the business and what challenges they...

It's not often we get to hear from a 7th generation American manufacturing family with a company that dates back to 1728 and in their family since 1793. The Hollingsworth & Vose Company is a technical manufacturer with a rich history of R&D and innovation. Here to share their story with us are Val & Annie Hollingsworth, first cousins and both members of the 6th generation, stewarding this incredible and impactful company to the next generation. Val Hollingsworth has served as...

Jeff Gould is the founder Lineage Asset Advisors (LAA) a full-service commercial real estate advisory and consulting firm providing customized commercial real estate services to help families make seamless transitions with their properties – from one generation to the next. Lineage collaborates with estate planning advisers to develop and implement portfolio solutions that meet the goals of multiple generations. Their aim is to preserve and enhance family wealth and legacy during difficult...

Jim and Paul Warner work together in multi-generational family dynamics helping all parties establish and sustain authentic, synergistic, relationships. Paul leads young adult retreats, focusing on authentic relationships, navigating change, and leadership development. He also coaches young adults seeking clarity on their life purpose, mission, and vision, and guides them to take full responsibility for their lives. Jim’s work has led him to write three books and an audio series based on...

Jonathan Goldhill is an Experienced Coach to Entrepreneurs and Family-Owned Businesses. He states that the dwindling chances of multigenerational success are due in large part to the issues unique to family businesses that are often wrapped up in a tightly woven knot of unspoken plans. In his new book DISRUPTIVE SUCCESSOR, Jonathan offers a proven framework and playbook for unwinding this knot, scaling up your business or planning your exit. Standout Quotes: "Perhaps all...

Dato’ Loy Teik Ngan, the eldest son of a well-known entrepreneur who built one of the largest business conglomerates in Malaysia, Teik Ngan took over the rein of his family company upon his father’s demise. Within a year, the sprawling business empire that took 35 years to build, collapsed under the weight of huge debts amidst the 1998 Asian financial crisis. 14 years passed before all personal liabilities of his family from the days of the financial crisis were eventually settled. In the...

Caroline Link, a 4th generation family member who is being groomed to run B.Grimm, one of Thailand’s oldest family-owned industrial conglomerates. Caroline grew up in a family where the common driving value and belief was to conduct business with compassion and in harmony with nature. Through multiple generations of management, and multiple business areas and geographies, B.Grimm (which was founded in Bangkok in 1878), has managed to cultivate a spirit of innovation and empowerment among...

Richard Eu is a fourth-generation Eu. His grandfather was tycoon and philanthropist Eu Tong Sen who remains a legend in Singapore for the vast commercial empire he built across Southeast Asia in the early 1900’s. Tong Seng had 11 wives with whom he had 24 children, setting the stage for a complex and conflicted period of succession following his death in 1941. One of the family's last remaining businesses, Eu Yan Sang, a network of Traditional Chinese Medicine dispensaries, was founded by...

Crystal Lam is the Managing Director and second generation to manage Vinawood Ltd., Vietnam’s largest wood component manufacturer specializing in customized window covering, millwork and architectural mouldings. With 10 years of operations experience in Vietnam, Crystal has lead the firm’s expansion into new markets, product categories and strategic ventures. Standout Quotes: “My father raised me with the same belief systems; to be traditional in values but modern in action" - Crystal...

Chris Herschend is a third-generation shareholder and Chairman of Missouri-based Herschend Enterprises, the largest family-owned themed attractions company in the US. HFE properties span 26 locations and 10 states, employing over 10,000 people who collectively host over 13 million guests annually at properties including Silver Dollar City, Dollywood and the world-famous Harlem Globetrotters. Standout Quotes: "That's not your board members' primary role; to be experts on your business,...

Dr. Jim Grubman has provided services to individuals, couples, and families of wealth for over 30 years. His work with clients at many levels of affluence - from the “millionaire next door” to The Forbes 400 - has earned him a reputation as a valued family advisor. Jim is the author of Strangers in Paradise: How Families Adapt to Wealth Across Generations and co-author with Dennis Jaffe, PhD of Cross Cultures: How Global Families Negotiate Change Across Generations, offering ground-breaking...

Spencer is a Principal with The St. Louis Trust Company, a multi-family office for 50 families in the United States managing in excess of US $10 billion, where he heads the Family Business Advisory Practice. Spencer is also an Adjunct Lecturer in Family Business at the Olin Business School at Washington University in St. Louis. Standout Quotes: “Multi-family businesses are acts of inadvertence in the initial years or the initial generation, they're usually a force of necessity, and then...

Emily Griffiths-Hamilton brings three generations of experience to the subject of wealth and family-business transition planning. Her maternal grandfather, veterinarian Dr. William Ballard, was one of North America’s greatest dynamic wealth creators. Her father, Frank A. Griffiths, FCA, built a highly successful sports and media empire. Emily herself, along with her brother Arthur and their partners, has been the co-owner of a National Hockey League (NHL) team, the Vancouver Canucks; a...

Richard and Linda Eyre may be the most prominent and popular writers and speakers in the world on the topics of family and parenting. Among their incredible 50 books is Teaching your Children Values, the first parenting book in 50 years to hit #1 on the New York Times Bestseller list. The Eyres’ work is based on the real-life experience of raising 9 children, founding and running 3 businesses, and trying to keep up with high-level involvement in politics, church, music, and sports. Key...

Dave Whorton is an entrepreneur, business leader, education reformer, and investor. Dave founded four companies including Good Technology and Drugstore.com. He also worked for three venture capital firms, Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers, TPG, and Interwest. A small angel investment that Dave made in 2005 opened his eyes to an alternative way of supporting seasoned entrepreneurs who wanted to build large, profitable, innovative businesses that they would run privately for their...

Paolo Delgado is the current managing director of the Delgado Brothers Group (Delbros). As the fourth and newest generation of the Delgado Family, Paolo manages the company that has made a name for itself across generations as being the pioneer in the logistics industry. The Delbros Group has a drive and passion to bring innovation and modernisation with hopes of growth and betterment of the Philippines and to the Filipino people. Presently, the DelBros Group consist of over twenty...

Covie is a Partner and the Chief Wealth Advisory Officer at Ballentine Partners where she is responsible for the development and management of the firm’s family education, family governance, and philanthropic offerings. Covie also leads several of the firm’s large family client engagements and specialises in helping her clients manage the impact of their wealth and ensure that their wealth management strategy reflects their families’ values and goals. Covie is the author of a two-book...

A global citizen, portfolio entrepreneur, and fourth-generation co-guardian of the Mouawad family jewelry business, Fred Mouawad’s story is as incredible as it is impactful. Listen in to learn how he brings a new and enterprising perspective to his family’s multi-generational success. Fred Mouawad is described often in the media as a billionaire diamond owner but has also accomplished countless entrepreneurial ventures outside of the family business and offers some key advice on stewarding...

Our guest this week is Jim Sheils, a successful real estate entrepreneur and best-selling author of The Family Board Meeting. Jim was motivated by what he saw as one of the most tragic challenges of modern life: the disconnection of busy entrepreneurs from their families. Jim Sheils developed the Family Board Meeting process out of necessity for his own family and hopes to help business owners bridge the gaps between themselves and their loved ones. Standout Quotes “I look at my family...

This week's guest is Professor Vicki TenHakan, a college professor in management at Hope College in Holland, Michigan, a former business executive at Herman Miller and GE, a researcher of corporate longevity and the author of the excellent book; Lessons from Century Club Companies: Managing for Long-Term Success, a captivating book that details the lessons learned from companies that have endured for at least 100 years. Key Takeaways The similarities and differences in culture and...