NextGen Leaders – key takeaways from our latest online ed-event

On the 25th of February 2021, Leaders First hosted its global initiative NextGen Leaders. Members and Guests of Leaders First had a unique opportunity to join the webinar with experts: Taylor Adams, Aldo Uva and Ariana Adjani.

The aim of the event was to provide inspiration, advice, and guidance on challenges Next-Gen leaders of family businesses face in the nearest future. The audience also had an opportunity for live interactive Q&A with our experts and representatves of family businesses during the session.

Below are key takeaways from this online educational event. The full recording is available to Members of Leaders First on our online platform.

The first speaker Aldo Uva, CEO CSM Ingredients, Board Member at Blue Horizon Corporation, Founder and Board Member TooA, shared his wide experience as a senior manager in family owned businesses. He explained the role of managers in the transition to the NextGen and in Family Business overall.

Aldo Uva gave us a perspective of what are the questions someone working for a Family Run Company needs to ask themselves, what are clear values and culture of this company. He suggested that Managers and Leaders of such companies need to be creative, and need to re-adjust to these strong values. Thanks to his practical advice, we had a great opportunity to really understand the role of external Leaders.

The next speaker Taylor Adams – Founding Partner at Belief Ventures, 5th Generation family member, shared his personal experience as a family member, inspired the audience with his courageous choices he made to establish his personal and professional identity. He mentioned the importance of claiming the role within the family business, adding a unique value, and gave an example of how his innovative approach played an important role in his family enterprise development. Taylor gave us truly in-depth look on the Strategies for the successful growth of NextGen leadership.

Another innovative and inspiring experience within a family enterprise was shared by Ariana Adjani, Co-Founder at Fine Treatment, Healthcare Innovator, 2nd Generation family member. She gave us a chance to understand the dynamics in her family run business and illuminated NextGen leaders with her collaborative approach between generations. Ariana also shared with us the importance of shared values within the company, which is crucial for the success of the business and for the creation of an empowering company culture.

During the live Q&A session with all three experts the topic moved forward to deeply explore the Diversification of investments and the role of NextGen in Impact Investment.

Our 5 TOP Key takeaways of the Ed-Event:

1. Good and virtuous examples to follow a Leader:

Qualify, clarity of roles can lead to new highs; Conquer, add other skills and capabilities and Grow.

2. The role of managers in the transition to the NextGen in Family Businesses:

Diversify: Diversification with a reason, it doesn’t mean polarization. Role for Leaders: create the conditions for diversification. Create systems and processes, evolution comes from progress.

Change given by market and industry reason.

Risk should be managed, having the right Idea.

3. Strategies for the successful growth of NextGen leadership:

-NextGen Education, Programming and Support structures to empower NextGen to create their own professional identities.

-Empowering NextGen Leaders to be able to travel their own paths and discover their own unique abilities and tools.

4. Empowering the NextGen leaders:

-NextGen adding valuable skills to the company, different skills, the goals of the company strategies is to still have common values.

-The importance of creating a flexible structure of the company that is able to adapt.

5. Diversification of investments. The role of NextGen in Impact Investment:

How to learn from NextGen to be an ethical company, human rights, gender equality. How to move business to a sustainability trajectory.

We would like to thank our speaker for his contribution and our audience who joined the webinar from all over the world.

If you wish to receive full access to all online events, including educational webinars and masterclasses with industry leaders and members of our professional network, you can apply to become a member of Leaders First.