family

Centre Family Business Governance

Het GUBERNA Centre Family Business Governance helpt familiebedrijven bij het afstemmen van corporate governance op family governance. We begeleiden bedrijfsfamilies op hun voortdurende reis naar goed bestuur.

Wij geloven dat sterke familiebedrijven zijn gebouwd op een solide familiefundament in combinatie met een professionele bestuursstructuur. Wij ondersteunen onze familiebedrijven met toegewijde diensten die hen helpen om waarde op lange termijn te creëren.

Quick Overview

Family Business

For whom ?

The Centre for Family Business Governance focuses on medium- and large-sized family businesses, where one or more generations of family shareholders work together to shape a sustainable future for their family business.

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Different ways to engage with us

The Centre for Family Business Governance has developed extensive expertise in family governance. We offer in-company training for now-gens and next-gens, board evaluations, remuneration benchmarks, reviews of board documents and advice on board composition. We also support corporate families in drafting or updating a family charter.

Activities

GUBERNA, alongside EY and FBN Belgium, is co-organiser and jury member of the annual 'Family Business Award of Excellence', in collaboration with BNP Paribas Fortis and De Tijd / l'Echo.  

Regularly, together with GUBERNA knowledge partner Hudson Belgium, the Centre for Family Business organises the 'Family Business Platform'. This is a closed platform for peer exchange between family business representatives for insights and knowledge sharing on (family) governance-specific topics (e.g. remuneration committee, next generation involvement...).  

We regularly organise in-company trainings for now-gens and next-gens, and conduct governance evaluations specifically for family businesses. (Reference list can be provided upon request).

  • Family Business Award of Excellence

    Every year, together with EY and FBNet Belgium, and in collaboration with BNP Paribas Fortis and De Tijd / l'Echo, GUBERNA presents the Family Business Award of Excellence. Through this initiative, we want to encourage family businesses to share best practices and put the laureates in the spotlight each year.

  • Family Business Platform

    This is a closed platform for peer exchange between family business representatives for insights and knowledge sharing on (family) governance-specific topics (e.g. remuneration committee, next-generation involvement...).

  • Research

    GUBERNA works closely with the Research Centre for Entrepreneurship & Family Firms (RCEF, UHasselt) led by Prof Wim Voordekkers, and the Expertise Centre Family Businesses VKW-Limburg led by Koen Hendrix. Our research and expertise, combined with the insights and experience from family businesses themselves, form a unique combination. Where appropriate, we also use this to sensitise the political world to the specific challenges of family businesses.

Publicatons for the centre Family Business

The Centre for Family Business Governance frequently publishes notes and articles on the latest trends in corporate and family governance, translating academic insights into applicable knowledge and practical tools. On the topic of family governance, we work together in academic research projects with, among others, the Research Centre for Entrepreneurship & Family Firms (RCEF, UHasselt) with prof. dr. Wim Voordekkers and prof. dr. Anneleen Michiels, the Expertisecentrum Familiebedrijven VKW-Limburg led by director Koen Hendrix, and prof. dr. Eddy Laveren & prof. dr. Ine Paeleman (Dept. of Accountancy and Financing, UAntwerpen). 

We particularly follow the topics of: 

  • Involving the next gens in family governance and corporate governance  

  • How family members can impact strategy  

  • Being a responsible family shareholder  

  • Long term sustainable value creation   

 

Highlighted Publicaties

All publications

Spouses of leaders, first transmitters of the entrepreneurial spirit

A long tradition of entrepreneurial research has repeatedly highlighted the importance of the family in the genesis and transmission of entrepreneurial skills and behaviors. Some researchers have attributed this effect to the phenomenon of role models, which explains how, within a family, parents are observed and then imitated by children, which affects both children’s goals, once they become adults, as well as their aspirations and attitudes.

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"Male, pale & stale” is dead, long live diversity!

The 'glass ceiling' is familiar to us all, as are the quota laws, because they are supposed to bring solace. For GUBERNA, however, this is not the focus. We are indeed a great advocate of more women in managerial positions and especially on boards of directors. It is not for nothing that we have been addressing this topic in our operations for a long time. The successful mentoring programme is one example of this. But gender is only one piece of the puzzle. 'Diversity' is the greater goal for GUBERNA.

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Succession and takeover

Van ondernemers en bedrijfsleiders wordt doorgaans verwacht dat ze vooruitziend zijn en toekomstgericht denken. Sommigen dichten hen zelfs toekomst voorspellende kwaliteiten toe. En toch, wanneer het aankomt op de toekomst (over de generaties heen) van het eigen bedrijf, vergeet men nogal snel dat ook het eigen leven niet eeuwig durend is. Men meent dat er voor het nadenken over de opvolging en/of overname van de onderneming nog ruimschoots tijd is. Niets is echter minder waar, maar zoals zo vaak ligt (een deel van) de oplossing van een probleem in een tijdige en gestructureerde aanpak ervan.

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Corporate Governance in Belgium 1997 - 1998

GUBERNA onderzoekt met vaste intervallen de corporate governance praktijk in Belgische bedrijven. Zowel de grote, middelgrote als kleine beursgenoteerde en besloten ondernemingen worden daarbij bestudeerd, met ook bijzondere aandacht voor familiebedrijven en buitenlandse filialen. Dit onderzoek wordt in verschillende fasen uitgevoerd en gaat zeer breed. In de bevraging worden alle organen van het corporate governance drieluik betrokken: de raad van bestuur, het management en de aandeelhouders.

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Partners & Bevriende organisaties

  • BNP Paribas Fortis
  • EY
  • UHasselt
  • vkw limburg

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