BrazilRecap: KPMG’s regional Family Business Summit 2022 held in Riyadh
Last week KPMG hosted the 2022 edition of its flagship Family Business Summit for the Middle East, South Asia and Caspian region. A recap of the event’s key events and takeaways.
Held at the 5-star Hilton hotel in Riyadh on October 12, the conference saw owners and leaders of family businesses, as well as academic and industry experts, from across the region come together to discuss the latest and greatest in the sector.
Key topics of the event were: transgenerational prosperity (from succession planning to future-proofing business models) and innovation.
“For family businesses in this region, succession planning and transgenerational prosperity have become increasingly critical considerations. With this conference, we aimed to bring together leading experts and family business practitioners to discuss perspectives on these themes,” explained Abdullah Hamad Fozan, Chairman and CEO of KPMG in Saudi Arabia and Levant, which includes Jordan, Lebanon and Iraq.
The keynote speech was delivered by Sheikh Mohamed Yousuf Naghi, the third generation Chairman of Yousuf M.A. Naghi & Sons Group, one of the leading family businesses in Saudi Arabia. Naghi presented his perspectives on sustaining a family business over generations.
The CEO of the National Center for Family Business, Ayth Al Mubarak, also participated in the event, providing insights into key trends, opportunities and challenges faced by family businesses across the region as well as globally.
The audience was presented with two lectures by Alfredo De Massis, Professor of Entrepreneurship and Family Business at IMD in Switzerland and at University of Bolzano in Italy, and Francesco Debellis, Professor at the University of Vienna, highlighting real life examples of family businesses addressing their succession and governance challenges.
“The requirement for a governance framework is realised as the idea to pass on the company to the next generation may collide with the family’s need to include outsiders in the leadership team to keep the business active,” said Debellis.
KPMG’s Global Leader of Family Business, Tom McGinness, also attended the event. He spoke about sustaining an entrepreneurial culture in family business and nurturing the next generation in governance and innovation.
Meanwhile, during the panel discussions, representatives from family businesses sat alongside researchers and experts to discuss themes of succession planning, governance and digital transformation.
Reflecting on the event, Fuad Chapra, Head of Family Business at KPMG in Saudi Arabia, said: “We hope to have shed a light on the various tools family businesses have at their possible through trends in innovation to drive transgenerational prosperity.”
In the Middle East, family businesses have historically been, and continue to be, the main engine driving the socio-economic development. According to an estimate by the World Economic Forum, family businesses account for 60% of GDP and 80% of the workforce in the Middle East.
