Family-Owned Business Summit
Pre-event Add-on
Golfers attending the Family Business Summit have the rare opportunity to play at the private Pelican Golf Club. Nestled along the Gulf Coast in Belleair, Florida, the course is known for its immaculate conditioning and classic layout, inspired by the original Donald Ross design from the 1920s.
Pelican has served as the stage for some of golf’s most celebrated moments, including The Match featuring legends Tiger Woods and Rory McIlroy paired against Justin Thomas, and Jordan Spieth. Pelican Golf Club also welcomes the world’s top women golfers as host of the annual LPGA tournament The ANNIKA driven by Gainbridge at Pelican, further cementing its reputation as a premier championship venue.
Whether you’re a seasoned player or simply appreciate the game’s traditions, this is a rare chance to walk the same fairways as the greats, in the company of other Summit attendees. Availability is limited, and advance registration is required. Transportation from the hotel will be provided. *Please note the course is Walking Only unless participant has a medical issue that prevents them from walking.
CEO, Raymond James
CEO, Chief Executive Group
What really holds a family enterprise together? Trust—defined, practiced, and renewed. In this opening session, Adam Farver, Chair of Pella, shares what a century of family ownership has taught him about building governance that fits your family’s reality—because no two families are the same, even if the patterns rhyme. He’ll reflect on lessons from his grandmother—his leadership hero, a personal traumatic experience that reshaped his view of resilience, and what the company’s 100-year anniversary celebration in 2025 revealed about honoring heritage while continuing to innovate across generations. You’ll leave with practical takeaways on designing flexible structures, creating owner-development rituals and handling the inevitable changes, without losing clarity or cohesion as you seek to cultivate engaged owners for the long term.
Chairman of the Board, Pella Windows
At the heart of the succession process are often complex founder and family dynamics that threaten to derail the best intended plans for the future of the family and business. Factors such as ego, identity, attachment, and the meaning of the business to all involved must be attended to ensure a successful transition.
Going beyond the legal and financial succession mechanics, this session will explore the human side of transition. A seasoned family business psychologist and experienced second-gen leader will unpack the hidden dynamics that often derail succession. We’ll tackle the emotional, strategic and structural dimensions of generational transition—whether your successors are family, non-family or still undecided. Attendees will walk away with tools to recognize emotional roadblocks, initiate candid conversations, and apply practical strategies to preserve both the founder’s legacy and the family’s future. Whether you’re the founder or the next generation, this session offers a fresh lens—and a path forward.
President and CEO, Huntington Learning Centers
CEO and Family Enterprise Advisor
Fellow, Family Firm Institute
Consultant, McNulty Leadership Program at the Wharton School
Professionals outside the owning family have their own challenges and opportunities. The ability to impact a closely-held business is unique, as is navigating the dynamics of an organization that is not always operating to optimize business outcomes. This session will allow for frank discussions about effective ways to navigate these challenges with skill and sensitivity.
Facilitated by:
Coach, Chief Executive Coaching
Former CEO, Amstore
Not every next-gen family member wants to be CEO—or even work in the business—but that doesn’t mean they can’t be influential contributors to the family legacy. This roundtable explores how to prepare future family members to be responsible stewards: as owners, leaders, or advocates of the business’s long-term purpose. From instilling values and work ethic to setting expectations and offering non-operational paths (like board roles, family council seats, or external experience), we’ll share candid lessons on how to raise engaged, empowered contributors without guilt or entitlement.
CEO, Chief Executive Group
In this candid, Chatham House–style roundtable, a private-equity buyer will open the diligence lens and share the operating disciplines any family business can adopt whether you plan to partner, sell, or stay independent. We’ll unpack buyer “green flags” (clean financials, decision rights, KPI cadence, leadership bench) and “red flags” (founder dependence, customer concentration, cash-to-EBITDA gaps), plus practical upgrades in 100 days: board rhythm, KPI dashboards, pricing, working-capital hygiene, and talent. Come with questions. Leave with a readiness checklist and a plan to make your company more valuable—now and in the future.
Facilitated by:
Managing Partner, KLH Capital
Senior Vice President, Paramax Corporation
Cash is the quietest—and most explosive—issue in family companies. This facilitated conversation looks at the trade-offs between reinvestment and distributions, how to balance perceived fairness vs. financial reality (active vs. inactive owners, life-stage needs), and ways to communicate financial decisions without breeding resentment. We’ll share what’s worked—and what hasn’t across payout philosophies, capex and debt constraints, and redemption/liquidity moments—so you leave with peer-tested ideas and language you can use with your own family.
Managing Partner, KLH Capital
Senior Vice President, Paramax Corporation
Whether you’re planning to pass the business to the next generation or considering a sale, the steps you take today will shape your options tomorrow. In this roundtable, we’ll explore how family business leaders can position their companies for maximum value—regardless of the eventual exit path. The discussion will cover how to view your company through a strategic lens: aligning leadership, governance, and capital structure with future goals. We’ll dive into practical considerations like how to assess readiness and avoid common pitfalls in both generational transitions and external exits. Whether your timeline is two years or ten, you’ll leave with a clearer picture of what it means to run your company with optionality—and legacy—in mind.
Facilitated by:
Managing Director, Raymond James
Partner, Ready for Next
Strong governance can be a game-changer for family businesses—but there’s no one-size-fits-all model. This roundtable will unpack how to design a board (or advisory board) that fits your company’s stage, size, and family dynamics. We’ll explore how to bring in independent directors, define roles for family members, establish family councils, and build governance systems that improve decision-making, succession, and long-term strategy. Whether you’re starting from scratch or evolving an existing structure, you’ll walk away with practical ideas to strengthen your governance foundation.
Facilitated by:
Board Member, Lodge Cast Iron, Thrall Enterprises and Valco Industries
Few topics create more tension in a family business than pay—especially with family, non-family leaders, and inactive owners in the mix. This roundtable will help you craft a clear, market-aware compensation philosophy, set transparent ranges and decision rights, align pay with performance, and address perceived inequities without eroding trust. We’ll also focus on winning with total rewards—purpose, growth paths, flexibility, stability—so you can attract and keep top people even when you can’t match the biggest offers. You’ll leave with practical guardrails and conversation frameworks to recruit, retain, and engage—without breaking the bank.
Former CEO, Flexsteel Industries; Board Member, Cibo Vita and Soteria Flexibles
Family operators carry a dual burden: deliver results and represent the family. This facilitated conversation surfaces the real tension points—authority vs. entitlement, managing up/sideways with parents, siblings, and cousins, and earning credibility with non-family executives who expect clear standards and fair process. We’ll trade what’s worked—and what hasn’t on role clarity, feedback and evaluation, compensation and promotions, and separating family dynamics from business decisions—so you leave with peer-tested language and practices you can use when you return to the office.
Former CEO, Flexsteel Industries; Board Member, Cibo Vita and Soteria Flexibles
Ed Mills, Washington Policy Analyst at Raymond James, will separate noise from signal on the D.C. agenda most likely to hit your P&L in the next 3 to6 months. He’ll cover likely tax-package paths and timing; tariff/trade moves; cost-driving labor and regulatory rules; and budget/appropriations scenarios that ripple into financing and demand. For each, he’ll translate “what’s happening” into “what to do”: pricing and contract levers, hiring and wage planning, capex timing, and owner planning. You’ll leave with clear signposts to watch between now and summer and a one-page checklist for near-term decisions.
Managing Director and Washington Policy Analyst, Raymond James
Unresolved conflict is one of the biggest silent threats to family business continuity. From sibling disputes to founder reluctance to misaligned expectations between generations, conflict is part of every family business. This highly interactive session will offer a proven six-step framework and include dynamic exercises to equip leaders with the tools to surface and solve tensions that stall progress. Whether you’re navigating succession, dealing with power imbalances or trying to move past old wounds, you’ll walk away with tools to change the conversation and protect what matters most.
Bluewater Advisory
Forty years ago, Ray Titus opened a single Signarama store. Today, as founder and CEO of United Franchise Group, he leads a family-owned portfolio of brands with 1,800+ locations in 80+ countries, all the while working with his 3 sons and 3 nephews , who all work at United Franchise Group. In this fireside chat, Ray will share how a values-first, systems-driven approach keeps family at the center while the enterprise scales—what the “ownership economy” looks like in practice for developing leaders, engaging the next generation, and sustaining culture across brands and geographies (whether you franchise or not). We’ll dig into roles for family members, codifying non-negotiables, and building platforms that outlast any single product cycle. You’ll leave with practical ways to accelerate growth, preserve identity, and build an enterprise that endures.
Founder and CEO, United Franchise Group
Enjoy an evening of connection and inspiration at The James Museum, right off the coast in downtown St. Petersburg. Join fellow attendees for a private dinner while surrounded by the history of the American West, and wildlife around the world.
With nearly three decades of experience and a sharp eye for connecting macroeconomic forces to real-world business decisions, Larry Adam will unpack what the year ahead could hold for markets, interest rates, inflation and labor trends—and what it all means for companies balancing growth, legacy, and long-term planning. Tailored uniquely to the realities of family-owned businesses, this session will explore how family-owned firms can anticipate inflection points, time key investments and adapt to shifting financial conditions while staying true to their core values. It’s not just an economic update—it’s a strategic briefing for leaders focused on building resilient, enduring businesses.
Chief Investment Officer, Raymond James
As family enterprises grow, so do the complexities of protecting and passing on wealth. From estate planning and tax mitigation to structuring trusts and gaining consensus around charitable giving, this session will explore what it takes to preserve assets—and family harmony—across generations. A panel of seasoned advisors will unpack real-world strategies for building structures that last, including how to balance family trustees with corporate oversight, when to use foundations or donor-advised funds, and how to align wealth planning with family values and legacy goals. Whether you’re planning for liquidity events or navigating the second and third generation transitions, this session will help you avoid common pitfalls and create clarity that benefits both the balance sheet and the family dynamic.
Partner, Wiggin and Dana LLP
Chairman & President, Raymond James Trust, N.A.
We’ll sit down with Family Enterprise USA to unpack the most actionable findings from the 2025 Cornell/FEUSA Next Gen Survey and their Annual Family Business Survey—most notably, the gaps between generations on authority and innovation, what rising leaders expect from ownership and career paths, and where compensation and culture are making or breaking retention. Building on the previous session, we’ll shift from policy to people and ownership decisions you control: succession pacing, incentive design, career architecture and owner development and how pending tax and legislative changes might impact those choices.
Director of Engagement, Family Enterprise USA
For family-owned companies, sustaining success across generations means learning how to evolve while honoring what came before. Harvard Business School professor Josh Baron, author of the essential Family Business Handbook and one of the most influential thinkers on family business strategy in the world today, explores what it really takes—the structures, models, goal-setting and guardrails—needed to drive innovation and reinvention inside a family business, where emotions, traditions and long-term thinking all shape decision-making.
He’ll help you embrace change: launching new product lines, entering new markets or reinventing the business model while staying true to core values. Learn how to manage risk in a family business, create space for innovation and make decisions that benefit the next generation without erasing the past. Whether you’re facing disruption or simply want to stay ahead of the curve, this session will offer practical insights on how to build a company that’s built to last—and evolve.
Co-author, The Family Business Handbook, Senior Lecturer of Business Administration at Harvard Business School
In this closing fireside chat, Lynn Clarke—three-time CEO, award-winning private company director and advisor to leading family enterprises, will lay out what truly sets enduring family-owned businesses apart: clarity of purpose, aligned owners and leaders, smart use of independent voices, disciplined execution, and a willingness to adapt strategy, talent, and digital capabilities without losing identity. Drawing on patterns she has seen across the best-run family businesses, she’ll leave you with a concise checklist of what to reinforce, what to re-think, and how to turn two days of insights into action at your own company.
Board Member, JUST Born, the PEEPS company, Vollrath Manufacturing and Ozarks Coca-Cola/Dr. Pepper Bottling Company
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1:00 - 5:00 pm
Over 70% of Executives Surveyed Agree: Many Strategic Planning Efforts Lack Systematic Approach Tips for Enhancing Your Strategic Planning Process
Executives expressed frustration with their current strategic planning process. Issues include:
Steve Rutan and Denise Harrison have put together an afternoon workshop that will provide the tools you need to address these concerns. They have worked with hundreds of executives to develop a systematic approach that will enable your team to make better decisions during strategic planning. Steve and Denise will walk you through exercises for prioritizing your lists and steps that will reset and reinvigorate your process. This will be a hands-on workshop that will enable you to think about your business as you use the tools that are being presented. If you are ready for a Strategic Planning tune-up, select this workshop in your registration form. The additional fee of $695 will be added to your total.
2:00 - 5:00 pm
Female leaders face the same issues all leaders do, but they often face additional challenges too. In this peer session, we will facilitate a discussion of best practices and how to overcome common barriers to help women leaders be more effective within and outside their organizations.
Limited space available.
10:30 - 5:00 pm
General’s Retreat at Hermitage Golf Course
Sponsored by UBS
General’s Retreat, built in 1986 with architect Gary Roger Baird, has been voted the “Best Golf Course in Nashville” and is a “must play” when visiting the Nashville, Tennessee area. With the beautiful setting along the Cumberland River, golfers of all capabilities will thoroughly enjoy the golf, scenery and hospitality.
The golf outing fee includes transportation to and from the hotel, greens/cart fees, use of practice facilities, and boxed lunch. The bus will leave the hotel at 10:30 am for a noon shotgun start and return to the hotel after the cocktail reception following the completion of the round.