Inside SNC
The Family Business Forum is a professional-development program for executives of family businesses in Wisconsin.
Gail McNutt, who also serves as a facilitator and executive coach for the Center for Exceptional Leadership (CEL), is the lead facilitator for this program; she is supported by an expert team of leadership and business professionals and faculty. Together, they provide participants the opportunity to explore timely topics and discuss real-world challenges and opportunities within a select cohort of their peers. Meeting nine times each year, the forum features speakers on a variety of topics of relevance to family-owned businesses.
Business owners, family members, nonfamily employees and business professionals are invited to explore the challenges and rewards of family enterprise and to grow in their knowledge, skills and experience.
Membership rates, running from Sept. 1 through Aug. 31, are tiered based on the number of employees in an organization. Costs are waived for the 2020-21 membership year.
| Number of employees | Cost |
|---|---|
| 1-9 | $500 |
| 10-19 | $1,000 |
| 20-49 | $1,500 |
| 50-249 | $2,000 |
| 250+ | $2,500 |
Affinity groups: $2,000 annually per participant.
Member meetings
The Family Business Forum meets six times per year for two-hour facilitated sessions featuring subject-matter experts on topics relevant to family-run businesses. Each session’s topic will be selected by participants and customized to meet the needs of the group.
Areas of focus may include leadership and business topics such as:
Participants may invite up to five members of their family-owned businesses to these meetings, which provide ample opportunities for networking with other professionals.
Family Business Summit
The Family Business Summit, offered each spring, features a panel of business leaders who present on topics of broad interest to varying groups throughout the day, anchored by morning and afternoon keynote speakers.
Affinity groups
Members have the option to join a group of up to 15 non-competing peers who are interested in growing and developing in a confidential setting. Through a series of six half-day meetings each year, group members learn from each other and from external resources. Topics for exploration include family dynamics, leading through change, working with a board of advisors and more.
Discounts on St. Norbert College programming
Family Business Forum members receive discounts on other St. Norbert College Schneider School of Business & Economics programs. These offerings include executive coaching and assessment through the Center for Exceptional Leadership (CEL), as well as enrollment in the CEL’s Executive Leader, Senior Leader and Foundational Leader cohort-based leadership development programs.
Business leaders interested in joining the Family Business Forum should contact Dean Stewart at dean.stewart@snc.edu or 920-403-3406. Those who sign up to be a forum member will receive five seats in their company’s name for the annual Family Business Summit.
Family Business Forum members receive access a bi-weekly webinar series featuring expert speakers on a range of topics relevant to leaders of family businesses. Past topics have included:
“Participating as a sponsor of the Family Business Forum allowed me to gain a better understanding of the dynamics of family business and build trusting relationships. Family business challenges are unique and I learned as much from the members as they did from me.”
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