Governance in Family Enterprises

All organizations should have a plan to secure trust during, after (and even before) a crisis hits. Here are a host of examples, good and bad, to learn from.

Medacta Group SA is a rising star in the orthopedics market, achieving global success through innovative products and techniques, with a particular emphasis on minimally invasive techniques that bring meaningful value to its patients. With its approaches such as Anterior Minimally Invasive Surgery (AMIS) for hip replacement and Kinematic Alignment for knees, Medacta offers high-quality techniques, supporting tools and cutting-edge implants. It also offers personalized surgeon education through the Medacta Orthopedic Research and Education (M.O.R.E.) Institute. Medacta is situated in an evolving landscape, with competitors including Stryker and Zimmer Biomet investing heavily in robotic technologies. Technological advances are being made in data-driven planning tools – including augmented reality – and research institutes are looking for the most advanced solutions as demanded by many hospitals and surgeons. Despite these trends in the industry, Medacta's CEO, Francesco Siccardi has concerns regarding the value of existing robotic systems, noting their lack of proven benefits in patient outcomes or cost reductions, especially in a context of increasing emphasis on value-based care and sustainability. The case explores the opportunities and challenges confronting Medacta as they decide whether to enter the orthopedic robotics market. The company wants to continue to differentiate itself and drive growth in line with its foundational principles of patient care, operational excellence and sustainable innovation. Today, Francesco faces a critical decision around whether now is the time to enter the robotics market and, if so, how Medacta should do so to preserve its culture and stay true to its DNA.

The Handtmann case examines the co-CEO leadership model in the context of family business. Based on interviews with three key executives – the co-CEOs and the President of the Advisory Board – the case focuses on how Handtmann handled the leadership transition to the next generation. In Case B of "Co-CEOs at Handtmann: Can the Family Business be led in Tandem?" the focus shifts to the next generation. Markus Handtmann and Valentin Ulrich, cousins from the fifth generation of the founding family, have been appointed as co-CEOs. They must now learn to work together in tandem. The president of the advisory board, who is the father and uncle of the new CEOs, respectively, has stepped down from leading the company and now embraces a supporting role. Case B explores strategies for designing effective co-leadership partnerships. It also highlights the importance of complementarity in successful tandems. Lastly, the case presents the foundational elements that enable co-CEOs to succeed in family firms.

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The case study introduces an original way of exploring the many questions and concerns around AI adoption in business. Based on a true story, it discusses the dilemma of AI implementation through Joe, the CIO of ParcelFlow. Joe is getting ready to present his AI strategy to the company's executive committee. Joe is also diabetic and on the morning of his presentation, he receives an AI-powered insulin pump. This is a life-changing event that raises both questions and fears that range from device functionality and safety to data privacy. Joe realizes that at his morning doctor's appointment, he has just gone through the same process that the executive committee is about to experience. Will Joe succeed in convincing the executive committee to transition towards the use of AI agents? To ultimately transform ParcelFlow's operations, Joe knows that answering the committee's concerns is vital. Joe's thoughts span the various stakeholders he needs to convince: Diane - the chief financial officer; Elena - the head of customer experience; Michael - the head of operations; Albert - the chief human resources officer; Robert - the legal counsel; and Lucy - the chief executive officer. Each stakeholder will have their own reservations and worries about the financial implications, customer experience, operational efficiency, workforce impact, legal compliance, and overall benefits of AI. Building trust is key for engaging people in this technological revolution. This can be achieved smoothly and rapidly by understanding, identifying and analyzing what AI is about and what it will do for us or our business. And most importantly, it must be accomplished with an excellent communications strategy.

#post_excerptHannele Jakosuo-Jansson of Neste and Finnair shared key insights on board roles in CEO transitions and culture shifts with IMD’s High Performance Boards program.

This case study explores AstraPay’s journey to become a significant player, despite its latecomer status, in Indonesia’s burgeoning digital payments landscape. Launched in 2018, AstraPay had grown to serve over one million customers, but it faced intense competition from tech-first digital super-apps like GoTo and OVO. Led by Rina Apriana, who became CEO in 2023, AstraPay had to leverage its unique position within Astra International, a vast conglomerate with deep roots in Indonesia’s economy, to differentiate itself. The case first explores the conceptual differences between a platform and an ecosystem. It then considers how AstraPay can leverage Astra International’s unique characteristics to unlock synergies and evolve into an ecosystem. The question is underpinned by considerations on how AstraPay can best leverage its late mover status to compete with established digital first competitors. Finally, the students are encouraged to explore a range of alternative options available to Astra for building its ecosystem by highlighting the pros and cons of each approach against which to assess the final path taken by AstraPay.

The Handtmann case examines the co-CEO leadership model in the context of family business. Based on interviews with three key executives – the co-CEOs and the president of the advisory board – the case focuses on how Handtmann handled the leadership transition to the next generation. Starting with a history of the five generations at the head of Handtmann, Case A offers a window into the succession process of a well-established European family business. The case analyzes the potential risks and rewards of appointing co-CEOs in a privately held family business. From a governance perspective, the case assesses how organizational culture, governance systems and ownership structures contribute to creating a conducive environment for co-CEOs to thrive. Established in 1873 as a brass foundry, Handtmann has evolved into a global technology company that employs 4,300 people, with 2,700 based at its headquarters in Biberach an der Riss, Germany. Handtmann offers highly specialized production and services to clients in the automotive industry, the chemical and pharmaceutical industry, among others. It is also the world leader in the manufacture of fillings and portioning systems for the food industry and a leading supplier of fittings and process systems for the beverage industry. More recently, the Group has also ventured into the development of electronic systems. The business has remained under the stewardship of the Handtmann founding family for 150 years.