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Special report

April 27, 2009

Ben Bland looks at the relationship between two famous sons, analyses the effect of their dispute on the country’s corporate reputation, and discusses rumours of a truce

Mukesh Ambani did not have the greatest of years in 2008, with the value of his business empire shrinking by an estimated $28 billion. But he can console himself with the fact that he is still India's richest tycoon and that more importantly, his estranged younger brother, Anil, lost even more money, with his net worth slumping by $30 billion.

India: change is constant

April 27, 2009

Gavin Knight meets Adi Godrej to discuss how the venerable Godrej Group is mixing tradition and innovation within a modern Indian family business setting

India has mainly been in the news for its upwardly mobile economic growth rate over the last decade, which has been driven by a large number of the country's family-controlled multinational companies. However, age-old concerns over corporate governance in these businesses were brought to the fore this January when a family business scandal hit the headlines.

India: doing it for themselves… and the family business

April 27, 2009

Jane Simms profiles two leading ladies who are blazing a trail for the fairer sex in India.

Meher Pudumjee, chairperson of Thermax Limited, the family business set up by her maternal grandfather some 40 years ago, is testimony to just how quickly the role of women in family businesses is changing in India.

She joined the board of Thermax, which produces energy and environmental systems for industrial customers around the world, in 1996 after the sudden death of her father, becoming non-executive chairman four years later. She had first joined the company aged 21, straight after a degree in chemical engineering at Imperial College, London.

Risk management: safety net

November 1, 2008

The internet may be one of the world’s greatest inventions, but it has also introduced new and dangerous security risks. Gavin Knight looks at what is at stake for families and analyses how they can protect themselves and their business

Family businesses face multiple threats to their privacy and security from the internet. Dedicated criminals can use the internet to find personal information to use for extortion, blackmail or identity fraud. Financial information can be intercepted by stray emails or lapsed data security.

Risk management: lean, mean and green

November 1, 2008

Climate change has been a hot topic in recent years with governments around the globe promising action. Mike Scott takes a look at what the threat of climate change means to family businesses and how to mitigate the risks it presents

Everyone is currently focused on the financial crisis, but that does not mean that other issues have gone away. When the markets settle down, the issue of climate change will still be there at the top of the agenda.

The arguments are familiar to most people – man-made emissions of CO2 and other greenhouse gases are warming the atmosphere and causing changes to the climate. The emissions, if left to continue at current rates, will have enormous consequences on everything from rainfall patterns and crop yields to the spread of diseases.

Risk management: tackling terrorism

November 1, 2008

One of the biggest and most frightening risks is that of terrorism. Darrell Delamaide looks at two recent attacks that have brought the risk into reality for business-owning families and analyses what you can do to prevent such an eventuality

It was every business owner's nightmare. A truck bomb with more than 800 pounds of explosives ripped through the Marriott Hotel in Pakistan's capital city, Islamabad, on 20 September 2008, killing more than 50 people, wounding hundreds more and leaving a crater 25 feet deep.

Risk management: global risks

November 1, 2008

Thierry Malleret begins our special report on risk management by looking at the global risks facing family businesses today

Global risks are today's risks. They are an integral part of a world characterised by ever greater complexity and accelerating change, and they are becoming more relevant and pervasive than ever.

Businesses cope well with those kinds of "familiar" business risks traditionally within the canvas of the firm (eg, project risks, competitive risks, industry risks, currency risks), but often find themselves far less well equipped to deal with a set of new, less familiar, potentially more dangerous, global risks.

Eastern Europe: Going east for growth

September 1, 2008

As consumers in Eastern Europe becomes ever more affluent, family businesses around the world are looking to the region for growth rather than cheap land and labour, says Reg Crowder

Family businesses are increasingly turning to Eastern Europe for growth opportunities. But it's a completely different story from what the world saw in the years following the collapse of the Soviet Union.

Eastern Europe: Red alert for Russian families

September 1, 2008

They have made their fortunes, but now Russian billionaires face the challenge of involving their families into their business, reports Gavin Knight

Family businesses in Russia were once among the most revered in the world. The richest families, such as the Romanovs and Yusupovs, could trace their noble roots back centuries and were renowned for their immense wealth, philanthropy and art collections. However, they lost it all during the revolution of 1917.

Eastern Europe: Turkish delight

September 1, 2008

Paul Amery reports on three family-owned conglomerates at the forefront of Turkey’s new-found corporate optimism

Paul Amery reports on three family-owned conglomerates at the forefront of Turkey's new-found corporate optimism

At the World Economic Forum in Davos, held in January each year, the three-day programme culminates in the lavish gala event, a high-profile evening attracting the world's most powerful business leaders and politicians.

This year, the gala was co-sponsored by four Turkish family-owned conglomerates, Dogus, Dogan, Sabanci and Koc, and the scene was set for them by their country's recent impressive economic performance.