Episode 39: Daughters in Charge

April 21, 2014

Traditionally it was always men who followed their fathers into the family business. But the number of women joining family firms in the US has almost quintupled since the late 1990s.

Tlllie Hidalgo Lima (l) and her daughter, Jessi Lima Bollin (Photo: AP)

Something similar is happening around the world. As women gain more education - and families have fewer children, including fewer boys - patriarchs are being forced to consider something they might never have thought about: the possibility of their daughters entering and eventually running the family firm. But women coming into these situations face quite different challenges than their brothers. This show explores some of those.

Sara Corey at her farm's storage facility

These days quite a few women run family businesses too. The show features five guests, including three daughters who joined the family firm - two are working with their fathers, one with her mother. I also speak to a couple of women who are experts on daughters in family businesses, one based in the US, and one in Europe.

20 minutes. 

Show notes:

Amy Katz runs the online community Daughters in Charge.

Daphne Halkias is the co-editor of Father-Daughter Succession in Family Business.

Marty Betagole is president of Mike Albert Fleet Solutions in Cincinnati.

Jessica Lima Bollin is director of marketing and communications for Best Upon Request, also in Cincinnati.

Sara Corey is director of agronomy at Daniel Corey Farms in Maine.

Here's some data from the University of Michigan-Flint on family business succession in the US, including women in family businesses.