The IMD Global Family Business Award recognizes excellence in the art of building and managing a successful, sustainable and well-governed, family-owned enterprise. Since 1996, the award has developed a reputation as the most sought after prize in the field of family business, offering a valuable opportunity for families to share and tap into best practices from around the world.
In 2021, leading pump manufacturer Grundfos took the crown, coinciding with IMD’s 75 anniversary celebrations. The award’s independent jury praised the Danish company for its status as an exceptional role model in areas such as cutting-edge innovation, governance and responsible leadership including a long-held commitment to philanthropy.
Nominations are now open until March 31 for the 2022 award. Anyone can nominate a family business, and businesses can also nominate themselves. However, nominated businesses must have reached the third generation of family succession, have an international presence, and bring in an annual turnover of at least $0.5 billion.
“We are excited to put out the call for suggestions and entries for the 2022 IMD Global Family Business Award,” said award director, and Director of the IMD Global Family Business Center, Professor Peter Vogel. “This award provides an incredible platform to showcase the best in family business and to share insights into the world’s leading family businesses, so that others can learn and grow too. For the winners, the award represents the highest recognition of achievement in the field and provides a strong impetus to continue to strive for excellence. We look forward to seeing this year’s nominations and wish all the entrants the best of luck.”
Once the window for nominations and applications has closed, the award jury – composed of former winners and family business academic experts – will conduct a thorough review of the potential winners based on a range of criteria, including family values, governance, cohesion between family and business interests, tradition, innovation and social impact
The winner will be announced at the FBN Global Summit in Budapest, Hungary between 28 September and 1 October 2022.
A selection of previous winners includes (in alphabetical order): Ayala – Barilla – Bavaria – Bel – Bonnier – Brown-Forman – Dachser – De Agostini Group – Firmenich – Grundfos – Henkel – Hermès – Jebsen & Jessen – JM Huber – Lego – Merck – Murugappa – Pentland Group plc – Puig – Roca – SC Johnson – Votorantim – Yazaki – Zegna.
About the award partners
In 1999, the Swiss watch and jewelry maker Chopard joined forces with IMD and has since contributed the beautifully crafted trophy.
The Family Business Network was founded in 1989 and spans 65 countries, with a community of 4,000 business families.
