The first module of the ten-day "Global Family Business Program" orchestrated by the PBC School of Finance, Tsinghua University (PBCSF) kicked off in Europe in late August 2013.
It brought together over 40 students including first-generation headssecond-generator successors of renowned Chinese enterprises as well as finance EMBA students, covering families holding nearly 20 domesticoverseas listed companies.
A Class at the International Institute for Management Development (IMD)
The European module took place at the International Institute for Management Development (IMD), Lausanne, which has the most time-honored family enterprise research center in the worldhas cultivated hundreds of members of families controlling world-famous enterprises over the 25 years. Prof. Dominique Turpin,President of IMD, delivered an ebullient speech to welcome the family business leaders from China.
Prof. Dominique Turpin (L), President of IMD, gives the welcome speech.
The program was co-designedtaught by Prof. Joachim SchwassProf. Denise H. Kenyon-Rouvinez at the Global Family Business Research Center, IMD. Based on the life cycle of family enterprises, Schwass guided Chinese entrepreneurs of two generations in changing their mental model from venture enterprises into family enterprises,built a "three-ring model" (family, equityenterprise) to systematically explain family enterprise governance, succession planning, successor cultivationfamily wealth inheritance, thereby helping the students build a development framework both for familiesenterprises.
Members from the same family formed case discussion groups with other family members. Led by SchwassKenyon, they probed into a collection of family cases, including Ermenegildo Zegna of Italy, Owens of AustraliaBonnier of Sweden, as well as cases winning the "IMD-Lombard Odier Global Family Business Award", discussing cutting-edge topics such as "combination of family inheritancecorporate strategy", "family constitutioninheritance""family committeegovernance" to decode corporate governancewealth inheritance from the upsdowns of the century-old family enterprises.
A Group Discussion
As the highlight of the program, PBCSFIMD invited successors of world-famous families for in-depth face-to-face communication with Chinese entrepreneurstheir successors. In the European module, the students headed to Paris to call on the sixth-generation successor of Hermèsto Switzerland for in-depth communication with the fourth-generation successor of Audemars Piguet, one of the world's three top watch makers.
A dialogue with the sixth-generation successor of Hermès at its headquarters in Paris
At the headquarters of Hermès, the group visited the Hermès' museum, manual workshopfamily private garden. Guillaume de Seynes, sixth-generation successorpresident of Hermès, reviewed Hermès' development over 170 yearshow the brand was handed down by the founder Thierry Hermès from generations to generations. Hermès family shared its experience of how to arouse a sense of mission among family membersa sense of identity among employees. "I did not inherit Hermès from my parents, but borrowed it from my children," as he described the concept of family inheritance.
At Hermès' family private garden
At Vallée de Joux, the cradle of Switzerland's clock & watch industry, the students visited Audemars Piguet's museum, manual workshopmodern plant, personally experiencing the full process of watch making. In the cordial talk with Jasmine Audemars, fourth-generator successorchairman of Audemars Piguet, when learning that Audemars-Piguet cooperation has lasted four generations, the students were astonished, "It is very hard for brotherspartners to stick together for a long time in China, let alone two different families which have been together for 136 years!" Audemars Piguet family gave a frank reply, elaborating on the unique conceptspractices of the two families in governance structure design, family culture establishment, values educationnext-generation cultivation.
A visit to Audemars Piguet family at Vallée de Joux, Switzerland
As another featureinnovation of the program, PBCSFIMD orchestrated a one-to-one consultation module between professorsstudents' families. Professors gave more targeting tutorialsreplies to each family to ensure in-depth communication with their privacy fully protected.
During the summary, SchwassDr. Gao Hao, Director of PBCSF Global Family Business Programexecutive director of the China Financial Case Center, reviewed the learning results of the European modulepresented certificates to all students.
Schwass said that Chinese family enterprises are in a severe period. The first-generation entrepreneurs built successful companiesput in much timeenergy into their businesses. However, "Inheritance is not isolated but a long process", the impact of some critical decisions is irreversible, so inheritance needs to be planned as early as possible.
Prof. Joachim Schwass, co-director of the Global Family Business Research Center, IMD
The students were stunned by the systematicin-depth teaching, case analysisfamily visits.
Graduation
Some teachersstudents also attended an elective program at UBS' headquarters in Zurich, as well as IMD’s Global Family Summit & Conference.
As a world top business school, IMD has topped several authoritative rankings of business schools in terms of MBAexecutive programs,enjoys great prestige in fieldsglobal competitiveness, board of directors, leadershipfamily business.
Over the three decades since the beginning of reformopening up, private enterprisesfamily enterprises have worked the miracle of China's economic development. According to the development rule of domesticoverseas family enterprises, intergenerational inheritance is an unavoidable tough test, with a shockingly low success rate. Chinese family enterprises are also facing fiercer competition from state-ownedforeign enterprises.
PBCSF has worked with world-famous business schools as well as prestigious century-old family enterprises in Europe, AmericaAsia-Pacific, to customize "Global Family Business Program" for families holding private enterprises in China. Our aim is to explore how Chinese private enterprises can fulfill the centurial dream of intergenerational inheritance in the complex context of globalizationthe political, economic, culturallegal context.
The European module is the first module of PBCSF "Global Family Business Program"the program will continue in the USA, Hong KongTsinghua University. The group was led by PBCSF Professor ZHOU Hao, chairman of the Academic Committee of PBCSFdirector of the Monetary PolicyFinancial Stability Research CenterDr. GAO Hao, head of PBCSF Global Family Business Programexecutive director of the China Financial Case Center.
