11 Mar 2005

"Sustaining the Family Business" - Irish Family Business Conference 2005

On April 15 2005 the Family Business initiative at UCC will take another step forward with its first public event, the Irish Family Business Conference 2005, which is themed "Sustaining the Family Business".

Organised by The John C. Kelleher Family Business Centre, at UCC's Department of Management & Marketing, the theme of the conference is long-term sustainability of the family business. It is aimed at all those working in family businesses, both family and non-family members, and at advisors to family businesses.

The keynote speaker, the Rt. Hon. John Major CH, will focus on the general business and commercial environment and the ever-increasing need for family businesses to anticipate and manage change. Patrick Campbell (Executive Chairman, Campbell Bewley Group) and Gerry McCaughey (CEO, Century Homes Ltd) will discuss their experiences in building, managing and marketing their family businesses. Peter Leach (a partner in BDO Stoy Hayward) will give an overview of the succession process from the perspective of a consultant supporting the family as it negotiates itself through the succession maze. Real examples and over 20 years experience in the support of family business will be used to outline a number of practical approaches to addressing the challenges specific to the family business and maintaining momentum, covering governance, family conflict, working in the family business and achieving consensus.

THE SPEAKERS

The Rt. Hon. John Major, CH
John Major was elected to the British Parliament in 1979, joined the Cabinet as Chief Secretary to The Treasury in 1987 and later served as Foreign Secretary and Chancellor of the Exchequer. During his seven years as Prime Minister, he instituted public sector reforms that became international models and left behind the strongest economy Britain has seen in decades.  Mr. Major initiated an unprecedented effort to secure lasting peace in Northern Ireland and continues to lend his support to Prime Minister Tony Blair on that issue. In 1999, he was awarded one of the United Kingdom's greatest honors: The Companion of Honour, bestowed on him by HM Queen Elizabeth, in recognition of his initiation of the Northern Ireland Peace Process.

Since leaving the British Parliament in 2001, Mr. Major has taken up various business and charitable interests.

Alan Crosbie, Conference Chairman, is a graduate of the Harvard University (O.P.M.) Programme. Alan has been working in the newspaper industry since 1972. With a background in Advertising Sales and Marketing he was appointed Chairman in 2001. Alan is the fifth generation of the Crosbie family to manage the company.  Alan is the author of a book on family business and Chairman, Examiner Publications Ltd and Thomas Crosbie Holdings Ltd

Patrick Campbell established Campbell Catering with his wife Veronica in 1967, now employing over 3,000 people as Ireland's market leading contract foodservice firm. In 1986, he rescued Bewley's, developing the company into the market-leading provider of hot beverage service solutions in the foodservice and hospitality industries, as well as a leading retail provider of ground coffee and teas. Campbell Catering formed a strategic alliance with Aramark Corporation in 2000. In what he described as "like a death in the family", he closed the beloved Bewley's cafés in Dublin in 2004.  The wider Bewley's continues successfully as a diversified business forming part of the Campbell Bewley Group. Bewley's operates as Java City in the USA, competing successfully with Starbucks in its own back yard.  Patrick is also an internationally renowned artist and sculptor.

Peter Leach is a partner in BDO Stoy Hayward, and has been Chairman of the BDO Centre for Family Business since its inception in 1992. He is a much sought after advisor and speaker and is a visiting fellow at Cranfield School of Management and a regular lecturer at Henley Management College and The London Business School. He has pioneered research into Family Businesses with Warwick University and the London Business School, to help raise awareness of the issues facing family enterprises.  Peter is the author of A Guide to the Family Business, now available in six countries, and also currently sits on the Advisory Board of the newly formed UK Institute for Family Business.

Gerry McCaughey, born in Dungannon, is an honours BComm graduate from UCD. He studied building and construction studies at UCLA and has a Diploma in Corporate Direction from UCC and an International Diploma in Corporate Direction from the Institute of Directors (IOD). Gerry was Monaghan Business Person of the Year 2000, Runner up of Young Entrepreneur of the Year 1998 & 2000, and Chairman of the Blackwater Region Plato business support network. He was named Industry Entrepreneur of the Year 2003.  Gerry ran for election in Monaghan with the Progressive Democrats and hosted the pre-election press conference on Insurance Reform. He is a founder member and current chairperson of the Alliance for Insurance Reform (AIR).

In late 2001 UCC set up the Family Business Forum, a consultative group designed to understand how UCC might best support family business in Ireland. Its membership drew from some of the most successful family businesses in the country, and it has given rise to a number of successful initiatives.

In 2003 UCC launched the Diploma in Family Business Management, the first NUI-accredited programme of its kind in Ireland dedicated to the needs of family business. Now in its second cycle, the Diploma has been an outstanding success. In May 2004, through a generous donation by Blarney Woollen Mills, it launched the John C. Kelleher Family Business Centre to further enhance the package of UCC-led initiatives aimed at developing the family business sector in the region and throughout Ireland. The guiding principles for the Centre are as follows:

• To strengthen the knowledge base and professional managerial capability of family businesses in Ireland
• To build knowledge, research and professional competence concerning family business within the Faculty of Commerce
• To network with national agencies and organisations that have a role in advancing knowledge of or providing service to family businesses
• To enhance research-based teaching and learning for those involved directly or indirectly with family businesses
• To bridge the scholarly and analytical world of academia with the world of family business.

The Conference Organisers gratefully acknowledge the chief sponsorship of Thomas Crosbie Holdings Ltd and associate sponsors BDO Simpson Xavier, Davy Stockbrokers and Enterprise Ireland.

Enquiries:  Linda Murphy, John C. Kelleher Family Business Centre, Department of Management and Marketing, UCC. Tel. +353 21 4902768 e-mail: familybusiness@ucc.ie See also www.ucc.ie/mgt/about/centres.htm.

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