Family Business, Stetson U. to host conference

Family Business

Magazine and Stetson University’s Family Enterprise Center will present

“Transitions: The Changing Environment for Family Companies”

on April 15-16 at the Celebration Hotel in Celebration, Fla.

“Transitions” is the first in a new series of small, targeted conferences set in an intimate atmosphere of intense review and evaluation. Attendance is strictly limited to 90 family business owners, shareholders and family members. Attendees will earn credit toward a Stetson Certification in Family Business Management.

The conference is designed to facilitate conversations on important issues among generations. Experts and families from around the country will examine how the shifting global, domestic and generational environment will affect family company transition plans and strategic growth.

Scheduled speakers and events include the following:

• 
  Ross J. Born,
  
  co-CEO of Just Born Inc., a family-owned candy company in Bethlehem, Pa., that produces Mike & Ike, Hot Tamales, Peanut Chews and Peeps, will deliver the opening keynote address.
• 
  Howdy Holmes,
  
  president and CEO of Chelsea Milling Co., makers of “JIFFY” baking mixes, will discuss the importance of separating your thoughts and your feelings when making family business decisions. This candid discussion will recount the drama and the dynamics in Holmes’ 120-year-old family business as he directed a transition from a sole proprietorship to a professionally run organization.
• 
  Greg McCann,
  
  founder of Stetson University’s Family Enterprise Center, consultant and author, and
  
  Nancy Shavel Gabel,
  
  an intergenerational wealth planning specialist, will present “The Changing Face of Family Business Leadership: Generation Y.” This panel discussion will include Prof. McCann’s current and former Stetson University students from family business backgrounds.
• 
  Richard A. Morris,
  
  principal of Resource for Ownership Intelligence (ROI) Consulting, which helps family business owners grow and pass their business to subsequent generations, will moderate a panel discussion entitled “Economy Next: The Domestic and Global Economic Outlook for Family Companies” and will present a session on “Your Children and Your Wealth: The Most Important Transition.” Morris, a former executive at his family business, Fel-Pro Inc., is co-author of
  
  Kids, Wealth and Consequences: Ensuring a Responsible Financial Future for the Next Generation.
  
• 
  Robert D. Finfrock,
  
  president of Finfrock Design-Manufacture-Construct in Orlando, Fla., the largest designer, manufacturer and constructor of parking structures in the U.S., will present “Making Your Family Business Big Enough for the Next Generation,” a case study of how his family firm changed its business model in the face of ruthless price competition and developed a thriving business able to support and sustain the third generation of family owners. Finfrock is co-author of
  
  Beyond Price: Differentiate Your Business in Ways That Really Matter.
  
• 
  Anna Nichols,
  
  director of research for the Family Office Exchange (FOX), will lead a session on “Identifying and Managing Risk.” The session will focus on developing strategies to manage foreseeable risks and more effectively manage unforeseeable risks, while taking a multigenerational view of the family.
• 
  Z. Christopher Mercer,
  
  founder and CEO of Mercer Capital, a business valuation and investment banking firm, will discuss “Rebuilding the Economic Value of Your Business,” focusing on recovering lost economic value and rebuilding to a position to strength and growth.
• 
  Dirk Jungé,
  
  chairman and chief executive officer of Pitcairn, a recognized global leader in the specialized multi-family office marketplace, and a fourth-generation member of the Pitcairn family, will discuss “The Financial Aspects of Handing Over the Business to the Next Generation.”
• 
  Dinner at Columbia Restaurant
  
  featuring a keynote address by
  
  Richard Gonzmart,
  
  fourth-generation president of the six-location Columbia Restaurant Group. Columbia Restaurant, founded in 1905, is the oldest restaurant in Florida and the largest Spanish restaurant in the world.

To view program details, download the brochure and register online,

click here.