31 Aug 2006

Bob Geldof to headline this year's Irish Family Business Conference at UCC


The 2006 Irish Family Business Conference will be held at UCC on 29 September next and will be headlined by Bob Geldof KBE. The theme for the conference is "Prevention is better than cure - Avoiding conflict through good governance". The potential for conflict in family businesses can be greater than for many other businesses - typically due to a clash between commercial and emotional concerns. This conference seeks to explore how family businesses might avoid such conflict through strong leadership and careful planning.  In 2005 the John C. Kelleher Family Business Centre at UCC held its first national conference on sustaining the family business, at which the former British Prime Minister John Major was the keynote speaker.

This year's conference will be opened by an tUas Micheál Martin TD, Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment. Bob Geldof KBE is the keynote speaker, addressing the theme of leadership and making a difference. In addition to his remarkable record as a humanitarian and activist for the poor of Africa, Mr Geldof has many achievements as a businessman and entrepreneur. He has built a number of successful ventures including Planet24, sold to Carlton TV in 1994, and an online travel business sold for $17 million dollars in 2001 and he retains an 8% share in Ten Alps Communication.

Two family business owners will share their experiences and develop the theme further - Senator Feargal Quinn, President of Superquinn, and Liam Griffin, Managing Director of the Griffin Group, owners of Hotel Kilkenny, Ferrycarrig Hotel, and destination Spa 'Monart' in Enniscorthy. Both will give an insight into how they manage the intersection between family and business. Finally, Professor Joachim Schwass of the International Institute for Management Development in Lausanne will discuss the lessons to be learned from leading family businesses throughout the world. The conference will be chaired by Alan Crosbie, Chairman of Thomas Crosbie Holdings Ltd, and Adjunct Professor at the John C. Kelleher Family Business Centre.

In late 2001 UCC set up the Family Business Forum, a consultative group which was 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 May 2004 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:

Dr Joan Buckley, Director of the Family Business Centre at UCC, says "This year's conference will examine one of the more thorny aspects of family business, and I believe we will gain useful insights from all the speakers into ways of avoiding conflict. We are particularly pleased that Thomas Crosbie Holdings Ltd have continued as our main sponsor this year, and are also fortunate to have associate sponsorship from Davy, Enterprise Ireland, PriceWaterhouseCoopers and Ronan Daly Jermyn Solicitors. We are very grateful to have such active sponsors, who are interested in developing and supporting our family business initiatives."

For further details on the conference please contact Judith Muir at (021) 4902940 or familybusiness@ucc.ie

280MMcS


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