Erin McNulty

When a family business owner says they want to hire someone who “shares our values,” they usually mean something more specific and more consequential than they realize. What they often mean is: someone who shares our beliefs. Our faith, perhaps, or our political worldview. It’s a sense that this person is “like us.”

You’ve heard of interim CEOs. You’ve heard of fractional executives. In family business, the bridge CEO is a distinct and frequently misunderstood leadership tool. It’s one that plays a critical role in multigenerational continuity when it’s used correctly. Used correctly is the key phrase. In most cases, families misunderstand both what a bridge CEO is and what they’re supposed to accomplish. What a Bridge CEO in a Family Business Actually Is A bridge CEO is a non-family executive brought in...

Family businesses facing executive transitions often discover their planned compensation isn't competitive with market realities. The natural response is to purchase a comprehensive compensation study, expecting clarity on competitive pay rates. Instead, families find themselves staring at spreadsheets that don't reflect their reality - data pulled from public companies, job descriptions that only vaguely resemble their actual needs, and recommendations that ignore the unique dynamics of...