Wendesday, May 04th, the Chair of Family Business (CEFUV) promoted by the Valencian Association of Entrepreneurs (AVE), the School of Entrepreneurs (EDEM), the Valencian Institute for the Study of Family Business (IVEFA), the Institute of Family Business (IEF) and the University of Valencia (UV), and which has the sponsorship of CaixaBank and Broseta,  has held a new breakfast-gathering under the title of "The shareholder responsibility: implications for the family firm and the entrepreneurial family".

Alejandro Escribá, professor at the Universitat de València and director of the Chair in Family Business (CEFUV), introduced the breakfast by pointing out that in family businesses three circles of influence converge that determine the strategic behaviour and evolution of the company: the family, ownership and management. The perspective of the company's shareholders is one of the most decisive aspects in strategic decision-making. However, the implications of ownership are generally little analysed in comparison to management approaches, or the influence of family aspects. The breakfast addressed the different shareholder profiles and their rights, but also their role in the transmission of values and in moderating the relationship between the owner family and the company. This was followed by a discussion with Agnès Noguera (Libertas 7) and Alfredo Quesada (Pavasal) from family businesses with different profiles and shareholder structures, and with excellent business careers.

On the one hand, Libertas 7 is a business group listed on the Valencia and Barcelona stock exchanges and on the Continuous Market, dedicated to the management of financial investments and to real estate and tourism activities. Libertas 7's mission is to develop financial investment and real estate and tourism management activities that ensure the survival of the company with adequate profitability, i.e. sustainable from the point of view of social responsibility. Agnès Noguera stressed that in the company "transparency is innate and necessary to prevent conflicts". When asked what she understood by responsible behaviour, she pointed out that "Libertas 7's mission includes the word sustainability. Therefore, I believe that a responsible decision by a shareholder or director must have a long-term vision and put the company's interests before his or her own interests, and take into account the company's need for sustainability when making decisions.

On the other hand, Pavasal is a Valencian family business dedicated to the construction and maintenance of civil, industrial and logistics infrastructures. Founded in 1943, its history has been characterised by stability, solvency and sustained growth based on commitment to the client, quality, professionalism and prudent management. Alfredo Quesada, CEO of Pavasal, emphasised in his speech that "shareholders who get on well together and strive to do so, favour the permanence of the company over time".

During the colloquium, the speakers agreed on the need for shareholders to be well informed about the company's progress, what their rights are and the procedures for carrying them out, as this will favour a good relationship between them, both at family level and in the management of the company. In relation to the possible positive effect of responsible shareholders, Quesada has emphasised the importance of their attitude towards maintaining good relations between the members of the owner family and the transmission of consensual and shared values.  Noguera stressed that one of the traits that characterise a responsible shareholder is that of setting an example and transmitting his or her way of acting, both to the rest of the shareholders and to future generations of the owner family.

With regard to future generations, both speakers agreed on the importance of making them aware of the company's activity and purpose, but giving each person the freedom to develop personally and professionally in the areas in which they feel best. It is important to generate opportunities so that future shareholders who want to become involved in the business project can do so if their skills add up, without forcing anyone to take on unwanted roles and showing the alternatives that exist if this is not the case.

In the conclusions of the breakfast, the Chair's director, Alejandro Escribá, highlighted three key words: transparency, trust (in the manager and in the other shareholders) and respect for the other elements linked to the business project. To these he added the existence of tools such as shareholder meetings, management teams or shareholder reports, formal or informal, which help to ensure that, on the one hand, the company is well governed and, on the other, that there continues to be coherence and a transmission of values and commitments in the family.

"In order to respect and preserve the business legacy, it is necessary to know how to transmit transparency, respect, trust in the manager, and to know how to transfer the values and the purpose of the family business, both to the family members, as workers, and to the owners". - Alejandro Escribá

If you missed the event or want to watch it again you can click on this link.

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