On Thursday July 30, The Columbia Family Business Network hosted a reception at the Faculty Room in Low Library for members to learn more about the growing program and planned events for the fall semester.

The Director of the School’s Family Business Management Program, Professor Michael Preston, warmly welcomed the room full of guests comprising of students, alumni and other local family business owners.  Each guest took a moment to introduce themselves, revealing the School's world-wide representation of family businesses including those from Europe, the Philippines, China, Latin America and the United States. “Although family disputes often receive much media attention,” said Professor Preston who teaches a spring term family business management course at the School, “research has shown that family businesses are in fact more profitable, and are more sustainable longer term, than non family businesses.” 

No doubt, every business organization faces a range of operational and management issues, and on top of standard business concerns, family businesses face unique challenges, like the dynamics of the family and “family logic”, that can derail the best decision-making tactics learned in business school. The Columbia Family Business Network offers support to members and provide opportunities to come together to discuss important issues. 

Offered throughout the academic year, family business events are co-sponsored by the Columbia Entrepreneurs Organization, and other School affiliates, covering a variety of topics including succession planning, conflict resolution, estate planning, and how to succeed in a family business as an outsider.

A panel event on family businesses and private equity investments is scheduled for October 15th. Special Entrepreneurial Sounding Board sessions will also be offered this fall for family business owners in our community.

“The area of family business is interesting and multifaceted” said Mayra Reyes, the Associate Director of The Eugene Lang Entrepreneurship Center.  “Many of our students and alumni are part of a family business with numbers increasing in the past four years. We are working with other departments at the School and across campus to both expand and enrich our offerings to the network in the coming academic year.”

If you would like to be notified of upcoming Family Business Network discussions and networking events at Columbia Business School, please email Mayra Reyes or call 212.854.4225.