One of the unspoken tensions common to family businesses is the reality that the various owners, and future owners, do not all want to be involved in the same way. But too often those aspirations and expectations are not discussed or normalized. The authors outline five different types of family managers, ranging from passive to practical. It also introduces a process for families to discuss their desired roles and evolve their business governance accordingly.
Sienna Amurri*, 72, the founder and chairman of a luxury cosmetics company, was distraught. A true owner-manager in the classic sense, and well versed in the day-to-day details of a vast business empire, Sienna leaves her eldest sons Remo and Robert in tears from their monthly half-day business meeting. I was just watching it jump out. She was shocked and angry, and at the same time trying to comfort her mother was her sister, Quinn, the current CEO. She wondered how her previously close-knit family had gotten to this point.
