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Succession is a sensitive moment in any organization, since it is intended to ensure the continuity and development of the legacy maintaining a balance among family, ownership and business.  With this proposition, the Catalonian Family Business Association (ASCEF), organized a conference entitled “Family Businesses Before the Succession Challenge”, with the collaboration of the University of Abad Oliva CEU and the participation of TOUS Corporate Vice-president, Rosa Tous.

“Succession is a sensitive moment and needs to be addressed with care and not out out of improvisation or emotional impulses. It should be well prepared, for it is a process, where strategy, organization and governance must converge“, explained Amadeu Jori, ASCEF President. “Their main actors are not only the person leaving the position and the one succeeding him, but also the rest of the members of the stock holding family“, he added.

Dr. Camen Ruiz-Viñal and Dr. Ferando Álvarez-Gómez, director and subdirector respectively of the Department of Family Business and Company Creation of the University of Abad Oliva CEU, presented the report “Spanish Family Businesses Before the Succession Challange”, prepared along with other researchers members of international consortium STEP Project (Successful Transgenerational Entrepreneurship Practices), where it was noted, among other figures, that 70% of the today’s family businesses acknowledge not having a succession plan.

According to this study’s data, most of CEOs are baby boomers, 24% are women and 45% belong to the company’s second generation.  Dr. Álvarez-Gómez underscored that “succession plans prevent situations of conflict in the future“. However, he indicated that there is “a limited proactivity” in most businesses since “the business leader is expected to reach an age close to retirement“.

Meanwhile, Dr. Ruiz-Viñal thought that the COVID-19 pandemic “has entailed an acceleration in family business succession processes“.    She also added that millennials are increasingly being taken into consideration, since the pandemic has also accelerated businesses digitalization“.

TOUS Corporate Vice-president, Rosa Tous, took part in the conference “The Great Challenges of Family Business, moderated by Dr. Juan Corona, Academic Advisor for the Business Family Institute. Tous, who explained that fourth generation family members have started to enter the business, underscored that “in the family business, we want to build to endure“.

Tous indicated that, once the second to third generation succession was planned in 2008, “we set up a family council with the intention of working on behavioral matters involved in being a family business member, knowing that we have three roles: family, stock-holder and business executive“. “It is important to know how to interact within the company, differently as in family reunions, being aware that this involves a learning process“, Rosa Tous added.

Assets management in family business, the country’s main source of wealth and, was the topic analyzed in the show Diálogos at La Vanguardia, held last week with the presence of Amadeu Jori, President of the Catalonian Association of Family Business (ASCEF). Other participants were Josep Tàpies, IESE Professor Emeritus specialized in family business; Antoni Murt, EY Associate in Barcelona; José Alarcón, Andbank General Business Director in Spain and Pere Guardiola, Godó Strategies‘ CEO.

Amadeu Jori stated that most of the successful family businesses set assets growth as their priority goal in order to ensure their continuity in the future. In this way, ASCEF President acknowledged that professionalization is a recurrent debate among family businesses: “It means finding the best people to run the business, whether they are family members or not, both on a daily basis and among government bodies. There are more doubts in the field of assets management, but it is obvious that it is also necessary. However, it is never to be neglected, instead the management conducted by professionals should be watched upon closely“.

“Much is said about the need to professionalize leadership and business management, but the importance of professionalizing assets management is not so valued, something that requires an appropriate specialization“, explained Alarcon, who advocates that assets management professionalization “is more important as family generations advance as it becomes more difficult to harmonize the interests of each family member“. “Family assets management must be aligned with the legacy, which constitute the set of values of each family business“, he added.

“The main goal of family businessmen is always to think of the business and create business. The surplus is either invested on the business, on starting a new one or on current businesses” explained Amadeu Jori. ASCEF President favors the commission of assets management to professionals but insisted on the need for a very close administration and supervision by the family counsel.

Professor Tàpies deems it necessary to professionalize finance management, “but you need to let this professional know what is expected and define how much risk and volatility you are willing to assume“. “Watching over intangible family business assets is as important as doing it for financial assets“, he added.

Meanwhile, Antoni Murt regretted the lack of a legal and tax system specific of family businesses. He thinks that proceeds reinvestment and assets accumulation are not being protected, which is part of the family business strategy to prepare for the future.

You may access the whole article through this link: Dinero-LaVanguardia.

The Catalonian Family Business Association (ASCEF, acronym in Spanish) together with the PwC organized an online session called “Europeans Funds for Reconstruction and Sustainability as an Element for Value Creation and Recovery Leverage in Family Business”, which explore the topic of aids and financing alternatives involved in the European Recovery Plan (Next Generation EU), its benefits and implications, and how sustainability may help in identifying opportunities.

Anna Merino, PwC Strategy & Economics Director, and Marga de Roselló, PwC Sustainability and Climate Change Director, provided insights for the angles that conform sustainability and the different possibilities that the Europeans Funds for Reconstruction may offer for family businesses. An European Union Investment that will hinged on three pillars: Ecological Transition, Digital Transition and Reindustrialization.

“Family Businesses start from a privileged situation to leverage on opportunities, because they share four priorities: networking, continuity assurance, which entails a long-term vision, faster decision making and community building, with greater relations with workers and regions“, stated Marga Roselló. “There will be no change without the family business“, she stressed.

Meanwhile, Anna Merino explained that “we do not start from scratch, since the European Funds have expedited the changes already planned for the next decade. We now face a complex economic situation, but with a need to solve the problem before it gets bigger.” She reminded that Spain will be one of the most favored countries (it will received €140 billion), but in compensation for that “the EU requests that the funds make it to the whole business fabric, to all industries.”

“All projects should prove their impact on the region’s economy“, Merino added. “Businesses have now the opportunity to plan and think about latent projects within the business, which may also bring a change in business culture in the ecological transition or digitalization, for example.”

The session also included the participation of Mireira Cammany, Joint Director of EPI INDUSTRIES family of companies, who shared her experience in her company’s path to sustainability. Cammany reminded that the “2030 Agenda helps arrange actions and priorities.” She also emphasized that “sustainability is addictive; if we integrate it into the business, we are leaving a legacy of great impact and feasibility for the coming generations.”

Anem a Compartir (Let’s Share), the women’s group of the Catalan Association of Family Businesses (ASCEF), held an online session on December 15 with Netmentora, an association that used the occasion to present a Decalogue containing 10 key points in support of female entrepreneurship.

The aim is to invite women and men to take a step forward and not replicate the model of company led solely by men. Currently, women make up only 20% of the business community. The Decalogue presented by Netmentora, the leading European non-profit association dedicated to helping entrepreneurs to consolidate their project with the support of a network of business leaders, is intended to be a practical tool to remedy the current situation.

The session was led by Ana Fisas, the President of the Anem a Compartir group. The participants consisted of Núria Basi, the President of Basi Group and Vice-President of Netmentora Catalunya, Beatriz de Vicente, the Director of Netmentora Catalunya, and Lorena Toda, entrepreneur and CCO of Leti Pharma. All of them highlighted the entity’s commitment to female talent and promoting the integration of diversity in the entrepreneurial ecosystem as a key value.

The 10 key points of the Decalogue are available at the following link in the private space of the ASCEF website.

Netmentora and ASCEF signed a collaboration agreement last January with the aim of collaborating in the identification of potential female and male entrepreneurs and employers who can benefit from the experience, knowledge and resources of the two organisations.

The members of the Catalan Association of Family Businesses (ASCEF) are invited to participate in the ‘AHORA’ programme, a project through which family businesses can receive a number of grants to give their brands greater visibility and thus reach a greater number of customers. The programme stems from the agreement signed between the Family Business Institute (IEF), to which the ASCEF has links, and Atresmedia Publicidad.

This project will provide almost 4 million euros in 54 grants for member companies of Spain’s different Territorial Associations that wish to launch an advertising campaign. Atresmedia will channel its resources and platforms -digital and TV- to help small and medium enterprises affected by the Covid-19 pandemic.

To access the programme, there are a series of requirements: companies should not have undertaken any commercial communication on television through Atresmedia, they should have fewer than 250 employees, they should have an annual turnover of less than 50 million euros and they should be a member of a Territorial Association, such as the ASCEF.

The ‘AHORA’ programme consists of assistance both in the broadcast and production of advertisements. It facilitates this access to companies that have not done so up to now. In addition, participating companies will also benefit from advisory services, monitoring, planning and post-evaluation of the campaigns.

ASCEF member companies that meet the requirements and wish to apply for grants have until January 15 to do so. From this date, a jury of experts will make its choice of companies in accordance with a set of conditions: the history and analysis of the family business, its values, its roots in the territory, its employee number, its age, its compliance with tax obligations, together with a qualitative analysis. Atresmedia has until January 30 to analyse the companies and decide on the awarding of grants before planning is to commence.

Information about the programme may be found in the private space of the website, where there are also answers to a series of frequently asked questions.

The registration form for the AHORA programme is available in the following link.

An online session held by the Catalan Association of Family Businesses (ASCEF) entitled “The culture of innovation in family businesses” featured a round table with Vanesa Martínez, the CEO of Grupo Carinsa, Mercè Girbau, the President and CEO of the Girbau Group, and Eulalia Alomar, the General Manager of Creu Blanca. The trio shared their experiences of innovation in the family business in a conversation moderated by Rosalía Soler, a partner at Ernst & Young.

The three businesswomen stressed that innovation was “day to day” and said that, despite being on the agenda of their respective companies, innovation and digital transformation have been “driven” by the Covid pandemic. “This has led us to reinvent ourselves, especially in the sectors that have been most affected,” Ms Martínez said. At her side, Ms Alomar explained that “we have innovated in unforeseen aspects, re-adapting techniques“. “The pandemic has had a real impact on us; it has forced us to adapt to the new situation,” Ms Girbau added.

“Innovation has been in our DNA since Grupo Carinsa was founded and this is about long-term investment,” Ms Martínez said. “We observe the work processes in order to apply the big data and thus be more efficient day-to-day, in addition to working on improving energy efficiency and waste management.” She added a maxim that they bear in mind: “If a family business wants to be innovative, leaders have to form teams of talented people and provide them with the necessary tools to innovate constantly.”

“The future will transform the way we work and organisations in all areas,” Ms Girbau said. “It is necessary to commit to innovation in order to add value as a company. We approach the methodology of start-ups, and we develop different products to see how it can be applied to the market,” she explained. The President of the Girbau Group also called on the Public Administration for support “beyond that of a financial type, in order to create ecosystems and a tradition of innovation in society as other countries do.”

Meanwhile, Ms Alomar said that innovation is “day to day“. “Everything will be digital and information management will be essential. Processes have to be streamlined: they are all capable of being improved and we are increasingly heading towards more automation,” the General Manager of Cruz Blanca added. “We are working on two types of change: one to reduce ecological impact, both in terms of electricity consumption and waste management, and another to reduce the impact on the patient, thanks to digitisation, and we are seeking techniques that minimise side effects.”

The session, which enjoyed the collaboration of Ernst & Young, also featured two lectures. The first, entitled “Data as a source of innovation and growth in family businesses”, came from Beatriz Sanz, Advisory Partner of Ernst & Young. The second was “Innovating from tradition: how to preserve the family legacy and ensure the creation of value as a business family” by Cristina Cruz, the Academic Director of IE Center for Families in Business.

Ms Sanz recalled that “the origin of the family business lies in entrepreneurship and innovation.” She added that we can take advantage of the use of Artificial Intelligence “through efficient data management, business problem resolution, technological change and ecological application.” However, she recommended companies “to start small, with a small test to see what happens, how it evolves and thus apply it to other fields in the company.”

For her part, Ms Cruz highlighted the fact that “owners of family businesses have control of more than 50% of innovative companies” in order to combat society’s view that “a family business may be conservative, risk averse and less innovative. Aspects of ours that boost innovation must be transformed into competitive advantages and the negative impact that prevents us from innovating must be reduced,” she concluded.

The Honorary Vice President of Almirall and Honorary President of the Catalan Association of Family Businesses (ASCEF), Antonio Gallardo, was one of three guests at the business round table entitled “The family business: managing with values“, held at the ASCEF Annual Meeting.

“I have always said that we are not a family business, but a business family. It is important for the family to remain together,” Mr Gallardo said. “If we never have to sell the company, the family’s money has to remain together and keep working in the same line and with the same vision,” the Honorary President of the ASCEF added.

“The values of a family business distinguish it from the rest since we have a different vision and approach and we think about the continuity of the company in the hands of our children and grandchildren.”

“It is important to have a vision that is shared with the whole family,” continued Mr Gallardo, who also underlined how important it is for the whole family to know what is being done in the company and to always take family difficulties into account as “not everything always gets resolved.”

Mr Gallardo highlighted the internationalisation of family businesses as the great challenge for the future, saying that those who emerge best from the current crisis “will be those who make around 80% of their total sales abroad.”

Pablo Lara, General Director of the Education Area and Member of the Board of Grupo Planeta, and Ramon Agenjo, the Director and Secretary S.A. DAMM, joined Mr Gallardo at the business round table at the ASCEF Annual Meeting.

Pablo Lara, General Manager of the Education Area and Member of the Board of Grupo Planeta, was one of three business people who participated in a round table entitled “The family business: managing with values“. The event was held at the Annual Meeting of the Catalan Association of Family Businesses (ASCEF) on November 26.

Mr Lara, who belongs to the third generation of the company’s family, said that values “lend personality to family businesses. They are something intangible that enables the family business to function and they earn trust because they provide a sign that we are thinking in the long term.” He added that a family business is “more intensely felt” due to the fact that “the reputation of our company is ours: our product is associated with us.”

“Young talent is what concerns me the most,” he continued, even though he added that “the family business has values that young people will not find in another company; we build an offer of value that makes us attractive to young talent.”

Looking forward, Mr Lara feels that the three major challenges facing family businesses in the future are “talent, moderation and governance.” In this regard, he underlined the importance of “thinking about what follows the crisis before reaching it; now is a good time to steal a march on some companies.”

Together with Mr Lara, the guests at the business round table at the ASCEF Annual Meeting were Antonio Gallardo, the Honorary Vice-President of Almirall and Honorary President of ASCEF, and Ramon Agenjo, the Board Member and Secretary of S.A. DAMM.

Ramon Agenjo, Board Member and Secretary of S.A. DAMM, has participated in a business round table entitled “The family business: managing with values” in which he identified the major challenges for the future of the family businesses. The event took place at the Annual Meeting of the Catalan Association of Family Businesses (ASCEF) on November 26.

“Continuity, closeness and links with the territory are some of the values that distinguish family businesses,” Mr Agenjo explained at the round table. He also acknowledged that “the pressure is also different“. “You always have the pressure to do better than your father or grandfather, to make your own contribution to the company. These improvements can take place in different aspects; they do not have to involve increasing turnover, but perhaps in internationalisation or innovation.”

Nonetheless, Mr Agenjo said that “the values of the company cannot be interfered with“. For this reason, he sees it as important to spread the company’s culture to all the employees, and even more so in its internationalisation processes.

“What is also important in a family business is discipline: we know that we are a team and everyone has their tasks; it’s not a good thing for the company to periodically modify the functions of the family members,” said Mr Agenjo, who highlighted the “importance” of being transparent with the whole family and explaining how the company is doing at all times, as well as giving one’s own perspective. “Good decisions for the company are also good for the family,” he added.

With regard to the three major challenges for the future facing family businesses, Agenjo described them as “to possess a good team, to possess resources and to learn a lot from others, both in terms of mistakes made and what has been done well.”

Together with Mr Agenjo, the business round table at the ASCEF Annual Meeting comprised Antonio Gallardo, the Honorary Vice-President of Almirall and Honorary President of ASCEF, and Pablo Lara, General Manager of the Education Area and Board Member of Grupo Planeta.

The Catalan Association of Family Businesses (ASCEF) held its Annual Meeting on November 26 under the title “Family businesses: managing with values“. Due to the current pandemic, this year’s event took place in a hybrid format: in-person at Barcelona’s Hotel Clarís, in observance of the measures and recommendations on hygiene and health, as well as online.

Amadeu Jori, the ASCEF President, and Luis Herrero, Banco Santander’s Institutional Territorial Director in Catalonia, welcomed all those attending this Annual Meeting edition, which revolved around the values possessed by all family businesses that distinguish them from other organisations.

Moderated by Dr Juan Corona, Academic Advisor of the Family Business Institute and Professor of Applied Economics at Abat Oliba CEU University, the Annual Meeting featured a round table of businessmen who offered their views on the family business. These were Antonio Gallardo, Honorary Vice-President of Almirall and Honorary President of ASCEF; Pablo Lara, General Manager of the Education Department of Grupo Planeta; and Ramón Agenjo, Board Member and Secretary of S.A. DAMM. They highlighted that what lends a company personality are its values and this therefore makes a family business different from the rest.

As challenges for family businesses in the future, the trio highlighted the internationalisation of companies, possessing and attracting talent, and learning a lot from the others: where they have gone wrong and what they have done well.

The ASCEF Annual Meeting was sponsored by Banco Santander. Its Commercial Director of Companies in Catalonia, Sergi Farro, gave a talk entitled “Our support and Financial Solutions to the Covid Environment“. In this, he examined what has happened during the recent months of economic crisis, the key elements today for companies (internationalisation, digitisation, possessing liquidity, adaptability and speed in decision-making). He concluded by focusing on the unknown that is 2021, the current signs of optimism notwithstanding.