Family Business Conference 2019 : Mapping the Future

Marta Albert

Principal

RTH Investments and QG Family Office

Born in Germany, grown up in Madrid, and having lived in key cities around the world has given Marta a truly global perspective both in her personal and professional life. 

For many years Marta has been a point of reference in terms of emotional intelligence among family offices and UHNWIs. As a thought leader in emotional intelligence and Principal of RTH Investment and QG Family Office she supports successful entrepreneurs from family offices and private investors - beyond measure both personally and professionally. 

In the past, she has managed multi-national corporations and has founded private investment firms that have become role models for excellence and profitability. 

Her success comes form her ability to combine strong values, passion, experience, and common sense. She has always believed that if there is no meaning and passion behind what you do you will not suceed. 

She is also a member of several investment committes and cooperates with different philanthropic ventures. 

Dr. Nigel Nicholson

Professor

London Business School

Professor Nigel Nicholson has been a professor at London Business School since 1990. Before becoming a business psychologist he was a journalist, and he is a frequent commentator in the media on current business issues. He is widely known for pioneering the introduction of the new science of evolutionary psychology to business through a stream of writing, including an article in Harvard Business Review in 1998 and his book Managing the Human Animal.

His current major research interests include the psychology of family business, personality and leadership, gender issues and people skills in management. He has published over 20 books and 200 articles in these fields, as well as on topics such as innovation, organisational change and executive career development.

Professor Nicholson led a major research project on risk and decision-making among finance professionals, culminating in the book Traders: Risks, Decisions and Management in Financial Markets, published in 2005.  His book on family firms, Family Wars, was published in 2008.  His latest book, taking a fresh look at leadership through the lens of biography and the self, is The “I” of Leadership: Strategies for Seeing, Being and Doing.



At London Business School he has held the positions of Chairman of the Organisational Behaviour department, Research Dean, member of the Governing Body and been a Deputy Dean of the School. He has been a guest professor at German, American, African and Australian universities, and been honoured with awards from the Academy of Management and the International Association for Applied Psychology for his contribution to the field.

Professor Nicholson directs several executive programmes at London Business School, including High Performance People Skills and Proteus.  He has served on the Advisory Board of the Institute for Family Business, and from 2003 to 2010 he was Chairman of the evaluation panel for the J.P.Morgan Private Banking UK and Ireland Family Business Honours programme. 

Rennie Hoare

Partner & Head of Philanthropy

C. Hoare & Co.

Rennie joined the bank in 2016 and was invited to join the partnership in 2018. The six partners are all 11th generation descendant of the bank’s founder, own 100% of the bank and carry unlimited liability. Rennie is also head of philanthropy and has oversight of the bank’s trustee services. This includes the bank’s donor advised fund (DAF), the Master Charitable Trust.

Prior to this, he worked at T. Rowe Price and was responsible for relationships with institutional investment consultants in the UK and Europe. Before joining T. Rowe Price in 2011, he spent time at both Threadneedle and Guinness Asset Management. He graduated from the University of York with a BA Hons in Politics and holds the Investment Management Certificate.

Rennie is involved with a number of charities and particularly enjoys his mentoring of the next generation of philanthropists.

Mairi Mickel

Business Family Advisor

Mairi Mickel's Business Families

Mairi is a 4th generation owning member of the Mactaggart & Mickel Group, the 93 year old Scottish based Construction business that’s still 100% family owned. After 10 years boardroom experience in Macmic she founded her own practice in 2012 to provide business families with specialist continuity or exit planning support as both coach and consultant. Having lived all of her life as part of a visible and profitable business family, Mairi understands the challenges faced by family businesses during periods of transition, whether planned or borne from crisis. Since then, she’s helped a wide range of owners (UK and internationally) to future proof for this generation and the next. She also acts as a family business director trainer for the IOD, a faculty member on the FFI's 'Certificate of family business advising' and an NED on a 2nd Gen family business board in Colorado.

Until recently she was the Chair of her families grant giving trust, The Mickel Fund, formed in 1970 by her grandfather. Revitalising it in line with modern governance and a new purpose as a philanthropic family office during her tenure. When her father retired as chairman of Mamic last year, she suceeded her role as Chair to him, party engineered to give him a meaningful role in retirement. Her brother, and cousins (all Macmic Shareholders) act as her fellow trustees.

Maria Villax

Manager

PwC

Maria has been part of the Family Business Strategy team at PwC London for 3 years. She focuses on helping families set up adequate family and corporate governance frameworks. This includes succession planning, developing ownership structures and implementing strong leadership both at family and business level. Maria is the UK Next Gen Club ambassador at PwC, and she supports the next generation of leaders in becoming informed and responsible shareholders for the future.

Maria practised law for 5 years in Lisbon, specialising in criminal litigation and intellectual property. She then moved to London to study an MBA. As a next generation of a family business herself, her passion lies in helping families building the continuity of their business and their brand throughout the generations to come.

Asa Bjornberg

Executive Fellow

London Business School

Åsa Björnberg is a psychologist with experience in developing leaders. Her particular areas of expertise centre on family business governance and sustainability, interspecies relationships, human-animal studies and family psychology. Her other specialisms include corporate and experiential learning.

Björnberg is formerly a senior expert at McKinsey & Company where she created and led the McKinsey Global Family Business Research Programme. She consults on experiential leadership development and coaching, using innovative methods such as horse-guided learning. She also consults to family-owned businesses on governance, leadership and succession.

As a Leading Equine Assisted Psychotherapy (LEAP) qualified equine facilitated psychotherapist, Björnberg works with burnout, trauma and depression. She also uses horse-guided learning to help leaders in the corporate world, for authenticity, self-awareness and non-verbal impact.

Gaurav Gupta

Director, Africa

Gopal Group

Gaurav is a third-generation family business entrepreneur, currently leading his family’s steel manufacturing operations in Africa. Founded 40 years ago by his grandfather, Gopal Group of Industries manufactures high-value alloys for the global engineering industry and is one of the top five special steel companies in India.

Having graduated from the University of Pennsylvania with a Bachelors degree in Mechanical Engineering and Entrepreneurship, Gaurav spearheaded the acquisition of Omega Steel in Sudan in 2011, marking the group’s entry into Africa. Under his leadership, the company has grown to become one of the largest steel manufacturers in Sudan. He is now leading expansion across the continent and is on the verge of commissioning a new factory in Ghana.

Passionate about technology and its potential for radical transformation, Gaurav is an ardent singularitarian and is developing Industry 4.0 products for steel manufacturing. He is also an active member of Young President Organisation (YPO)’s youth chapter and has led the community in South Asia for several years.

Dinesh Ramachandran

Managing Director

TVS Logistics Services Limited

Mr. R Dinesh, 53, is the fourth generation TVS Family member, has worked his way up the organization ladder - as is the tradition in the family. A Commerce Graduate and an Associate Member of Institute of Chartered Accountants of India and Institute of Cost & Works Accountants of India. He is the Managing Director of TVS Logistics Services Limited and Joint Managing Director of T V Sundram Iyengar & Sons Private Limited. Apart from the above, he is also Director for various joint ventures and subsidiaries of these companies. He has been elected as the Chairman for CII Southern Region for the year 2018-2019. Mr. Dinesh is also the Chairman - Logistics Sector Skill Council & CII Institute of Logistics Advisory Council (2018-19). Mr. Dinesh has won many awards including, ‘Entrepreneur of the Year’ award for ‘Services’ category by Ernst & Young in February 2017. He is also the recipient of TiECON’s ‘Next Gen Entrepreneur of the year 2014’ award and ‘Emerging Entrepreneur’ award by CII in 2010. Mr. Dinesh, often referred as ‘game changer’ within the fraternity, has started TVS Logistics (TVS LSL) in 2004. Since then under his able leadership the company has grown multifold to become a billion-dollar company in 2017. TVS LSL is the first company to get private equity funding within the group. TVS Logistics has presence across the globe making it a truly global company and serving customers in over 50 countries. TVS LSL employs around 19,000 strong work force in India. It’s UK arm also provides over 2500 jobs in the UK. Currently, the companies under his management have a turnover of around USD 2 Billion and employ more than 25,000 people.