LMU Family Business Conference: Lessons from 100-Year Old Family Businesses
About this Event
What does it take for a family business to endure for generations?
Join family business owners, next-generation leaders, entrepreneurs, advisors, and students for a two-day conference experience exploring what it really takes to sustain a business across decades and, in some cases, for more than a century.
Day One (Conference | Fri, Sept 11: 8:30 am – 4 pm): Features keynote presentations, fireside conversations, panel discussions, and networking with leaders from multi-generational family enterprises. Through the experiences of families and companies that have successfully navigated decades of change, attendees will explore the realities of succession, family dynamics, governance, innovation, culture, and long-term stewardship — and what it takes to keep a family enterprise entrepreneurial across generations.
Day Two (Hands-on Workshop | Sat, Sept 12: 8:30 am – noon): Moves from ideas to application through The Callahan Family Legacy Case, an interactive case study drawn from BCR’s decades of work with multi-generational family businesses. Attendees will step into the challenges facing a fourth-generation family company confronting a reluctant patriarch, a divided next generation, an unresolved minority owner, and a trusted non-family leader whose future has never been openly addressed.
Working in small breakout groups, participants will tackle the case as it unfolds — debating succession timing, evaluating next-generation readiness, considering the role of non-family leadership, and identifying governance gaps that can put both family relationships and family wealth at risk.
This is a working session, not a lecture.
Participants will debate options, test their instincts, and learn alongside other family business leaders facing similar dynamics. Attendees will leave with practical frameworks and questions they can bring directly into conversations with their own families, companies, partners, and boards.
Across the two days, attendees will explore questions including:
- How do successful family businesses prepare the next generation?
- How do you determine when a next-generation leader is truly ready?
- What traditions should be preserved, and what needs to evolve?
- How do families balance legacy with innovation?
- What governance structures should be in place before a crisis forces the issue?
- How can families navigate difficult conversations about succession, ownership, roles, and leadership?
- What role can trusted non-family leaders play in long-term continuity?
- How can family businesses remain entrepreneurial after 50, 75, or even 100 years?
Featured Speakers
Keynote Speakers:
- Randel Carlock: Internationally recognized family business expert, educator, and author
- Dennis Jaffe : Leading researcher and advisor on family enterprise and generational transition
Speakers from Leading 100-Year Family Businesses:
Hear directly from leaders representing some of the world's most enduring family enterprises:
- Vroman's Bookstore: One of California's oldest and most respected independent bookstores
- J.M. Huber Corporation: A sixth-generation family-owned global enterprise
- Farmers & Merchants Trust Company: A longstanding family-connected financial institution with deep California roots
- Gaviña Coffee Company: A multi-generational coffee roasting and hospitality business founded in Los Angeles
- Maui Soda & Ice Works, LTD : A multi-generational Hawaiʻi company with a legacy of entrepreneurship and community leadership
- Riboli Family Wines: A fourth-generation, family-owned winery rooted in Los Angeles since 1917
Additional Speakers:
- Ron Munman: Managing Director and Wealth Partner at J.P. Morgan Advisors, trusted guide for family business owners navigating wealth transfer and succession planning.
The conference brings together founders, successors, executives, advisors, and students from a wide range of industries for an honest, practical dialogue about continuity, leadership, resilience, and building businesses that last across generations.
Who Should Attend
- Family business owners and executives
- Next-generation family business leaders
- Entrepreneurs and founders
- Family office professionals and advisors
- Students interested in entrepreneurship and family enterprise
- Professionals who work with privately held businesses
Registration Includes
- Access to both conference days
- Day One keynote presentations, fireside conversations, and networking
- Day Two interactive workshop
- Breakfast and lunch
- Evening reception
- Opportunities to connect with family business leaders, founders, and advisors
Where is it happening?
Event Location & Nearby Stays:
USD 25.00 to USD 495.00
