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John L. Ward Center for Family Enterprises

Clinical Professor Emeritus of Family Enterprise

Portrait of John L. Ward, Faculty at the Kellogg School of Management
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Ward teaches and studies succession, ownership, governance and philanthropy of family enterprises.

He is co-author of several leading books on family business, including Family Business as Paradox; Keeping the Family Business Healthy; Perpetuating the Family Business: 50 Lessons Learned from Long-Lasting Successful Families in Business; Building A Successful Family Business Board: A Guide for Leaders, Directors, and Families; When Family Businesses are Best: The Parallel Planning Process for Family Harmony and Business Success; Strategic Planning for the Family Business;  Creating Effective Boards for Private Enterprises: Meeting the Challenges of Continuity and Competition; and Unconventional Wisdom: Counterintuitive Insights for Family Business Success. Ward is also co-author of Why Others? Philanthropy and Opportunity and Why Me? Wealth: Creating, Receiving and Passing It On. He also co-authored a collection of 17 booklets, "The Family Business Leadership Series," with each booklet focusing on a specific issue family businesses face (see palgrave.com or thefbcg.com).

 Ward graduated from Northwestern University (B.A.) and Stanford Graduate School of Business (M.B.A. and Ph.D). Currently he serves on the boards of two companies and three nonprofit organizations.

About John
Research interests
  • Family enterprise continuity planning
  • governance
  • business ownership
  • family offices and family foundations.
Teaching interests
  • Family business continuity planning
  • governance
  • business ownership
  • family offices and family foundations Executive Education classes include Governing Family Enterprises
  • a program for directors
  • shareholders and executives; and Leading Family Enterprises
  • offering practical approaches to the complex challenges of leading the family company.
  • PhD, 1973, Stanford University
    MBA, 1969, Stanford University
    BA, 1967, Northwestern University
  • Judge of FBN Global Family Business of the Year, Family Business Network
    Judge of FBN Global Family Business of the Year, Family Business Network
    Judge of International Family Business Case Competition, University of Vermont
    Certificate of Impact Teaching Award, Kellogg School of Management, Winter Class 2014
    Certificate of Impact Teaching Award, Kellogg School of Management, Winter Class 2010
  • Applied Research Board, Family Business Review, 2016-2017
    Wrote the Precis for Family Business Review, Family Business Review, 2016-2017
    Applied Research Board, Family Business Review, 2014-2017
    Editorial Board, Family Business Review, 2006-2012