Our mandate focuses on a three-pronged approach to business families: study, support, and celebrate. 

The Centre’s formation recognizes the positive and pervasive effect family businesses have on global economies and the benefits accruing from a healthy understanding of the form.  We chose “Business Families” (versus the historic tag of Family Businesses) to begin a new chapter of positive discussion, research and support in this area and to link this Centre with Ivey’s support of Entrepreneurs.

Our clienteles: At inception, business families begin with an entrepreneur’s initiative. The transition from entrepreneur to business family can take many forms including multi-generational family management, a shift to family ownership (with professional managers), a sale of an enterprise leading to ‘re-seeding’ of capital to a new generation of entrepreneurs, or switching to philanthropic endeavour’s with the accumulated capital. The Centre supports the activities of these business families.