Publications
Publications
- September–October 2024
- Harvard Business Review
Should a Family Business Accept a Returning Daughter’s Radical Proposal?
By: John D. Macomber
Abstract
A family-owned and controlled conglomerate in Cote d'Ivoire, West Africa, has to decide what titles and authority to give to a daughter who is being courted to leave a promising career in Europe to come back and join the business. The choices of role range from an assistant to the current COO all the way to replacing the COO or staying in Europe. The strategic choices include backward integrating this trading company into sugar growing and refining on the continent and/or becoming an independent power producer and selling electricity to the national grid. Based on an HBS field case, anonymized for HBR.
Keywords
Succession Planning; Power Grid; Family Business; Management Succession; Emerging Markets; Business Strategy; Agriculture and Agribusiness Industry; Côte d'Ivoire
Citation
Macomber, John D. "Should a Family Business Accept a Returning Daughter’s Radical Proposal?" R2045M. Harvard Business Review (September–October 2024): 156–161.