Two of these awards are named for founders of FFI. The Richard Beckhard Practice Award recognizes individuals making significant contributions to the practice of family enterprise consulting. The Barbara Hollander Award honors people who have dedicated themselves to lifelong learning. The Interdisciplinary and International Awards reflect two of FFI’s core commitments – to contribute to the development of the field from cross-disciplinary and global perspectives.

Please reflect on these awards and send nominations for one or more of them. Applications with supporting materials should be submitted no later than April 15. The awards will be presented as part of the 2020 FFI Annual Global Conference in New York.

The awards are briefly summarized below.

The Richard Beckhard Practice Award was established to honor a founding member of FFI and distinguished practitioner in the family enterprise field. It recognizes outstanding contributions to the field of family enterprise practice. Dick Beckhard himself was the first recipient; the 2019 recipient was Ian Macnaughton, founder of Transition Point Coaching. Recipients have come from Canada, England, Mexico, Spain, and the United States.

The Barbara Hollander Award was created to honor the late founder and first president of FFI to perpetuate her profound interest in family business. The award recipient exemplifies Barbara Hollander’s love of education and learning, life-long commitment to social causes, dedication to civic responsibility, belief in the human capacity to change for the better, and belief in giving to others generously. Kathy Wiseman was the inaugural winner; the 2019 recipient was Dianne H.B. Welsh, PhD, the Hayes Distinguished Professor of Entrepreneurship and founding director of the Entrepreneurship Programs at The University of North Carolina Greensboro. Recipients have hailed from Australia, Canada, Cyprus, Italy, Mexico, and the United States.

The Interdisciplinary Achievement Award recognizes outstanding achievement in the advancement of interdisciplinary services to family enterprises. Established in 1999, it was first given to the University of St. Thomas Center for Family Enterprise. The most recent recipient was Patricia Angus, JD, MIA, TEP, who is CEO of Angus Advisory Group LLC and is an adjunct professor at Columbia University Graduate School of Business, where she is founding Managing Director of the Family Business Program. Recipients of this award have hailed from France, Scotland, Switzerland, and the United States.

The International Award recognizes an individual or organization for outstanding achievement in furthering the understanding of family enterprise issues which occur between two or more countries. Recipients include individuals, universities and associations; the 2019 recipient was STEP and the Business Families Special Interest Group (SIG). STEP is a worldwide professional association for those advising families across generations. STEP’s Business Families Special Interest Group marshals expertise, promotes best practice, and champions the family business area. Recipients have hailed from Cyprus, Dubai, Finland, France, Hong Kong, Italy, Lebanon, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, United Kingdom, and the United States.