Family Enterprise boards: A three part series

Article 1: Board Impact

The boards of family enterprises have the same governance responsibilities as boards in other companies. But they must also respond to a range of additional challenges that make their job more difficult. This article looks at the role of family boards and presents a framework for understanding whether they are delivering value for their owners and wider stakeholders.

Article 2: Impactful board members

Our first article in this series introduced a framework for family enterprises to help understand and assess the impact of their boards. Determining board impact is one thing, however, actually securing that impact given the number of challenges that family enterprise boards face in delivering value to the business is another (see Board Impact). In this, the second of our articles on family boards, we look at the individual members themselves and what it takes to contribute effectively to a family board.

Article 3: Board chairs

Based on our experience of working with many boards over the last 20 years, including the boards of family enterprises, we’ve come to a simple but powerful conclusion: around 70% of a board’s effectiveness, and therefore impact, is down to having an effective chair – and conversely, 70% of a board’s lack of impact is down to having an ineffective chair.

The position of board chair is the pinnacle of status within any organization, typically taken by a distinguished individual who commands respect linked to their experience, who understands the family heritage, and whose authority and integrity within the business or sector is beyond question.