Europe’s family businesses hold the key to prosperity

Ask someone in Hong Kong, or for that matter Los Angles, Rio de Janeiro or Dubai, what their perception is of the state of Europe’s economy and you’ll probably get some pretty standard responses.

They’re likely to contain words like recession, gloomy or troubled, and unlikely to contain words like buoyant, dynamic and robust. Although raging less today than a year ago, the euro crisis has left its mark on much of the collective thinking of not just Europeans, but the rest of the world as well.

But luckily, as with a lot in life, memories are a fickle thing. That’s why the sniff of recovery – albeit very faint – in one or two eurozone economies should be grasped with enthusiasm by businesses and consumers alike. After all, we need a little bit of the feel-good factor in our lives as we emerge from a cold winter. 



Family businesses in Europe are doing more than their bit to generate that feel-good factor as they provide much of the nutrients necessary for the green shoots of recovery to spring up. And in recognition of the absolutely critical role family businesses play in the fabric of Europe’s economy and society, CampdenFB has launched its 2nd European Families in Business Awards. This year’s awards will be held in Paris on 11 June.

So we encourage all our readers to nominate at least one family business leader or family business in one of the five awards categories – help us spread the feel-good factor. To do so click here.

The awards will be held at Campden’s 10th annual Families in Business Conference in Paris on 11 and 12 June. The theme of the conference will be – appropriately – how family businesses are playing a crucial role in the recovery of the European economy. 

We hope these small efforts on our part help to recognise the importance family businesses play in generating the feel-good factor. Let’s ensure that the good people of Rio de Janeiro, Dubai and Hong Kong can start to turn their perception around to a more positive view of Europe’s economy.