Share |

next gen

Passions: Marlon Abela

August 23, 2012

Albert Abela made his fortune in airline food. When he died the business was sold, allowing next-gen Marlon to indulge his love of fine dining and art. The restaurant owner talks to NXG about his passions.

Two things catch your eye in the dining room of Morton’s, the Mayfair private members’ club. One is the trees in Berkeley Square outside, which glow an almost electric green even on a glum day. The other is Howard Hodgkin’s monumental painting As Time Goes By, whose spectacular splodges take up one entire wall.

Next-gen given $3 billion to prove his mettle

August 15, 2012

When it comes to testing next-gens’ mettle, how much of the business should be placed in their hands? That’s a question many family business owners have asked themselves – and often struggled to answer.

But not Carl Icahn, the well-known hedge fund manager, whose family controls Icahn Enterprises – a $24 billion (€19.6 billion) holding company.

The new philanthropists and the blurring of business and giving

August 14, 2012

Not that long ago if you were a philanthropist you handed over money to somebody with good intentions and let them get on with it. But these days things are more complicated. A new generation of entrepreneurial, young people are shaking up the way giving works.

My business: Thames Distillers

August 10, 2012

When his family business was sold, eighth-generation gin-maker Charles Maxwell took over an old still in London and started his own firm. Now his speciality gins are drunk all over the world.

Many next gens want to start their own business, and it’s not uncommon to set one up in the area where the family has its expertise. That was exactly what Charles Maxwell, 59, whose family has been making gin in London since the 17th century, did when his family business was sold. His Thames Distillers specialises in developing gins to suit any taste. NXG caught up with him to talk about gin through the generations.

Keeping the fizz in families

August 9, 2012

The world of wine is dominated by family businesses, and nowhere more so than in Champagne.

The Krug family has long held to a charming tradition at the birth of each male child: before the infant is introduced to the mother’s breast, it receives a thimbleful of champagne. When on their deathbeds, in a rite similar to the Catholic sacrament of Extreme Unction, family members receive another thimbleful, more if requested. Thus the opening and closing moments of their lives are saluted with the endeavours of their family, the work of several lifetimes.

Move over, Dad?

August 7, 2012

It can be hard for founders to let go of their businesses. But if the family firm is going to survive they’ve got to know when the buzz is gone.

The names trip easily off the tongue: Rothschild, Rockefeller, Sainsbury—the world is awash with great business dynasties. And, with one-third of Fortune 500 companies remaining in family hands, what are the best ways of securing the family fortunes through the generations? How can families pursue successful succession strategies?

The view from Greece

August 6, 2012

Next-gen Agapi Sbokou is a director of sales and marketing at the Blue Palace Resort & Spa in Crete. She talks to Campden about how Greece is changing, why she joined the family business and her outlook for the future.

Agapi Sbokou is a director of sales and marketing at the Blue Palace Resort & Spa in Crete.

The vast majority of people in Greece see a European future for the country. They don’t want to leave the euro. The reason they are so angry is that the cuts were not explained properly at the start; people didn’t know what was going on, or the enormity of it and they were totally unprepared for this.

The Y factor: Millennials take on the family business

July 26, 2012

The digital natives of Generation Y are starting to work in their families’ businesses. And with their work ethic and understanding of social media, they’re already starting to shake things up.

They were the children born into the final decades of the 20th century. Sometimes branded Generation “me” or Generation “I”, but mostly known as Generation “Y”, they’re supposedly tech-savvy and globally focused, but also arrogant, with short attention spans, and expect to be able to have it “all” when it comes to family and work-life balance.

Roots schmoots

July 25, 2012

A generation of globalised, jet-set MBAs are just starting to take over family businesses. But if they ignore the importance of place, they’ll lose something very valuable indeed.

Campden launches NXG!

June 29, 2012

It is with considerable excitement here at Campden that we would like to announce the launch of our latest publication – CampdenNXG. NXG is aimed at next-generation business leaders, entrepreneurs and investors around the world – those individuals who are changing the world now, or about to.

It is with considerable excitement here at Campden that we would like to announce the launch of our latest publication – CampdenNXG.

NXG is aimed at next-generation business leaders, entrepreneurs and investors around the world – those individuals who are changing the world now, or about to.