Family businesses need to have a clearly defined strategic direction and plan that is communicated across the entire organisation, a study said.

The 2008 Ernst & Young Middle East Family Business Survey was revealed at the Family Business Forum in Abu Dhabi yesterday (May 26).

In his hour-long presentation, Rami Nazer of Ernst & Young highlighted some surprising results from this survey.

“It is clear that devising a clear strategy for business is a challenge,” he said. “Family businesses need to ensure that their organisation structure is clearly defined and is aligned with the business strategy.”

“In the end, the most surprising this we found from out research was that when we asked about the 10 most common challenges faced by family business, the two lowest scores were management and ownership transition, followed by family governance structure, given that only 33 per cent of the family businesses surveyed claimed they have effective family governance.

“Family businesses need to have an effective family governance structure --  a family council or a board of directors -- in place that provides the system by which the business is directed and controlled,” he added.

Other speakers at the two-day conference included renowned family business guru Kelin Gersick; father and son team Tony and Narain Jashanmal; the iconic Mohammed Al Fahim; Italian companies Burani Designer Holding and Aletti Montano & Co; regional legend Edmond Moutran, chairman of Ogilvy and founding president of the Family Business Consulting Group Dr Albert Thomassen.

Leaders Presents event director Purva Hassomal said this conference was a way for family heads to come together, network, and share their experiences and expertise.

“There is a lot to be learnt from these sorts of conferences,” she said. “The majority of businesses in the GCC are family owned and The Family Business Forum speaks directly to this majority.”

“Everyone knows family businesses face unique challenges; the key to success is knowing how to overcome these hurdles, which is what the Family Business Forum is all about.” – TradeArabia News Service