Parallel Session

During this session Brad Scott Founder, CEO and Managing Director, EWM Group will facilitate a discussion with one of Australia’s leading family enterprises and business families to discuss the various options families have as they look to protect and pass on one of their greatest assets – legacy. The discussion will include Philanthropy, Family governance techniques, preparing the next generation and education as a vital tool in this pursuit.

Joining Brad on stage is Paul Crawford, Managing Director of the CMV Group and his son Miles Crawford, General Manager for CMV Truck & Bus. From a staff of five in 1934, the CMV Group now runs substantial operations in automotive dealerships and agriculture predominately in South Australia and Victoria, employing more than 1,600 staff. CMV also administers the CMV Group Foundation, a charitable trust which channels the Group’s distributable profit back into the community through donations to worthy causes.

Faraway is found beyond the city boundaries. It’s a place where sheep graze in scrubby bluebush hills and where the McBride family began its pastoral dynasty more than one hundred years ago.

AJ & PA McBride is one of the country’s largest wool producers, running in excess of 250,000 merino sheep across ten properties in South Australia and Victoria, and covering more than 1.4 million hectares. Whilst predominantly sheep and wool focused, the company produces beef cattle and has investments in viticulture, as well as an f off farm commercial property.

Celebrating over 100 years in business and into its 6th generation, there are very few family members working in the business, but all 130 shareholders of the AJ and PA McBride company are descendants of Albert McBride, who bought the group’s first Faraway Hill sheep station near Burra in South Australia’s Mid North in 1902. Almost all the shareholders see themselves as custodians of the family business assets.

From Faraway Hill to the modern multi-million-dollar livestock enterprise of Telopea Downs, this family company has remained committed to the fortunes of the fleece.

Join 5th generation family member and Chairman, Nick McBride together with his cousin and board member Jane McBride and non-family executive Nathan Wessling, as they discuss how a strategic focus has contributed to ongoing sustainability and longevity of the family business; how the board directors are impacting the family’s current aims and objectives to achieve a lasting legacy; how they retain and promote positive shareholder engagement and a commitment to being custodians of the family business and the role of the non-family CEO in balancing family interests and more risky behaviours to enhance performance.

Facilitated by Dr Jill, Thomas University of Adelaide Business School.

Australia’s manufacturing and production sector is home to many successful family-owned businesses that deal with a myriad of complexities every day. Many are discovering pressure on their profit because of tougher and tougher negotiations with their corporate clients.

When a key client aggressively negotiates pricing, family businesses often feel powerless and feel like they are facing a dilemma. They can’t afford to lose the business, but they can’t afford to satisfy the buyer’s request either. Confrontation will poison the water, but compromise will destroy their margin.

With 25 years’ experience in blue chip FMCG Companies (Kellogg’s, Mars, Martini), followed by 10 years assisting Australian family businesses to increase their profitably in tough retail environments, Jean-Yves Heude will share his insights in successful sale/purchase negotiation across many industries.

Jean-Yves will be joined by his client 6th generation Anthony Paech (Beerenberg) and Anthony will share how Beerenberg has learnt the art of negotiation through mentoring, and how they have successfully grown their businesses by changing their Sales Negotiation program. Joining them is Ennio Mercuri from Ennio International who will add to the value of the discussion as he outlines his own experiences in negotiation with his broad client and market base.

Facilitated by Bevan Roberts SA Partner, Succession Plus.

Whole Kids is an Australian-owned organic food company created by Monica Meldrum and her husband James in 2005. As the first food business in Australia to become certified as a ‘B Corporation’ Whole Kids is committed to using the power of business to solve social and environmental problems.

Monica is widely recognised as one of Australia’s leading female entrepreneurs receiving many awards for her innovation, leadership and strong commitment to creating change for the future. Her accolades include Australian Women’s Small Business Champion (2022), Conscious Company’s World-Changing Women (2020), Remodista Women2Watch in Business Disruption (2020), and Westpac Top 100 Women of Influence (2016) just to name a few.

Inspired by personal experience, hear Monica’s insights into how Whole Kids goes a lot deeper than just a food business and the ways she has shaped the family business to create a positive and lasting legacy that will be felt for generations to come.

Dealing with the loss of the family patriarch is difficult enough, but dealing with the unexpected loss of the owning patriarch in a large family business adds extra complexity, especially for the business decisions that arise during – and after – such a significant, emotional event.

This session will explore the challenges faced by global brand, Faber-Castell to maintain the family business legacy following the tragic loss of 8th generation Count Anton Wolfgang Graf von Faber-Castell in 2016.

Faber-Castell was founded in 1761 by Caspar Faber and has evolved from a small-scale handicraft enterprise to a company with international standing. It has been owned and managed by direct descendants of the founder for nine generations, making it one of the world’s oldest family-owned companies.

Count Andreas von Faber-Castell, the late Count Anton Wolfgang von Faber-Castell’s brother, was Faber-Castell’s Director of the Asia Pacific region, based in Australia.

In this session, Count Andreas and his daughter, Natalie Grace, will share the evolution of the family business, their perspectives on the impact of changes to the ownership structure after Count Anton’s death and the challenges of maintaining the family business legacy following his untimely passing.

Facilitated by Dr Donella Caspersz Senior Lecturer and Director, UN PRME at the University of Western Australia Business School.

A typical rite of passage for family members often includes joining the board of directors of their family company. This might include those who have only ever worked in operational roles in the family business, without the experience or learned skills of professional directors, and without an understanding of the fiduciary obligations and legal responsibilities they are assuming.

This session will examine the key considerations family members need to be aware of when considering joining the family board, including discussion on the board’s governance role vs the role of management of the company, how to prepare for a board position; and some well-known examples of companies which got it right (and wrong).

The session will include commentary from a panel of current family company directors who will add their own personal experiences to the discussion.

Whilst succession planning plays a major role in securing the future of family businesses, protecting their intellectual property can often be just as important, yet is something that is regularly overlooked – often with devastating consequences.

As the success of a business grows and strengthens, so does the brand and the various elements that customers and business associates align with the recognition and experience of that brand. It takes years to develop a business and brand recognition – but only a moment to lose if it’s not protected.

In 2022, after two years of proceedings, Australian manufacturer of timber-look aluminium building products and family business, DECO Australia, was successful in its Federal Court action against Chinese company Aliwood Pty Ltd. The case involved the alleged infringement by Aliwood of DECO’s certified Innovation Patent for DecoClad, DECO’s solid aluminium wall cladding.

In this session DECO Australia’s Director Ross Doonan will share how their family business came under threat of losing their unique designs that the business has invested time, resources and money into developing in order to meet the needs of their customers. He will explain how DECO protects these innovative designs through Patents and Design Registrations and their fight to protect their innovations from those who seek to play outside of the rules.

DECO Australia is an innovative leader in product design within Australia’s manufacturing and construction industries and is dedicated to both protecting intellectual property and strengthening the Australian manufacturing industry. Their victory in the Patent Infringement Case showcases the importance of intellectual property to Australian businesses, Australian manufacturing, Australian jobs and the legacy of Australian family businesses.

Is it an amazing opportunity or simply a moral obligation to maintain and grow both the business and the family’s legacy?

While the legacy for future generations is generally welcomed, it can sometimes feel like a weighty obligation.

Respecting what previous generations have achieved with far fewer resources at their disposal while running the now much larger and more complex business that you have inherited during a time of great uncertainty can be challenging. Times change – and business models that worked for previous generations may not be suited to the current situation that you find yourself operating in.

John-Paul Drake will facilitate an insightful discussion with a panel of fellow next-generation family business members about their challenges, what motivates them to want to continue to build on that value through future generations and their perspectives on how can they continue to honour the legacy that has been created.

Branding is essential because not only is it the link that connects the company to the customer and vice versa, but if nurtured correctly can become a powerful tool for driving business.

Independently owned branding and design agency Hulsbosch has not only worked with and created some of Australia’s most recognisable brands, including Woolworths, Qantas, Eftpos, and Virgin Australia, to name a few, but as a family business, they understand that leveraging family ownership is a unique opportunity presented to family businesses when formulating their branding strategy.

Hear from second generation family member and company director, Jaid Hulsbosch and Carolyn Pitt, strategy director as they explore how they create Australia’s most famous and iconic brands.

Illustrated using case studies they will discuss the fundamentals for developing an effective brand strategy and visual identity, and when – and how – family members sharing the same attitude and values towards the business can create a competitive advantage.