Family Money Trees

After graduating from business school, Jean Howard walked away from her family's business, an electroplating company, for what she thought would be greener pastures. But if she had to do it over again she said she "absolutely" would have diverted her post-grad time and efforts back to the family business.

"Many students who are from family businesses want to strike out on their own, but it's important for them to put to look at these business opportunities pragmatically," said Howard.


Howard, who works on special projects for the Graduate School of Business Administration, is putting the final touches on a Tuesday, June 4 symposium, Turning the Family Tree into a Money Tree. The Fordham Institute for Family and Private Enterprise will host the event, through Fordham Accelerator for Business, in the 12th-floor Lounge/E. Corrigan Conference Center at Fordham's Lincoln Center campus.

Two family-owned businesses will be on hand to discuss their companies' challenges and successes. The Fabrega Family has restored an historic building, transforming it into a successful "eco-fairy castle" hotel. Solen and Habibe Altop will share their stories as women running a successful bed manufacturing company in a conservative patriarchal environment in Istanbul, Turkey.

The keynote speaker will be Sarah Hemminger, Ph.D., founder of the Incentive Mentoring Program. While most of the speakers will focus on traditional family structures, Hemminger is interested in non-intentional families that might choose to support someone from a broken family unit, such as teachers who band together to help a student struggling due to problems at home.

"Hemminger's innovative thinking bridges cultures and households," said Howard. "It is healthy mentally, physically, and economically and it's really the wave of the future."

To register for the symposium click here. 

Here's a video of Hemminger giving a TED talk about her work...

-Tom Stoelker