In the Press
13 Jul 2016
The New York Times
Lifting the Second-Generation Curse
Natalie Sexton jokes that her earliest memory is being rocked to sleep on the machinery bottling her mother’s line of all-natural juices. She was just an infant with Marygrace Sexon started Natalie’s Orchid Island Jice Company in 1990, naming it after her. “This is all I’ve Known,” Ms. Sexon said. Twenty-six years later, she is preparing to […]
22 Feb 2016
Tharawat Magazine
KNOWLEDGE: Why Family Businesses Must Foster Non-Family Talent
Interview with Professor John Davis, Chair of Families in Business Program at Harvard Business School and Chairman of the Cambridge Institute for Family Enterprise Professor John Davis at Harvard Business School, is one of the world’s greatest authorities on family businesses. Davis embarked on a successful career as an educator and advisor to business families […]
23 Oct 2015
Financial Times
Succession Planning Ensures Smooth Transition Between Generations
Succession is easier if the process happens slowly With the exception of a few, such as the Rockefellers’, which dates from the 1930s, the majority of family offices have been founded in the past 20 years. In the UK, their popularity has increased over the past decade because of changes to the trust regime that […]
23 Oct 2015
Business Family
Q&A with John A. Davis
John A Davis, who has taught at Harvard for 20 years and owns a respected family business consultancy, is one of the best-known voices in the world of family business. We caught up with him and quizzed him about his latest thinking. BF: What do you think are the biggest issues facing family businesses? JD: […]
3 Sep 2015
Family Capital
The 25 Best Business Schools for Family Businesses – and Their Star Professors
Competition to attract the sons and daughters of family business dynasties to their MBA and similar courses is as keen as ever among the global business schools. Here’s a list of the 25 best schools – and their star professors. Harvard Business School/Harvard University Arguably the world’s best known business school also has an excellent […]
19 Jun 2015
Business Today
Why Indian Family Businesses are Seeking Mentors from Outside
“I have a bright CEO but he is spoiling my organisational culture. What should I do?” “My father is very dominating and tends to blindly rely on some executives. How do I make him see my point of view?” “How should I approach negotiations?” “How do I manage independent directors?” “Should I go to Davos […]
5 Jun 2015
Thomson Reuters
Waltons cement grip on Wal-Mart with new chairman
Wal-Mart Stores Inc (WMT.N) named the son-in-law of chairman Rob Walton as his successor on Friday, cementing the founding family’s influence over the retailer as shareholders defeated a measure calling for an independent director to lead the board. Some investors, including large pension funds, had been pushing for a chairman without ties to the Waltons, Wal-Mart’s […]
15 May 2015
The New York Times
Families Find the Principles That Keep the Business Going
Peter Gordon, a member of the family that owns Glenfiddich whisky, has a distinct memory of the workers lined up as he walked into the Scottish distillery the 1970s. They were waiting for a dram of day-old whiskey-the equivalent of a double shot. If they didn’t drink it, they rubbed it into their hands, in the […]
18 Apr 2015
The Economist
Old-Fashioned Virtues: Patience, Distinctiveness, Thrift and Trust Still Count
Companies controlled by founding families remain surprisingly important and look set to stay so. THE “Lucky Sperm Club”, as Warren Buffett likes to call it, is still going strong in the commanding heights of business. On opposite sides of the Atlantic, Ana Botín and Abigail Johnson have recently succeeded their fathers in filling two of […]
25 Mar 2014
New York Times Magazine
What Comes After Rich Baby Boomers? Kids With a Big Inheritance
The Waltons might be the closest thing we have to the Carnegies or Rockefellers today. The heirs to the Walmart fortune occupy six slots on the most recent Forbes 400 list, and just those six Waltons — not counting their lucky progeny — are worth $145 billion.
25 Mar 2014
Glenfiddich Single Malt Scotch Whisky
Glenfiddich, world’s most awarded single malt, keeps it in the family with new global advertising campaign
8 October 2013, Dufftown: Glenfiddich, the World’s Most Awarded single malt Scotch whisky, today announces the U.S. launch of its new global advertising campaign. The campaign will bring to life how remaining independent and family-owned for over 125 years
30 May 2013
Latin Trade
Dynasties’ Silent Revolution
Over the next decade, the largest fortunes in Latin America will be passed on to a younger generation. The transition will transform the way in which business is run in the region. Who will be the successors? And, how will the new leaders differ from their forefathers? “We’re in the middle of a big generational […]
7 Mar 2013
Wall Street Journal
Lost Inheritance
Studies show Americans blow through family fortunes at a remarkable rate. With trillions being passed on, can today’s baby boomers break the cycle? If things had gone differently, Rogerson could have been enjoying his share of one of the greatest wealth transfers in U.S. history. According to the Boston College Center for Retirement Research, two-thirds […]
23 Feb 2013
Terra
10 Questions to Ask Before Family and Friends Become Business Partners
Bringing a family member or friend on board as a business partner may seem like a fine idea, but the relationship can prove tricky to navigate–or to end, if things don’t go well. “It’s easy to get into business, but it’s hard to get out,” says Wayne Rivers, president of the Family Business Institute, a […]
Media Inquiries
Professor John Davis is available for media interviews for a variety of family enterprise, family wealth, and leadership topics and stories. He is interviewed in print, radio, and television media. Reporters and producers are invited to contact [email protected] with requests for interviews.
More News
For an archive of John Davis' historical media coverage, please visit:
