International Family Businesses Profiled in Course 

“Managing Your Family Business” is well underway with four classes already complete that featured four unique cases studies. In the opening class on January 23, Mr. Yosuke Honjo, CEO of ItoEn USA and member of the Board of the Global Family Business Institute, spoke about the inner workings of his family business, the #1 tea company in Japan.

During a recent visit to Tokyo, Rebecca Finley-Schidlowsky had the opportunity of trying one of Ito En’s drinks.

Class 2, featured Professor Hitesh Shukla who joined from India to talk about an Indian family business he advised that was being torn apart by family conflict, and how he helped to resolve it.

For the third class, Professor Alfredo Enrione from Chile, who is also Chancellor of the International Academy of Management, was joined by one of his family office clients. The class focused on one of Chile’s most prominent families, who built a large construction company. Throughout three generations, the family was plagued by inter-generational conflict and Alfredo shared how the family was able to successfully work through these issues by the third generation.

Class 4 brought students to Canada and featured a CEO of a Family Office and Donna Finley (long-time advisor to the Family). The family overcame the sudden death of their father, building governance and capacity in the six heiresses to successfully take over the family’s companies in traditionally male-dominated industries.