IMD Professor Benoît Leleux and Anne-Catrin Glemser won the “Family Business” category in EFMD’s 2015 case writing competition.
They were awarded for their case “Ayala Corporation: One Family’s Contribution to Nation Building”.
For the first time, the World Economic Forum (WEF) had come to the Philippines. Ayala Corporation, one of the nation’s oldest and most successful conglomerates, hosted an evening reception that brought together the “Who’s Who” of the Philippines. Jaime Augusto and Fernando Zobel de Ayala, the seventh generation chairman and president, respectively, of the Ayala Corporation, were inspiring and natural ambassadors, promoting the Philippines as an up-and-coming market to global investors and potential business partners, investing time and effort in nation-building activities. Just after the East Asia Forum, Ayala’s biannual executive strategy meeting was held, with some eighth generation family members attending for the first time. Among the topics discussed were how to strategically allocate resources to grow the corporation inside and/or beyond the Philippines and how to venture beyond the traditional business models. The next generation had to consider fundamental questions. What were the keys to Ayala’s success over the past 180 years? Would they still be relevant in the future? Would inclusion and nation building continue to serve as reliable pillars for the business? Finally, how should they best prepare themselves to become the next generation of responsible stewards? The learning objectives of the case are: Managing succession in the family business, nation building, growth management, governance, communication, conglomerate management, next generation training, financing infrastructure developments, impact investments, sustainability, entrepreneurship in large corporations.
Find out more about the EFMD case writing competition on its website.
