Caroline Lindley, BSBA ’14 and 10th generation member of Lindley Mills, Inc, one of the country’s major organic flour distributors and suppliers of King Arthur’s organic flour, reports on the Asheville Bread Festival and how the family business courses at Kenan-Flagler are helping her prepare for life back at the mills…. Before there was a United States of America, there was a Lindley’s Mill, in what today is Graham, North Carolina. In 1755 the mill was established to grind local farmers’ grain into flour for their families and the community. The methods have been updated for electricity instead of water power and our products are distributed nationally, but my father (Joe Lindley, a 9th generation descendant of the original founder), still Read More
Author Archives: Anne Dusek
Family Business Speaker Sparks Conversation Between Student and Her Father
Marissa Weiss, BSBA ’13, is inspired by class speaker to talk to her father about their family business and plans to construct a board of directors…. On Wednesday, March 27th, Todd E. Schurz from Schurz Communications spoke to our Family Business class. Todd spoke with us about how his family firm has evolved over the past five generations and the importance of having a family agreement and board of directors. Since its founding in 1872, Schurz Communications has adapted to the changing demands of the market. For example, in 1980, segment revenue was made up of 26.6% electronic and 72.8% newspaper. Today, however, it is almost exactly a third newspaper, a third broadcasting, and a third cable. Each generation has taught the current leaders Read More
FEC’s Steve Miller Publishes Second Family Business Article In India’s Smart Manager Magazine
In Steve Miller’s article, New Kids on the Block*, he takes a closer look at America’s largest seller of fine Italian dinnerware, Vietri. Family businesses are susceptible to the pitfalls of poor succession planning but Vietri gets it right by leaving the door open for Lee Frankstone (MBA ’11) to join the company after gaining outside experience and education. Read the full article here. *First published in and reproduced with permission from The Smart Manager, India’s first world-class management magazine (www.thesmartmanager.com).
Biltmore’s Dini Cecil Pickering Motivates Family Business Students to Plan Family Meetings
Genna Zimmer, BSBA ’14, learns about family meetings from guest speaker in family business class. Dini Cecil Pickering, who is the Vice Chairman of the Board of Directors for the Biltmore Company spoke to our Family Business class on March 20th, 2013. Pickering talked with us about the history of the Biltmore Company, and she also discussed her role as the Family Office Director. Pickering serves as the leader in planning family meeting and training for future generations. Pickering mentioned that family meetings are important for all family businesses to have, yet few family businesses actually have them. At these family meetings, it is essential to make sure that “fun” is incorporated into the agenda in order to ensure a high Read More
An Exciting Beginning to the FEC’s 2013
We have just wrapped up another engaging quarter with students and guest speakers in our Introduction to Family Enterprise course. We are preparing for a busy spring and would love to have you join us. Here are some ways you might like to be involved with the FEC this spring: Wednesdays, March 20 – April 24: Join us for our Governance and Ownership class (2:00 – 3:15) or for one of our Next Generation Leadership lunches (12:30 – 1:45). RSVP to fec@unc.edu. Tuesday, April 9, 5:00: Join us and guest speaker, Roy Richards, Jr., former CEO and current non-executive Chairman of Southwire, for an informative governance discussion: Shareholders-Engagement and Liquidity. RSVP to fec@unc.edu. Join our Linked in Group to receive occasional articles and helpful resources. Visit our YouTube playlist to see video of current students. Read Read More
Creating Family Business Sustainability
Derrick Lund, BSBA ’15, recounts a visit from Michael Mangum, Senior VP of Saulsbury Industries… On Wednesday, February 13, 2013, Michael Mangum visited Kenan-Flagler’s Family Business weekly lecture. Mr. Mangum, the Sr. Vice President and Director of Saulsbury Industries, spoke to the class about his experience as a non-family executive with the engineering and construction firm after being Chairman of C.C. Mangum, a highway contract and asphalt producer founded by his grandfather in 1927. From the beginning of his lecture, Mr. Mangum stressed his premise for the day: sustainability. He emphasized that success is necessary for a business to continue, but “just because you are great does not mean you are sustainable.” In family businesses, he witnessed many factors that Read More
Managing Sibling Partnerships in Family Business
Daniel Sullivan, BSBA ’13, relates Stephen Shuford’s presentation to his own family business…. “Sibling partners [in a family business] will always run into conflict,” said Stephen Shuford in an oddly encouraging way. “It’s inevitable. The trick is dealing with it with openness and honesty.” Stephen Shuford, the CEO of Shurtape Technologies LLC, has worked alongside his brother for the past fifteen years; growing exponentially a small branch of his family’s diversified business. He describes his experience working with his brother—to whom he is very close—as one of tireless effort towards successful cooperation. “Our last argument was this morning,” he says jovially. For years now I have denied the thought that my brothers and I might have conflict with each other if Read More
Student Learns About Entrepreneurship within a Family Business from Kenan-Flagler Alum
Marissa Weiss, BSBA ’13, reflects on the lessons learned from Ted Wentz, MBA ’08 and founder of Firecraft… On Wednesday, January 23, 2013, the class was lucky enough to welcome speaker Ted Wentz, MBA 08’, who started his own business, Firecraft, in 2010 after partnering with his family’s firm, Quadratec. Not only did Ted utilize the knowledge that he gained from the family business class, but he also shared lessons he had learned once in his family’s business, including how to successfully fund and start his own business within his family’s business. Ted Wentz grew up surrounded by Quadratec, his father’s business of selling Jeep parts online and via catalog. Throughout his schooling, he never wanted to go into the Read More
Susan Gravely of Vietri Inspires Family Business Students to Find Passion in Their Work
Michael Hornsby, BSBA ’13, discusses the life and family business lessons that Susan Gravely, founder of Vietri, Inc., imparted to the Family Business class…. Susan Gravely, Chairman and CEO of Vietri, recently visited the students of UNC Kenan-Flagler’s Family Business I course to discuss what it takes to start and sustain a family business. In 1983, while on vacation on the Amalfi coast in Italy, Susan, her mother (Lee) and her sister (Frances) became fascinated with the ceramic dinnerware on which they were eating. It was beautifully designed, and more intriguing, different from most dinnerware that they had seen in the United States. They inquired about the ceramicist and, shortly after, visited his factory nearby. At first a simple fascination, these Read More
Former Family Business Student Brings Back Leadership Lessons to His Family Firm in India
George Alexander (MBA ’11), Vice President of Muthoot Group Finance, shares how UNC’s Kenan-Flagler Business School and the Family Enterprise Center equipped him to lead in his family business in India. Watch the video here.