University of Vermont

Vermont Next Gen Academy 2012

The Next Gen Academy meets formally four times throughout the year to explore specific content areas particular to family and privately held enterprises. In addition, smaller peer groups will use their time to further digest and apply the new concepts to their particular situations.

Who is eligible?

• All members of current FBI@UVM Next Gen groups are automatically enrolled.
• From a family or closely held business.
• Represent the Next Generation of leadership or ownership within that business or a related one.
• Members of the group must be committed to participating in the group on a regular basis (6-8 meetings annually)and contributing to the direction of the group as a whole;
• Individual peer groups will consist of no more than (8) businesses.
• Membership in the Family business Initiative at UVM and regular attendance at FBI@UVM quarterly forums.

Life Stages In Entrepreneurial Family Firms

Friday, April 13, 2012 from 8:30 a.m. - 4:30 p.m. with Pramodita Sharma:

The paradox of family firms is drawing upon the rich history and legacy while remaining flexible and adaptive to changes in the business environment and shifts in the economy. Understanding how life cycles in the individual, family and business impact the family firm and can spell either success or failure. Drawing upon cases from numerous business successions, participants will assess their own life cycle stages and opportunities to chart the necessary steps to insure a trans-generational transfer.

Dr. Pramodita Sharma (Dita) recently joined as the Sanders Professor for Family Business at the School of Business Administration, University of Vermont. Prior to this appointment, she was the CIBC Distinguished Professor of Family Business at the John Molson School of Business, Concordia University in Montreal. Dita is a visiting scholar at the Babson College where she serves as the Academic Director of the Global Successful Trans-generational Entrepreneurship Practices (STEP) project. Engaging over 175 scholars in 41 countries this global applied research initiative explores the entrepreneurial processes within business families and generates solutions that have immediate application for family leaders. Her research on the succession processes, governance, innovation, and the unique dynamics underlying family firms has been honored with several international awards including the NFIB Best Dissertation award from the Entrepreneurship division of the Academy of Management. Most recently, in 2011, she was honored with the prestigious Barbara Hollander award at the 25th anniversary conference of the Family Firm Institute.

Finance, Accounting and Ownership

Thursday, May 3, 2012 from 8:30 a.m. - 4:30 p.m. with Susan Hughes

A one-day intensive survey of the principals of finance and accounting as they relate to ownership and transition. With a cursory understanding of income statements, balance sheets and cash flow, how do owners use these tools on a regular basic to guide decision making and develop strategy. The afternoon session is dedicated to focusing on specific areas of need as submitted by participants in advance.

Susan Hughes is an associate professor of accounting. She joined the UVM faculty in 2006. At UVM she teaches undergraduate accounting courses and the MBA Business Analysis and Consulting. Prior to joining the UVM faculty, Susan spent 17 years at Butler University where she taught financial and managerial accounting, and the MBA Integrative Capstone course. She also coordinated and taught in three, 14-week executive education programs designed to improve physicians’ business acumen, offered in conjunction with the Indianapolis Medical Society The results of her research have appeared in the Journal of Accounting and Public Policy, the Journal of Accounting Education, Strategic Finance, Management Accounting Quarterly, Credit and Financial Management Review, and the Journal of Leadership & Organizational Studies. Her co-authored paper on Intel’s finance function received the Institute of Management Accountants 2006 Lybrand Gold Medal and was selected by the International Federation of Accountants for inclusion in Articles of Merit Award Program for Distinguished Contribution to Management Accounting. She is the recipient of numerous teaching awards, and has designed and conducted executive education programs for the Vermont Business Center, Temple-Inland, Roche, Norwood Promotional Products, and various public accounting firms.

Personality, Power & Persuasion: Self - Differentiated Leadership

Thursday, July 26 from 8:30 a.m. - 4:30 p.m. at Gallagher, Flynn & Co., South Burlington

In business we each strive to be “differentiated;” aware of what makes your product or service unique and able to capitalize upon that advantage. What does it mean to be a differentiated leader though and how is this an advantage in business and family?  The overlay of family and business poses for a myriad of leadership challenges. The role of a Next Gen leader requires deft skill, nimble execution and a keen understanding of systems, both in the business and within the family. Drawing upon both leadership theory and current application in your own experience, we will explore leadership from an organization perspective and personal systems approach.

Greg McCann is an innovator in his roles as a professor of business, Director of Stetson University’s Family Enterprise Center, founder of the consulting firm McCann & Associates, author, speaker, and owner in his own extended family’s business. He has won Stetson University’s highest award for teaching, the Family Firm Institute’s Lifetime Achievement Award in Family Business Education, and three national awards for his work in the creation and development of Stetson University’s Family Enterprise Center. His has written over 25 articles in popular magazines, 10 peer reviewed academic articles and contributed as an editor and author to two books on family enterprise. He has also authored When Your Parents Sign the Paychecks, which earned a bronze medal from Axiom Business Book Awards. A forthcoming book, tentatively titled Who Do You Think You Are? explores the effects of character and reputation on life and livelihood and will be available later this year.

Execution and Strategy

Fall date TBA, from 8:30 a.m. -4:30 p.m.

The culminating component of the Next Gen Academy will be to synthesize all pieces together – family, business and ownership. Using case studies and simulation, participants will examine how their business currently approaches strategy and why a narrow focus provides for a broad advantage. With a critical eye towards entrepreneurship in the enterprise, what are the current strategic challenges for your family, business and sustainability of the enterprise, and how are you now planning to execute on necessary changes and initiatives to build success beyond tomorrow?

Frank Hoy holds a bachelor's degree in business administration from UTEP, an MBA from the University of North Texas, and a PhD in management from Texas A&M University. He spent 10 years as a faculty member in the Department of Management at the University of Georgia, where he founded and directed the Center for Business and Economic Studies, coordinated the entrepreneurship curriculum, and served as director of the Georgia Small Business Development Center (SBDC), one of the first SBDCs in the nation to be certified by the Association of Small Business Development Centers. The author or co-editor of seven books, more than 40 scholarly articles, and more than 90 conference papers, Hoy is past editor of Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice, past Latin America editor for the Journal of World Business, and honorary editor-in-chief of the International Journal of Entrepreneurship and Small Business. Currently, Frank is Director of the Worcester Polytechnic Institutes’ Collaborative for Entrepreneurship and Innovation.

Last modified February 07 2013 02:31 PM