Longevity is a rare achievement in the collective history of family-owned businesses. Only three out of 10 successfully transfer the business and family wealth between generations, according to a recent study. Yet, a desire for long-term survival seems to be programmed into the DNA of family-owned companies. For founders, the business represents a hard-won legacy – a lifetime of work they hope will live on through many generations.
For the inheriting generations, the family business is often part of their identity and personal history, not to mention a source of income and, in some cases, prestige. Outside the family circle, there are also plenty of reasons to keep family enterprises going. A 2019 Conference Board of Canada attributes close to half of all private-sector jobs in Canada to family-owned businesses. These companies also make up almost 65 percent of all private-sectors in the country’s economy and account for almost half the total GDP generated by the private sector. I knew when I became chief executive officer of the Minto Group in 2013 that I was being entrusted not only with the future of a well-respected business, but also with the legacy of a company that had a rich history and deep family roots. The Greenberg family founded Minto in the 1950s and grew the business – over 75 years and two generations – from a small home-building business in Ottawa to a major real estate developer and property manager, with operations across Canada and in parts of the United States. By 2007 – around the time I joined Minto as chief financial officer – the company was on the brink of a major change. The Greenberg family was intent on maintaining ownership and growing the business, but there were no third-generation members interested in stepping up to lead the company. My appointment as CEO marked the first time in Minto’s history that top leadership would be occupied by someone other than a Greenberg