Past Events

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400 Years of Luxury Olivier Mellerio '72 & Clémence Mellerio-Jacques of Mellerio dits Meller

Olivier Mellerio '72 & Clémence Mellerio-Jacques of Mellerio dits Meller | October 25, 2021

Father and daughter Olivier Mellerio '72 and Clémence Mellerio-Jacques sat down with Professor Patricia Angus, Managing Director of the Global Family Enterprise Program to answer the question: How does a business last 400 years? Olivier and Clémence discussed their family's rich history in both France and Italy, the unique relationship between jeweler and client, and why they have remained "boutique" while other jewelry companies continue to expand.

This program was presented in hybrid format, allowing students to join from the classroom, while even more alumni, students, and friends joined virtually from around the world.

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2021 Conference: Future Foward!

2021 Conference: Future Foward! | March 26, 2021 & April 2, 2021

Thank you to our fantastic panelists, Advisory Board members, Family Business Club, sponsors, alumni and friends who made Future Forward, our 7th Annual Family Enterprise Conference, a success! Over the course of two richly packed days, Future Forward welcomed nearly two dozen speakers, intimate networking opportunities, and actionable insights about new ways to govern family enterprise.

Day 1 opened with Patricia Angus, Adjunct Professor of Management and Managing Director, Family Business Program and Faculty Director, Enterprising Families, and Steen Thomsen, Novo Nordisk Foundation Professor of Enterprise Foundations and Founding Chairman of the Center for Corporate Governance, Copenhagen Business School, looking at the future of ownership, sustainability and stakeholders. Next, panelists discussed what it takes to be a change agent and how family enterprise can make an impact beyond the business. We capped off Friday afternoon with a mixology event led by our very own Family Business Club students!

On Day 2, Daria Illy, Board of Directors and Coffee Culture Director, Illy Coffee, and Stephen Zagor, Adjunct Assistant Professor, Columbia Business School, explored the role of branding and education in family enterprise. Other highlights included conversation surrounding new models of family offices and wealth management. Four lucky raffle winners went home with swag bags, filled with an assortment of gifts and goodies generously offered by Global Family Enterprise Program supporters.

Future Forward was a testament to the relevance of family enterprise in today’s society and the power of community in generating new ideas and partnerships. We look forward to continuing the discussion at our upcoming events and to the 8th Annual Family Enterprise Conference!

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Stephen Puschel ’11 and Timur Yumusaklar ’11

Owner and CEO/President (respectively) | January 21, 2021

We had the pleasure of welcoming owner Stephen Puschel ’11 and CEO/President Timur Yumusaklar ’11 of F. Schumacher & Co., a fifth-generation interior design company. CBS classmates and friends, Stephen and Timur shared candid insights about the evolution of the 132-year-old company, their impressive turnaround story, and how to manage relationships within a family enterprise.

Three lucky guests—Leslie Kuo, Rohan Morbia, and Igor Vishnyakov—received copies of their latest book: S Is for Style: The Schumacher Book of Decoration by Dara Caponigro.

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Richard Eu

Chairman of the Eu Yan Sang International Ltd (EYSI) (Singapore) | October 26, 2020

Richard Eu joined us from Singapore to speak to the CBS Family Business Program about his Traditional Chinese Medicine retail chain Eu Yan Sang (230 stores in Asia and online), his approach to succession (5 generations of legacy), and how to successfully negotiate cross-cultural nuances across business and family.

With his children in the audience, Richard shared how Eu Yan Sang manages to balance the old and new, honoring its heritage while continuously evolving to make its products more accessible to the modern customer. He delved into how cultural influences passed down by his ancestors, including the Eu family poem inscribed with values to care for mankind and his family’s Western education (Richard’s uncle went to Columbia!), have had a big impact on subsequent generations. Finally, Richard expressed his love for playing music with his family, reminding us that business is only one portion of family!