DCU Open for Family Business
Taoiseach Enda Kenny has today launched a new centre at Dublin City University which will work directly with Irish family firms to address the unique challenges they face and to support their significant contribution to the Irish economy and to society. The DCU Centre for Family Business will provide a platform to enhance the competitiveness of Irish family firms, offer insights into international best practice of family firm management and, ultimately, help shape future policy in relation to this thriving sector.
Approximately 75% of all Irish firms are family owned and contribute to more than 50% of Ireland’s GDP and employment. The Centre will help improve the knowledge, skills and abilities of these family businesses in the following areas:
- Managing the ‘family’ in the family business
- Family and business governance structures
- Planning for ‘next generation’ involvement in the family business
- Navigating the succession process
- The role of entrepreneurship and innovation in family business success
- The impact of a family’s personal values on family business survival and growth
- The entrepreneurial origins and growth patterns of Ireland’s largest family businesses.
Speaking to an audience including representatives from family-owned companies such as NTR, Keelings, Flahavans, John Sisk & Son, EPS Water Systems, Butlers Chocolates and Tedcastles Oil, Taoiseach Enda Kenny said,
“For generations, the heartbeat of Ireland was driven by family businesses. Small and medium enterprises account for 70% of employment in this country. The story of Ireland’s economy will be built on the backs of businesses like yours.
The Taoiseach continued,
“DCU is a university of great energy with a focus on innovation; it’s where the future is. [You have] created an entity here that I think will be fundamental to so many Irish businesses. By 2013, I want Ireland to be the best place in the world to do business. The DCU Centre for Family Business will be fundamental in spearheading that for the future.”
Dr Eric Clinton, Director of the new Centre, facilitated a panel discussion with leaders from the family business sector including Vincent Cleary, Managing Director, Glenisk; Caroline Keeling, CEO, Keelings; Conor Roche, Business Development Director, NTR; and Professor Justin Craig, Founder of the Australian Centre for Family Business and Associate Professor of Entrepreneurship, Northeastern University, Boston.
Speaking at the event, Caroline Keeling, CEO Keelings, welcomed the establishment of the DCU Centre for Family Business,
“This is a challenging environment for anyone in business at the moment. As a great supporter of training and development and driving your business forward all the time, I believe the DCU Centre for Family Business will be a fantastic support for family businesses who wish to speed up their learning processes and will help increase the percentage of companies operating successfully across generations.”
Director, Dr Eric Clinton, explained that, while the SME and family business sectors face similar issues, there are specific challenges to family business which must be addressed,
“While family firms aspire to continuity across generations, longevity and survival present particular difficulties in the family business domain. It is estimated that fewer than 30% of family firms pass into the second generation and, of those, only 10% make it to the third and subsequent generations. Through collaboration with family business and our network of international business schools, we will seek together to create solutions to these challenges.”
For more information on the DCU Centre for Family Business, visit www.dcu.ie/centreforfamilybusiness.ie.