The Successful Family Business CEO

Being a successful family business CEO requires a combination of business acumen, leadership skills and an understanding of the unique dynamics that come with running a family-owned enterprise. Each year, Family Business Magazine recognizes business CEOs for their exceptional leadership skills, and we feature them in our November/December issue.

To complement this special feature, three of the CEOs will join us for a webinar discussion on the unique challenges and opportunities of leading a family-owned business.

Join Andrew Wexler, CEO, Herschend; Arin Emmert, CEO, Fremont Motor Companies; and Ken Lebersfeld, CEO, Capitol Lighting; along with moderator Brooke Anderson, Managing Principal, Private Client Services National Practice Leader, BDO, and David Shaw, Publishing Director of Family Business Magazine, who will address the following topics and respond to audience questions and comments:

• Business issues — economic uncertainty, risk, talent, changing customer expectations
• Leadership challenges in a family business — from the family and non-family perspective
• Planning for your own succession
• Lessons learned and what you wish you had known

If you are the CEO of a family-owned business or aspire to lead your family company, this webinar will offer insights into what it takes to achieve true leadership success.

Family Business Magazine’s “Family Business CEOs to Watch” section was made possible through our sponsorship partner, BDO.

Date and Time

Thursday, November 14, 2024
2 PM ET | 11 AM PT
60 minutes

Andrew Wexler

CEO, Herschend

Andrew Wexler is the chief executive officer at Herschend, the world’s largest family-owned themed attractions company. The company’s portfolio of more than two dozen family entertainment brands across North America includes themed attractions such as Dollywood Parks & Resorts, Silver Dollar City Attractions, Adventure Aquarium, Callaway Resort & Gardens, Kentucky Kingdom, Newport Aquarium, The Vancouver Aquarium and Wild Adventures.

Herschend also stewards the Harlem Globetrotters legacy and provides immersive content and experiences through Herschend Entertainment Studios and Pink Adventure Tours brands. 

Arin Emmert

CEO, Fremont Motor Companies

Arin Emmert began her career in the automotive industry at age 17 as an office assistant and receptionist in her family business. She then learned the roles of cashier and service writer. 

She attended Creighton University in Omaha, Neb., earning a degree in entrepreneurial management with a minor in Spanish. During the summers while home from college, she was a traveling service advisor for the Fremont Group.

Ken Lebersfeld

CEO, Capitol Lighting

Ken Lebersfeld, CEO of Capitol Lighting, works alongside his brother and two cousins. The business, founded by his great-grandfather, originally converted homes from gas to electricity in the early 1900s. As Lebersfeld describes it, “Back then, we were an industry disruptive tech startup.” In 1924, Lebersfeld’s great-grandfather opened a retail lighting showroom and called it Capitol Lighting. Today the enterprise includes seven retail stores, a commercial supply showroom and an e-commerce business. The product offerings have expanded to included mirrors, rugs, furniture and accessories.

Brooke Anderson

Managing Principal; Private Client Services National Practice Leader, BDO

Brooke has more than 15 years of experience serving high net worth individuals, their families, family offices, C-suite executives and others with complex tax and financial structures. Her expertise centers on trust administration, fiduciary responsibility, gift taxation, generation skipping transfer taxation and estate taxation and planning. Brooke is skilled in working alongside the clients’ trusted advisors and focusing on assessing current situations, identifying risks and proposing solutions to achieve the most optimal results.

Currently, Brooke leads the firm’s Private Client Services national practice where she is responsible for the strategic growth and operations of the practice. During her career at BDO, she also led the Pittsburgh market as Office Managing Principal of the Tax Practice for several years. Concurrently, she served as the Central Region Private Client Service Leader where she assisted the national leadership team over the last five years in the development of the practice.

Brooke is a current member and Pittsburgh Board Member of YPO (Young Presidents’ Organization) which is a global leadership community of chief executives.

David Shaw

Publishing Director, Family Business Magazine

David Shaw is the publishing director for MLR Media. He also co-founded and serves as conference director of the Transitions conferences, the Private Company Governance Summit and Family Business Legacy.

David writes frequently on governance issues for public and private companies, and develops and maintains close relationships with multi-generational family-owned businesses. He is married, with two grown children.