Transitions West 2015 is sponsored by Family Business Magazine, and is the only conference created for family companies, by family companies.
Who Should Attend
Attendance at this conference is strictly limited to owners, shareholders, family members and in-laws of 75 family businesses/enterprises. The conference is designed to facilitate conversation on important family issues among generations. There is special programming for family business members aged 15-29, and for those who have married-in to the family business.
The Transitions conference is for family companies and family offices of all sizes. At our last conference, approximately one third of attendees represented companies with revenues of under $25 million, one third of attendees had revenues of between $26 million and $300 million; and one third had revenues of over $300 million. And approximately a third of attendees were in the third generation or less; a third were in generations 4 and 5; and third were part of companies more than 6 generations old. What all attendees share is a desire to see their family enterprise grow successfully through generational transitions.
68% of attendees at Transitions are coming to the conference for the first time; 98.5% of attendees at our last conference say they’ll attend again, and that they’d recommend the conference to other family members.
NOTE: All attendees will be vetted to ensure that they are family company leaders, members or shareholders. This event is only for family-run companies or enterprises. Senior advisers to family companies may attend ONLY with the family company they represent.
For further information, contact conference director David Shaw at (301) 963-6162 or email
dshaw@familybusinessmagazine.com
.
Registration
Registration fees do not include hotel or travel expenses.
Due to the customization of the conference seating and session assignments, registrations need to be submitted at least one week prior to the start of the conference. On-site registration is not available.
Attire
The dress code for the conference is business casual to business. Meeting room temperatures will vary, so please bring and wear the appropriate layers of clothing to ensure your personal comfort.
Propose a Topic or Speaker
Contact Peter Begalla, Conference and Education Director, (386) 785-7856 or email
pbegalla@familybusinessmagazine.com
. Please note that the conference extends a complimentary registration for conference speakers. In addition, conference speakers are featured in Family Business and Directors & Boards magazines and websites. Speakers are responsible for their own expenses, to include hotel, meals, and travel. Proposals promoting company products or services will not be considered.
Advisers and Sponsors
If your company provides services to family businesses, please considering sponsoring the conference. Access to Transitions conference attendees—by attending the conference, a tabletop exhibit and/or by participating as a moderator/panelist is only available to conference sponsors. Alternatively, if you are an adviser to family businesses, you may register to attend the conference with a family member for a business you advise. Contact Scott Chase at (301) 879-1613, or email
scottchase@verizon.net
.
Student Registration
Students who are interested in attending the conference should apply through the standard attendee registration process (submit a registration form for consideration). Complimentary student registrations are not available.
Press
Press passes are not available for this conference.
What Attendees Say About Transitions
“This is the most rewarding conference I’ve ever attended. Everyone has been so candid, genuine and open, Love that the tone is showing and not telling people what to do.”
“I think this was the best run conference that I have ever attended. So much value. We will be back.”
“Oftentimes I’m excited to go to a conference and then it’s unmemorable. This conference was well-planned, extremely relevant, extremely relevant, unpretentious…and we had a good time.”
“Great interaction and sharing. Brilliant!”
“Transitions is a great mix of information, networking with others in similar situations, and ‘best practcice’ for future planning.”
“This is my sixth transitions and I continue to learn priceless information and make valuable connections with other families.”
“Very insightful conference, so many notes I can take back and implement ideas. Great validation of what we are doing right and where we need to improve.”
“Incredible experience with more opportunities than possible to soak up. Such a unique conference!”
“I was hoping to get the family to raise questions and their awareness. I did not expect to actually walk away with a healthy to do list–things we need to change or do. Thank you!”
“Incredibly informative, efficient, and the most well-organized and intentionally designed conference I’ve attended.”
“Transitions was an eye-opening experience to help our family business create the appropriate ownership and succession structure for the business to thrive into the 6th generation.”
“My goal was to raise awareness within the family of how we could bring governance to the business to make it stronger. I had been receiving resistance to the idea and the family left inspired to start a more formal family council structure and create mission and values statements. Goal accomplished!”
“It was wonderful being able to relate to all these families going through similar issues. I learned a great deal and will be able to bring this knowledge back to my fellow G3 cousins.”
“Great conference, especially in generating NextGen interest and development.”
“Very relevant information in settings that were non-threatening with easy and open discussions.”
“I always take a number of practical ideas home with me–well worth the cost!”
“Thanks again for hosting a fabulous conference. My dad and I really got a lot out of it, from thinking about governance structures to new insights into executive compensation. For me, more than anything else it was nice to be in a room full of people who think about their businesses from a ‘long-term’ perspective. It’s awfully hard to build anything substantial when your perspective is limited to 5-7 years…I look forward to attending many future Transitions conferences!
“This is truly a conference ‘created for family companies by family companies’ and, once again, we enjoyed some great, honest presentations by some outstanding family business members, non-family executives and family business experts.”
“Great forum for discussion, sharing and learning that can be applied to both our family and our business.”
“I was overwhelmed by the value I received from this conference. You did a phenomenal job.”
“Very good networking and very good speakers. I was glad to have experienced this conference.”
“This was my first family business conference and I met a lot of good people and gained a lot of ideas I can bring back to my family’s business.”
“Transitions was very enlightening and gave a broader perspective of what others are facing and how they have overcome similar challenges to the ones we face.”