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Overview & Mission
Overview & Mission
Overview
The IMD Global Family Business Center is first and foremost a resource for family businesses. IMD pioneered the way in this field in 1988, when it brought together a small team of academics and visionary family business members who understood the immense need for family business research and education. Click here to read history.
For close to a generation, IMD has worked with leading global family businesses, gaining extensive expertise in the field and growing into a global center of excellence. The Center encompasses ongoing, highly relevant research and a wide range of educational offerings that bring our research to practicing family businesses.
Family businesses are highly complex. They must continuously align the interests of the family with the ownership and objectives of the business. They typically have a very long-term, values-based approach; each generation wants to ensure the success of the business for the next generation. However, succession planning can often present a tough challenge for family businesses. Family conflicts can erupt over diverse business visions and a lack of clarity on the evolving roles of family members.
| "IMD knows and truly understands the specific issues that family businesses face and we can help!" |
Professor Joachim Schwass GFBC Director |
Family businesses from around the world come to IMD for the most relevant and up-to-date knowledge on how to deal with the highly specific and unique challenges they are facing. Leading the Family Business, the cornerstone of IMD's family business programs, was launched in 1988, and it has since become world-renowned for providing advanced fundamentals and practice driven solutions for family businesses. It is a "must" for all members of business-owning families.
| "Over two decades of studies have shown us that family businesses are more solid and more successful over time than their competitors. This is thanks not only to their long-term vision, human values and unparalleled spirit of innovation, but also to their capacity to take risks - a liberty that listed companies are unable to afford - and that gives family businesses a real competitive advantage." |
Professor Dominique Turpin, IMD President |
Mission
We help family businesses navigate their unique and inherent challenges, thus helping them assure their long-term continuity and sustainable growth. This is done through:
- Specific educational programs and events for members of family-owned businesses.
- Pragmatic, straightforward research that is up-to-date, hands-on and directly linked to the classroom.
- A learning platform that offers a neutral setting for sharing and networking with other family businesses from around the world.
