In conjunction with Barclays UK, Livingston James Director Alistair Shaw recently hosted our latest Family Business Leaders dinner at The Ivy in Glasgow.
The Livingston James events season has really swung into action, seeing us bring together some of Scotland’s finest leaders and organisations in different settings. In attendance was a mix of family business owners, next-generation leaders, as well as non-family C-suite leaders working in family businesses. In total, our guests represented organisations that had been in business for over 1000 years!
Their honest perspectives and contributions added significant value to the discussions, and what really stood out was the passion and care they put into their work.
Many, especially the older businesses, have had to overcome plenty of twists and turns with actual triggers like premature family member death, exiting non-family CEOs, market disruption and perceived triggers such as divorce and tech disruption. We discussed that taking the long-term view is one of the things that helps provide business stability through those bumps in the road. The general consensus was that non-family executives or non-executives could also provide long-term stability in the boardroom.
Succession was the real focus of the conversation, and we heard it was common for succeeding generations to follow in the family business, but be encouraged to pursue other ambitions first before joining.
If you are a leader within Family Business and feel you would benefit from joining in the conversation at future events, please get in touch: [email protected]
