ear Colleagues,
We’re still fresh off a successful FFI conference week, including a dynamic virtual conference on October 18 and 19, and a generative in-person meeting in London and Cambridge from October 20 to 23. Across both events, it was terrific to connect (and re-connect) with colleagues, share ideas, push our thinking about the field, and be together in multiple ways after such a momentous year. Thanks again to Judy and the entire Green Associates team for navigating a complicated and ever-changing set of logistics and needs, even as the conference week unfolded. We can now look forward to the many exciting things FFI has planned for the next year.
Meanwhile, I’m pleased to provide you with a brief report from the November 9 FFI Annual Meeting. It was our second virtual annual meeting, and we’re learning that this format enables more people to join from more locations.
Here are some topics we covered.
Secretary’s Report
Angus Advisory
Columbia University Business School
KPMG in Canada
University of Vermont
Sandra McNeely, treasurer, gave the treasurer’s report, which included audited numbers from 2019 and 2020 with current figures as of 10/31/21 for this year. She noted that the auditors for 2020 had complimented the Finance and Audit committee and FFI itself for the positive position the organization was in following the many challenges of 2020.
Membership
The membership of approximately 1800 members in 80 countries remains similar to past years with 80% of the members classifying themselves as professionals, 15.5% as educators/researchers, and 5% as either students or family enterprise members. The geographic distribution was also similar to last year with 48% of the members in the US and Canada, 24% in the UK and Europe, 14% in the Pacific Rim, and 14% in Latin America, Africa and the Middle East.
Research, Publications, and Public Awareness
- The FBR editor and associate editors were thanked for the record-breaking impact factor of 9.848 for this year and for collaborating with GEN faculty on the revision of GEN 501—now renamed to Evidence-Based Advising: Using Research to Empower Family Enterprises.
- FFI Practitioner and FFI on Friday continued their weekly publishing schedule with a variety of articles and authors as well as member information. Readership remained high in 2021.
- The FFI on Monday series, initiated in 2020, was continued in 2021 as a Monday Summer School with nearly 300 registrants from across the globe (members and non-members) and 12 presenters, as FFI continued to share its intellectual property and resources at no charge in the challenging environment.
- The 2086 Society-sponsored Futurenaut in residence, Mark Stevenson
- The October conference in Cambridge, MA, with academic host MIT Sloan School of Management. The program committee chair is John Davis, FFI Fellow, Beckhard Award winner, founder and chairman of the Cambridge Family Enterprise Group, and faculty member at the MIT Sloan School of Management.
- …and much more!
FFI Board Chair
Sustainable and Successful Family Enterprises: A practitioner’s road map for the next generation’s priorities
