Family business confab slated in Cebu in Sept

CEBU, Philippines — Experts on family business are converging in Cebu in an attempt to save family corporations from succession pitfalls.

Dubbed as Family Enterprise Excellence Conference (FEEC) slated on September 28-29 this year in Marco Polo Plaza Cebu, the event organized by Cebu-based Premier Family Business Consulting (PFBC), will bring in international and local experts to share best business practices of running family enterprises in the age of millennials, women empowerment and economic integration.

PFBC founder and chief executive officer Jonathan Ramos announced that around 500 delegates are expected to attend for this year’s family business conference this September.

In a press conference, Ramos said that the two-day conference banner the theme: “The Knowledge of Khan (Genghis Khan): Fathoming the Myths and Truths of Family Business.”

“We aim to equip families in business with both global and local knowledge in achieving harmony and sustainability amid our fast-changing and challenging business environment,” said Ramos.

 With 86 percent of businesses in the Philippines, owned and managed by families, professionalizing this economic backbone is crucial, he said.

If family business succession will not be taken into serious consideration by tapping professionals to help families sustain their companies to multiple generations, about 76 percent of the working population will be at risk.

The Philippines, is the second country in Asia, (next to Indonesia) to have the highest rate of distressed family business

Considering the high percentage of the Philippines companies are run by families, it is therefore important for these corporations to protect their wealth in building already a family constitution, professional organizational charts, otherwise they will have to suffer the brunt of procrastination in the near future.

There is therefore a need, to drum up discussions about family businesses and be interested in securing the longevity of their endeavors because “they contribute significantly to socio-economic building of the country.”

Among the featured speakers in the upcoming conference are Borja Raventos, a family business advisor in Europe; professor Toshio Goto, one of the leading and pioneering business consultants in Japan; professor Roger King from Harvard University and founder of the Center for Asian Family Business and

Entrepreneurship Studies; Jeremy Cheng, a transgenerational entrepreneurship expert from Hong Kong and Jonathan Yabut, a motivational and leadership expert from the Philippines.

PFBC has also invited Cebu’s Espina-Garcia cousins who will share their succession journey and professionalizing their century-old power generation family business.

Renowned Architect Felino Palafox Jr., is also expected to speak during the event.