The Global Family Business Learning Symposium will be the first event of its kind held on Thursday 19^th November by The Family Business Network.

Known for their flagship UK family business conferences and insight events, a global online event is a new and unique offering by the organisation, designed to unite a community of family businesses from across the world to engage in peer to peer learning and knowledge transfer.

Speaking about the event, Dave Clarkson, Co-Director of The Family Business Network said, “In the absence of our usual busy calendar of face to face events, we wanted to offer something completely different but just as valuable to our community of family businesses.

“This event will be all about sharing informative and educational content, encouraging connectivity and positively challenging the mindsets of those working within family businesses from across the globe”.

The event promises an exciting blend of live and pre-recorded interviews, film pieces, panel debates and insight sessions over a 24-hour period. With speakers and contributors dialling in from Australia, Hong Kong, Chile, Italy, and America as well as from around the UK and Ireland, the event will take on a truly global feel.

Amongst the diverse and high calibre line up is Dr Roger King, Adjunct Professor of Finance, Senior Advisor and Founding Director of Tanoto Center for Asian Family Business and Entrepreneurship Studies at Hong Kong University of Science and Technology. Dr King will be interviewed by Dave Clarkson and Sue Howorth of The Family Business Network following his presentation on ‘Preserving Family Harmony, Legacy and Value’.

Renowned UK family business advisor and consultant, Mairi Mickel is set to hold a discussion entitled, ‘The ‘Authority moment’ – what can happen to family ownership and leadership in a family business during a crisis’ alongside one of Europe’s leading family business consultants and teachers, Ken McCracken.

Known and respected as a prominent family business academic in the U.S.A, Professor Kimberley Eddleston’s research focuses on family businesses and the careers of entrepreneurs. Professor Eddleston will be delivering a workshop for the symposium entitled ‘When the Family Undermines the Business: Understanding The Fredo Effect’, where she will discuss ‘The Fredo Effect’ and how families can mitigate this in their own businesses.

Joining the academic line up from the U.S.A on the 19^th November will be family business researcher and author, Professor Joe Astrachan. Other family business speakers from the field of academia include Dr Linda Murphy of Cork University Business School, Professor Kiran Trehan from the University of York, Josip Kotlar from the Polytechnic University of Milan and Alfredo de Massis from the Free University of Bozen-Bolzano in Italy.

Sue Howorth, Co-Director of The Family Business Network said, “We’re really pleased to have the support of headline sponsor, Lancaster University Management School (LUMS), who we have worked closely with on different projects for many years”

“We are lucky to have several academic staff from LUMS joining our line-up for the event, including Professor Steve Kempster, Professor of Leadership Learning and Development at LUMS and Matt Hutchinson, Programme Manager for the Family Business Excellence Programme at LUMS who will be participating in one of our panel sessions with several UK family businesses”.

In addition to live and pre-recorded panel sessions, presentations and interviews, will be a selection of extra content produced by The Family Business Network, including  interviews with family businesses and short films which document real-life accounts and stories of family businesses around the UK.

The event is aimed at families and those working within family businesses, as well as those supporting the sector. The academic nature of the event is also valuable for students, who can take advantage of a special, reduced ticket price.

Subscribers of The Family Business Network are also entitled to a discount on tickets, which are priced at £45 including VAT.

To find out more about the Global Family Business Learning Symposium, or to book tickets, click here