Interview with Anna Gaia, CEO of Utopia, Italy Founded less than 15 years ago, high-end Italian jewellery brand Utopia is already known internationally for its beautiful pearl-based pieces. A third-generation family business, Utopia was born out of its 70-year old mother company, Gaia Spa – one of Italy’s leading pearl […]
SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY: An Interview with Patricia Velasquez, Founder, Wayuu Taya
The Cause and Effect of Philanthropic Endeavours On a peninsula straddling the Venezuela-Colombia border, by the coast of the Caribbean Sea, live the Wayuu people. As native Americans, the Wayuu have experienced severe economic and social disadvantages: in 2002, child mortality reached one death per day. The Wayuu have few […]
SOLARIS – Courage and Agility
Interview with Solange Olszewska, Owner and Co-Founder, Solaris, Poland Solaris is amongst the leading manufacturers of innovative buses, trolleybuses and urban rail vehicles in Europe. The Polish brand has experienced stellar growth since its foundation in 1996. Solaris went from being a single factory with 36 employees to a four-facility […]
Energy Source: Family Business
Conversation with Patricia Ghany, CFO of Esau Oilfield Supplies Company Limited, Trinidad The coastal expanse of Trinidad and Tobago brings to mind palm trees, idyllic waterfronts; paradise. Just 11 kilometres north of South America, the islands are rumoured to be an inspiration for the legendary adventures of Robinson Crusoe and […]
The Leading Ladies of Pisa Orologeria
Interview with Maristella and Chiara Pisa Located in the heart of Milan, the Via Pietro Verri and the Via Montenapoleone are reminiscent of an elegant past. The neighbourhood once hosted the great families of Italian high society and today presents the shop windows of nearly every important high-end fashion brand […]
Professionalizing the Family Business
Experience of the Al Majdouie Group It is often said, that one of the key challenges of family businesses is to professionalize their structures in order to ascertain long-term success and competitiveness. Integrating the traditions and values of the family business founders into a system promoting meritocracy, does, however, not […]
The Outstanding Value of Family Businesses
Insights from Hussein Shobokshi, Director of SHOBOKSHi Development and Trading The history of family businesses in the Arab world has been a turbulent one. Bearing incredible success stories as well as human tragedies, Arab family businesses have lived through all kinds of socio-economic changes. Challenges with new government policies, as […]
Financing Growth in Family Businesses
As we move past the financial crisis, the global economy has become thirsty for growth. While the BRIC countries escaped relatively unscathed and have been enjoying buoyant growth, the economic picture in Eastern Europe and the Middle East has become polarised: businesses are either flourishing or continuing to suffer. Western […]
Succession Deconstructed
Managing succession is one of the greatest challenges businesses face. By realising that it is a topic where the subjective perception trumps objectivity, and by accepting that there is no one right answer, family businesses can approach the issue with more structure, before it becomes a matter of urgency. Splitting […]
HR Systems in the Family Business
The Nuqul Group is one of the largest family-owned company in Jordan and the Middle East and has just celebrated its 60th anniversary. A business family is often mentioned in relation to its external achievements such as the establishment of brands, acquisitions, mergers, projects, and community involvement. Undoubtedly, however, when […]
Managing Family and Non-family Employees
A dialogue between Amy Schuman and Dr. Stephen McClure What happens when you put two family business experts into one room? We have tested it with family business consultants and authors Amy Schuman and Dr. Stephen McClure from The Family Business Consulting Group, USA. Providing us with deeper insights than […]
How A Focus on Sustainability is an Investment in Value Creation
Sustainability could be considered to be the alignment of the business within the market and environment in which it operates to maintain strategic flexibility and increase business longevity. This article by Edward Nicholson, Managing Partner at Mercator Partnership Limited, and Consultant to Maitland Group, demonstrates how businesses can incorporate sustainability […]