Conference for family-owned businesses on March 4 at FGCU

Steve Forbes

Media mogul Steve Forbes will deliver the keynote address during the Resnick-Wynn Family Business Conference in partnership with Florida Gulf Coast University on March 4 at the FGCU campus.

The conference, titled “Family Business: Thriving in an Ever-Changing World,” is geared toward owners of multigenerational businesses and offers insight and best practices from dynamic leaders who are running family businesses. In addition to Forbes, speakers include David Hoffmann, chairman of the Hoffmann Family of Companies; Shelly Stayer, co-owner and chairwoman for Johnsonville Sausage; Michael Wynn, president of Sunshine Ace Hardware and John Resnick, principal of The Resnick Group.

According to the U.S. Census, about 90% of all American companies are family-owned or controlled. Yet the survival statistics are stark. Only one-third of family-owned firms survive to the second generation and just 13% make it to the third generation.

“A family-owned business is not just about business; it’s personal,” said Forbes, who serves as chairman and editor-in-chief of Forbes Media. “That’s why this conference couldn’t be timelier and that’s why I am honored to be a part of it.”
Forbes Media was founded by his grandfather and has 132 million global visitors every month.

Family-owned businesses have been particularly impacted during the pandemic through inflationary costs, labor shortages, shipping delays and changes in consumer behavior like online shopping. Forbes notes that family-owned businesses still have an advantage because they can “combine commercial success with a broader consciousness of community stewardship and continuity – a critical asset during this troubled era.”

“As the CEO and a fourth-generation family member of The Barron Collier Companies, I am aware of the challenges family businesses can go through to survive from generation to generation,” said Blake Gable, a steering committee member for the conference. “I am thrilled to be part of this program that sheds light on how family businesses can thrive in today’s competitive corporate environment.”

The conference series, created by Michael Wynn and John and Billie Resnick, will be similar to conferences the Resnicks conducted with The Wharton School at The University of Pennsylvania that included Steve Forbes and other family business icons.

“Family businesses are the economic engine of our economy,” said Billie Resnick. “John and I, along with Michael Wynn, are proud to have partnered with David and Jerri Hoffmann, Blake Gable and Shelly Stayer to support and increase the odds of survival of family businesses in Southwest Florida.”