Does your governance serve you in reaching your goals?

Good family business governance supports family enterprises in reaching the objectives they set for business and family. We are our clients’ partner in designing, implementing and evaluating their family and business governance system to ensure that it serves this purpose.

It is our conviction that any sustainable governance system is closely aligned with a family’s values, objectives and needs, and respectful of the family’s abilities and constraints. Policies and structures that fail to adequately consider a family’s or business’ context will lead to problems in the future.

We provide an outside perspective and guide our clients in leveraging their family business governance to enhance their family capacity. Reach out to Claudia Binz Astrachan to learn more about what we can do for you.

Our Governance Services

  • Business Governance

    Are you leveraging your family business board? Whether you seek to establish a first-time board of directors, add family or outside talent to your board, or aim to evaluate or improve your current board, we can support you every step along the way.

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  • Family Governance

    Is your family governance set up to meet your family’s current and future needs? We can support you in creating a family governance system that unifies and aligns the family group across generations and branches, and nurtures future generation of engaged and competent stewards.

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Business Governance

  • Director Search

    Whether you need to expand your board or replace a  director, our multi-stage process ensures that you end up with the right candidates for your needs. We leverage our extensive governance network to find candidates that fit your culture and competence needs, and closely assist the on-boarding process to ensure a smooth transition.

  • Board Formation

    We help you create your board from scratch, from identifying business (think diversity in experience, competences, or personality composition) and family needs (think qualifying requirements for family directors), to finding directors that fit the bill, to making sure you get your board off the ground with the support you need.

  • Board Evaluation

    A board assessment signals that the board will be held accountable in the same way they hold management accountable. Through our fully customized, multi-stage and multi-method process we assess board functionality and board contribution and identify short and long-term areas for improvement.

  • Director Training

    Effective family directors and chairpersons are equipped to successfully perform their governance roles – but sometimes they are not properly trained to do just that. Our diverse team provides training and mentoring for family members in any governance roles, and at any age, from next gens to senior board members.

  • Ad-Hoc Board Support

    Boards – like any other group – frequently experience conflict. Whether it’s a lack of candor in the board room, a conflicted relationship between the board and management, or underperforming board members, such challenges can be taxing – not only on the board, but on the family as whole. We can support you addressing and seeing through necessary changes in a way that minimizes damage to the family or the board.

Setting Your Family Business Board Up for Success.

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Family Governance

  • Governance Policies

    Sensible governance policies reflect your family’s values and culture and support you in pursuing your objectives. Whether it is a family employment or dividend policy, a shareholder agreement, or a code of conduct - we are here to support.

  • Family Council Formation

    Setting up a family council is not easy: Selecting and electing the right family members, setting up committees, and developing appropriate decision-making processes can lead to intense discussions. Our experienced consultants can provide the necessary outside perspective to support you in building the family council that best fits your needs.

  • Family Council Review

    A systematic and periodic review of the family council signals transparency and accountability to the family, which leads to increased trust. Through our fully customized, multi-stage and multi-method process we assess whether your council (still) meets your family’s needs and identify short and long-term areas for improvement.

  • Governance Training

    Effective council members and chairpersons are equipped to successfully perform their family governance roles – but sometimes they are not properly prepared or trained to do just that. Our diverse team provides on-boarding support, training and mentoring for family members in any governance role, and at any age, from next gens to senior board members.

Family Governance Policies

Examples

  • Who can work in the business, and what qualifying requirements should they meet?

  • What are your family’s values, vision and mission,? What are your strategic objectives, your family and business governance system, and your key policies (i.e., the who, why, what, how, and when of your family)?

  • Who can sell and buy shares, and under which circumstances?

  • How do you want to treat each other, and external stakeholders?

  • How do you want to make decisions together as a family?

Stephanie Scott, 3rd generation owner, ThermFlo & Zonatherm

“We hired Generation6 to help us form our inaugural Board of Directors—a process we knew nothing about. They have an impressive team with all the right resources and connections, so we never had to worry about making the wrong moves on this critical initiative. We are very happy with our Board and the diverse experience they bring to the table. Our experience with Generation6 was a very positive one and we're confident we made a great decision in hiring them.”