Featured
Family, Family Voices, Governance, Ownership
Legacying Together
A Reflection on the 2026 CBS Family Enterprise Conference: Legacying TogetherFriday, April 17thColumbia Business School
Family, Family Voices, Governance, Ownership
Global Immersion Program: CAFE in Italy — Spring Break 2026
What does it truly take to advise a family enterprise? This spring break, 19 second-year MBA students set out to find the answer firsthand. Through Columbia Business School's Consulting and Advising Family Enterprises (CAFE) program, developed in partnership with the Jerome A. Chazen Institute for Global Business, students traveled across five cities and visited ten organizations, moving through Milan, Parma, Rimini, Ravenna, and Florence to meet the families and leaders behind Vibram, Barilla, Ferragamo, Nuova Energia Holding, Castello di Monsanto, Famiglia Cecchi, and Bocconi University, among others. Candid conversations on governance, succession, and legacy unfolded naturally within Italy's culture of trust and authenticity, proving once again to be the perfect classroom for this kind of relational learning.
Family Voices
Alumni Spotlight: Dan Lifton ’02: On Joining the Business, and the Family
When Dan Lifton ’02, President of Maypro Ventures, returned to CBS to speak in Gaia Marchisio’s Family Business Management class this spring, it brought together several meaningful threads in his life: the impact of Columbia Business School, his experience working in a family business as a son-in-law, and his commitment to giving back to students forging their own paths. We sat down with Dan recently to discuss what this really means to him.
Consulting, Family, Family Voices, Governance, Ownership
Global Immersion: Consulting & Advising Family Enterprises (CAFE in Italy) 2025 Student Reflections
Seven days, five Italian cities, six company visits, and more than a dozen engaging sessions—the “CAFE in Italy” Global Immersion course took 16 graduate students on a deep dive into the heart of Italian family enterprises. Led by Professor Gaia Marchisio, participants met with owners, next‐generation leaders, and seasoned advisors. Stops included Barilla, Petrolifera Italo Rumena (PIR), Ascoli Bottoni, Acetaia Giusti, Ferragamo, and Frescobaldi, as well as discussions with DeAgostini, Bocconi University, Association of Italian Family Businesses, and Fideuram Intesa Sanpaolo. Students gained behind‐the‐scenes insight on succession, brand evolution, governance, and family values. The result was a vivid illustration of how tradition and innovation can combine to keep family legacies thriving across centuries.
Family, Family Voices, Governance, Ownership
2024 Owners' Day: A New Era for the Global Family Enterprise Program
On October 1st, the Global Family Enterprise Program held its inaugural Owners' Day, a milestone event that brought together family enterprise leaders, students, alumni, and experts to explore the evolving role of ownership in today’s world. The event showcased the potential for family enterprises to not only drive economic success but to lead with values and create sustainable, positive change across industries, communities, and generations.
Explore Further
Family, Family Voices, Governance, Ownership
Legacying Together
A Reflection on the 2026 CBS Family Enterprise Conference: Legacying TogetherFriday, April 17thColumbia Business School
Family, Family Voices, Governance, Ownership
Global Immersion Program: CAFE in Italy — Spring Break 2026
What does it truly take to advise a family enterprise? This spring break, 19 second-year MBA students set out to find the answer firsthand. Through Columbia Business School's Consulting and Advising Family Enterprises (CAFE) program, developed in partnership with the Jerome A. Chazen Institute for Global Business, students traveled across five cities and visited ten organizations, moving through Milan, Parma, Rimini, Ravenna, and Florence to meet the families and leaders behind Vibram, Barilla, Ferragamo, Nuova Energia Holding, Castello di Monsanto, Famiglia Cecchi, and Bocconi University, among others. Candid conversations on governance, succession, and legacy unfolded naturally within Italy's culture of trust and authenticity, proving once again to be the perfect classroom for this kind of relational learning.
Family Voices
Alumni Spotlight: Dan Lifton ’02: On Joining the Business, and the Family
When Dan Lifton ’02, President of Maypro Ventures, returned to CBS to speak in Gaia Marchisio’s Family Business Management class this spring, it brought together several meaningful threads in his life: the impact of Columbia Business School, his experience working in a family business as a son-in-law, and his commitment to giving back to students forging their own paths. We sat down with Dan recently to discuss what this really means to him.
Consulting, Family, Family Voices, Governance, Ownership
Global Immersion: Consulting & Advising Family Enterprises (CAFE in Italy) 2025 Student Reflections
Seven days, five Italian cities, six company visits, and more than a dozen engaging sessions—the “CAFE in Italy” Global Immersion course took 16 graduate students on a deep dive into the heart of Italian family enterprises. Led by Professor Gaia Marchisio, participants met with owners, next‐generation leaders, and seasoned advisors. Stops included Barilla, Petrolifera Italo Rumena (PIR), Ascoli Bottoni, Acetaia Giusti, Ferragamo, and Frescobaldi, as well as discussions with DeAgostini, Bocconi University, Association of Italian Family Businesses, and Fideuram Intesa Sanpaolo. Students gained behind‐the‐scenes insight on succession, brand evolution, governance, and family values. The result was a vivid illustration of how tradition and innovation can combine to keep family legacies thriving across centuries.
Family, Family Voices, Governance, Ownership
2024 Owners' Day: A New Era for the Global Family Enterprise Program
On October 1st, the Global Family Enterprise Program held its inaugural Owners' Day, a milestone event that brought together family enterprise leaders, students, alumni, and experts to explore the evolving role of ownership in today’s world. The event showcased the potential for family enterprises to not only drive economic success but to lead with values and create sustainable, positive change across industries, communities, and generations.
Family, Family Voices, Governance, Ownership
Think Bigger
Our spotlight is on the latest groundbreaking work by Sheena Iyengar, the esteemed inaugural S.T. Lee Professor of Business in the Management Division at Columbia Business School, and a renowned authority on choice and decision-making. Her book is a beacon of inspiration for us all.
Family Voices
Created with Purpose: Dilmah Tea & Resplendent Ceylon with Dilhan and Malik Fernando
On this episode of the BRITE Ideas Podcast from the Center on Global Brand Leadership at Columbia Business School, Professor J.P. Kuehlwein and Director Matthew Quint speak with Dilhan Fernando (CEO, Dilmah Tea) and Malik Fernando (Managing Director, Resplendent Ceylon) about the creation and growth of the first owned and operated tea company in Sri Lanka, Dilmah Tea.
Family, Family Voices
2022 Conference Recap: Keynote Fireside Chat with Jon Sebastiani ’12
Jon Sebastiani ’12 took the audience through his journey joining his family’s businesses and expounded on some of the successes and challenges he faced. He shared practical relational advice for those thinking of joining their family’s business and what to look out for, as well as some career advice from his experience launching his own private equity fund after his family sold their business and he graduated from CBS.
Family, Family Voices, Research Findings
2022 Conference Recap: Family Enterprise in an Interconnected World
Panelists discussed new challenges, from “cancel culture” to personal privacy, which businesses, and their people, must navigate in an inescapably interconnected world.