Female-led family businesses

Particularly in recent years, we’ve seen women entrepreneurs embracing that they think differently and want to run a company on their terms. The increase in female wealth is a result of both these assets. It is particularly prevalent when we see a woman that’s inherited wealth look at diversifying a family business or striking out to pursue new opportunities that might have been overlooked previously. In this sense, women can have a gold touch.

When it comes to increased family wealth and passing on a company into the hands of the next generation of women, succession planning is vital – particularly in cultures where men might typically expect to run a business, or if a country’s laws stipulate specific inheritance rules.

Succession planning key for female leadership of the family business

Even in the most loving and close-knit of families where all children are treated equally, it is still possible that a male heir might assume that he’ll take over leadership of a company, which makes succession and estate planning key when it comes to the handover of a family business.

Long before they take up a key leadership position, women tend to be active in family businesses, and most often we see that they are highly educated and have expert knowledge of the company, and their aptitudes are examined within a business environment. For many of today’s wealthy families, succession planning is less about gender and more about simply ensuring the right person is prepared to take over a family business. To this end, a family’s focus is on setting up the right structures with advisors and service providers to ensure a smooth transition of power and – above all – avoid conflict later.

Different outlooks and priorities

When it comes to their outlook and priorities for wealth, women have different objectives. Typically, we see women think very early on about their succession planning and wealth handover, especially if they feel they have had to go above and beyond to prove they are the right person for the leadership role in the business. Focusing on diversity or ESG within a family company can also be priorities, as well as maintaining wealth for the future of the family and, naturally, expanding the business sustainably to generate substantial wealth in their own right.