Skip to Main Content
HBS Home
  • About
  • Academic Programs
  • Alumni
  • Faculty & Research
  • Baker Library
  • Giving
  • Harvard Business Review
  • Initiatives
  • News
  • Recruit
  • Map / Directions
Faculty & Research
  • Faculty
  • Research
  • Featured Topics
  • Academic Units
  • …→
  • Harvard Business School→
  • Faculty & Research→
Publications
Publications
  • September 2020
  • Case
  • HBS Case Collection

Keeping It in the Family at the Hayden Saw Company

By: V.G. Narayanan and John Masko
  • Format:Print
  • | Language:English
  • | Pages:11
ShareBar

Abstract

In 2019, Board Chair and third-generation shareholder Helen Fullerton was preparing for a meeting to discuss Ohio-based Hayden Saw Company’s (Hayden) future as a family business. As the company entered its fifth decade, the Hayden family was dealing with three distinct pressures. First was the question of how to represent shareholders equitably in a way that would enable the family to move past its history of friction and estrangement. The second question was how to ensure a talented pipeline of family members working at the company as the family dispersed across the U.S. Third and relatedly, was the question of how to ensure informed family representation on the company’s board to support its independent directors. To address these pressures, Fullerton had commissioned a family business consultant to generate a series of proposals. The consultant had come back with comprehensive ideas for a shareholders’ council, a family office, family employment tracks, and a shareholder director process. Now it was time for Fullerton to review the proposals and decide how to move forward.

Keywords

Family Business; Corporate Governance; Family Ownership; Business and Shareholder Relations; Family and Family Relationships; Governing and Advisory Boards; Construction Industry; Ohio; United States

Citation

Narayanan, V.G., and John Masko. "Keeping It in the Family at the Hayden Saw Company." Harvard Business School Case 121-026, September 2020.
  • Educators
  • Purchase

About The Author

V.G. Narayanan

Accounting and Management
→More Publications

More from the Authors

    • May 2022
    • Faculty Research

    Honeywell: Transforming a Century Old Industrial

    By: William W. George, Michael Norris and John Masko
    • March 2022
    • Faculty Research

    Copper Nationalization in Chile

    By: Jeremy Friedman, John Masko and Jingyu Liu
    • January 2022
    • Faculty Research

    Bee-ing Better at Bombas

    By: Elizabeth A. Keenan, Youngme Moon and John Masko
More from the Authors
  • Honeywell: Transforming a Century Old Industrial By: William W. George, Michael Norris and John Masko
  • Copper Nationalization in Chile By: Jeremy Friedman, John Masko and Jingyu Liu
  • Bee-ing Better at Bombas By: Elizabeth A. Keenan, Youngme Moon and John Masko
ǁ
Campus Map
Harvard Business School
Soldiers Field
Boston, MA 02163
→Map & Directions
→More Contact Information
  • Make a Gift
  • Site Map
  • Jobs
  • Harvard University
  • Trademarks
  • Policies
  • Accessibility
  • Digital Accessibility
Copyright © President & Fellows of Harvard College