Kellogg Family Business Alumni Network

In late 2016, Ryan Butler ’16, director of operations at AmWINS Group, Inc., helped launch the Kellogg Family Business Alumni Network (“the Network”), the school’s first formal network of alumni from family-owned businesses. The Network works closely with the Kellogg Center for Family Enterprises (“the Center”) to design content, tools and forums to formally connect a global network of over 2,000 alumni from business- owning families.

The Network mission is threefold: (1) to provide a forum for family business leaders to connect and share experiences and ideas of how to build stronger and more successful family businesses; (2) to assist alumni with professional development and lifelong learning; and (3) to help strengthen and expand the Kellogg brand globally.

The Network’s inaugural vent, “The DNA of Family Business,” took place in the fall of 2016 in Chicago, and featured Kellogg Professor and Director of the Center Justin Craig discussing the essence of family enterprises, their role and impact on society and how they differ from traditional businesses. In early 2017, Kellogg alumnus Hiroko Osaka ’92 was instrumental in organizing the first international event in Tokyo, Japan.

The Network developed an event series called “Continuity Conferences,” which is designed to share the latest research, promote best practices for family business continuity and further the Network’s mission worldwide. The first event, held in November 2017 on Kellogg’s Miami campus, was attended by more than 40 alumni representing 11 countries through Central and South America. The event was led by Kellogg’s leading professors – Justin Craig (Family Business), Jose Liberti (Finance), Michael Mazzeo (Strategy) and Daniel Lansberg-Rodriguez (Geo-Politics) – and was tailored to matters specifically impacting Latin American family businesses.

On March 10, 2018, the Network and the Center hosted the second Continuity Conference at the Kellogg Global Hub in Evanston. This conference was focused on topics such as strategic planning, family human resources governance, roles of owners, sustainability and decision making. Professors Justin Craig, Annelie Karlsson, Jose Liberti, Brooke Vuckovic and Malcolm Preston led the various seminars and discussions and did a masterful job tailoring the content to topics relevant to the attendees.

For questions about the Kellogg Family Business Alumni Network, or if you would like to get involved, please contact Ryan Butler at rbutler47@gmail.com or visit the Center’s website at www.kcfe.net.