Tharawat Blog

Episode 12 – Innovation As An Engine For Growth, A Conversation With Nicolas and Anthony Boukather. To thrive in a competitive landscape, family businesses must be willing to adapt and change. Firms must learn to embrace innovative thinking and explore new ideas, processes and procedures in order to stay relevant and ensure success for future […]

Coralie Zaccar is a third-generation family business member and Assistant General Manager at Commercial Insurance Co in Lebanon – and is on a mission to bring change to her community.

For a long time, family businesses around the world have overlooked the professional capabilities and competencies of women – yet women have played key roles in firms, albeit away from the public eye and widely unrecognised. In regional family businesses, statistics show that women are still underrepresented, and grappling with ways to define the roles they can, should and wish to play in the family firm.

Family office is not a new concept. What is new however, is the rapid evolution of the industry on a global level. In this episode of the podcast we welcome guest speaker and expert in the field, Bilal Zein to provide an inside perspective on the current developments and the future of the industry specifically in our region.

We all have secrets, and we all know of the power of family secrets! The mixture of family members, business and secrecy, however, can result in unwanted complications that initiate dire consequences for a family firm.

There comes a time when all businesses must develop and implement succession plans. Crucial for the longevity of the firm, this is a highly important process to get right.

Inviting in independent members is a key element of board best practises in business. There are many advantages to having an independent director, however, in Lebanon, this decision is not always easy or straightforward for businesses. 

Dr Georges Samara’s article on “Fairness in the Family Business Workplace” was nominated for best article award in 2017. In this episode, he will share his findings on how to practice fairness for business performance in the complex set up that is the family business workplace.

The topic of Family Business Governance has been widely researched in the US and Europe. But what about Lebanese family businesses? What are their practices, culture and views about governance?

“A family constitution can be hard to define as there is no accepted international definition for the term. However, a family constitution is generally considered as a set of documents that regulate the relationship between family members of a business owning family”.

The definition of legacy relates to something left or handed down by a predecessor. In the context of family business, there are different areas of legacy that can be left, from financial/material – (inheritance, capital, shares) to non-financial, (management, culture of business, values, beliefs and policies).

Did you know that 72% of US-based family business have a formal board of directors? Estimates show that in the Middle East the percentage of family-owned businesses with active and formal board of directives is significantly lower than this.