Votorantim: Uniting Family and Business Across Generations

Over a 105-year span, the Ermírio de Moraes family built Votorantim, one of Latin America’s largest industrial conglomerates, and among Brazil’s topmost businesses, also credited for helping “build” the country over decades. By early 2023, Votorantim included diversified operations in 19 countries worldwide, with a net income above $1 billion. The conglomerate was privately owned by the Ermírio de Moraes family, with its ownership evenly split across four family branches. Over time, the family established a corporate governance structure with separate boards for ownership, business, and family affairs, leaving business operations to a professional management team. At the heart of this governance structure was the family board, viewed by many family members as the “glue and honey” bringing them together. Despite running multiple initiatives, Luciana Domit chair of the family board and a fifth-generation member, acknowledged, it was becoming increasingly hard to get its over 170 family members to spend time together and to engage in the activities they promoted. As the family enlarged and interests diverged, fostering its long-term unity could become more challenging. Were the family board’s current strategies and overall governance structure at Votorantim conducive towards keeping the family united in its values and preserving its legacy? Or would a transformation be needed if the Ermírio de Moraeses were committed to remaining at the forefront of the Votorantim’s governance structure?