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The Silent Risk in the C-Suite: When Memory Meets Responsibility
New research from Columbia University and a 2025 study in The Lancet Regional Health – Americas challenge assumptions about when Alzheimer’s risk begins. The findings show that cognitive decline—linked to cardiovascular, inflammatory, and neurodegenerative markers—can be detected in adults as young as 24. While family history remains relevant, it’s lifestyle and biological risk factors that may offer earlier, more actionable signals.
The Power of Belonging in Times of Transition
In Tribal, Professor Michael Morris reveals that tribes—groups bound by shared identity, rituals, and purpose—aren’t just social constructs; they’re fundamental to how humans survive and thrive. Family enterprises, too, function as tribes. But as families grow and change, tribal cohesion requires intentional leadership. Drawing from Morris’s work, we explore what it means to build inclusive, evolving tribes that balance tradition with transformation.
Beyond Earth Day: What Legacy Are We Leaving?
Earth Day may come once a year each April, but its call to action reverberates far beyond a single month. Corporations respond with net-zero pledges, families with tree-planting rituals, and policy leaders with bold targets. Yet behind these headlines lies a quieter, more complex force: enterprising families.
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.
Advising Enterprising Families: The Role, the Gap, and the Opportunity
Advising enterprising families calls for more than just business savvy; it requires understanding trust, legacy, and emotion. While advisors are often skilled in governance and strategy, many overlook the “human architecture” that truly drives family enterprise success. Below, we explore how to bridge this critical gap.
Explore Further
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
2022 Conference Recap: Family Office
The panelists on this session gave us an inside look at the missions and family dynamics in family offices. They spoke about some of the difficulties of keeping younger family members engaged as family businesses grow, and also highlighted some things to consider when deciding who should run a family’s office and how they should do it.
Making It Work: Setting up a Family Office and Working With the Next Generation
Husband and wife Bram Bluestein ’71 and Ilene Gordon joined the Global Family Enterprise Program in 2019 for “Making It Work: Two Careers, One Family, and a Lasting Legacy.” In this clip, they discuss setting up their family office and involving the next generation in the business.
Making It Work: Managing a Dual Career Household
Husband and wife Bram Bluestein ’71 and Ilene Gordon joined the Global Family Enterprise Program in 2019 for “Making It Work: Two Careers, One Family, and a Lasting Legacy.” Their candid insights on balancing their two high-powered careers while raising a family resonate today.