On Friday, April 22, the Olin Business School hosted its first annual Spring Family Business Symposium titled, “Reinventing Family Business Through Generations,” at Emerson Auditorium. This half-day symposium provided a review of family business values, innovation, and the concept of building family business champions.

The Symposium was organized by Olin’s Family Business Club leaders Ryan Plotkin and Chris Hoffman. The event featured a panel of speakers which included:  Rusty Keeley, President and CEO of the Keeley Cos. Inc; Alaina Macia, President and CEO of MTM; and Chrissy Taylor, Executive Vice President and COO of Enterprise Holdings.

Keynote speakers are co-authors of new book on family business.

The keynote speakers for the event were Dr. Yvonne Randle and Olin alum Dr. Eric Flamholtz.

The Symposium also marked the celebration and announcement of a new Family Business program at Washington University’s Olin Business School. The program, which will be launched over the course of the next for years, was made possible by a $1 million seed donation from Roger and Fran Koch, and Paul and Elke Koch of the Koch family.

Paul A. Koch (BSBA ’61, JD ’64 and MBA ’68) and Roger L. Koch (BSBA ’64 and MBA ’66) are co-chairman of the board at Koch Development Co. They are third generation family business owners in the real estate investment and development business.

Eric Flamholtz, MBA’66, and Yvonne Randle at fireside chat.

Our keynote speakers also hosted a ‘fireside chat’ for Olin Family Business Club members and guests on Thursday night prior to the Symposium.  This special event, held in the Alumni Pub in the Knight Center, created the opportunity for students to ask our world-renowned experts individual questions and meet Dr. Flamholtz and Dr. Randle in a more informal setting, providing a great kickoff to our Friday main event.

2016-2017 Family Business Club Officers
President:  Emmy Caton
Vice President:  Joe Rieser
Vice President:  Jonah Hanowitz

Blog post by Emmy Caton, MBA’17