How do family businesses handle succession? What happens when siblings
compete for the position of CEO? Can nonfamily board members navigate
successfully through conflicts among family members? Should they even
try? This fictitious case study examines a host of issues with which
family businesses regularly grapple. It describes the situation that f
aces the board of directors of Benson Electric, a rapidly growing fami
ly enterprise, upon the unexpected death of CEO and patriarch Buck Ben
son. Benson, the son of the company's founder, left no succession plan
. What's more, three of the people vying for the top job are his offsp
ring-children of his two marriages. To complicate the scenario even fu
rther, his widow, who owns 70% of the shares, wants her daughter, Juli
e, to be named the CEO. Benson's first wife, however, fervently wants
her son, Bob-Buck's only son - to have the job. Both candidates - and
Bob's sister, Leigh, who also wants the title - currently hold managem
ent positions at the company. Two nonfamily board members are also str
ong candidates for the position of CEO. Caught in the middle of an emo
tionally torn and feuding family, the directors must determine how to
proceed. How can they manage the succession process without alienating
family members and worrying employees and customers? Should the board
consider nonfamily members for the job? Should they appoint a family
member even if they are not at all certain that he or she is ready for
the job? Is it even within their purview to make a decision at all? F
our commentators - including both family and nonfamily senior executiv
es - advise the directors on their best course of action.