Family Business Blog
May 20, 2011
Dealing with the Sudden Death of a Powerful Founder
The most powerful presentation at the 2011 FBA Victoria State Conference was made by Angela, Claire and John Paul Whitbread the second generation owners of Whitbread Insurance Brokers (www.whitbread.com.au) who spoke about how they dealt with the sudden death of their father. There were many lessons from the session including –1. How the next generation coped at both an emotional and practical level with a significant diagnosis and (within two months) the death of their father2. The impact that the sudden death of a powerful founder of a family business had on both the family and the business3. How the family dealt with assuming control of a $100m business and 70 staff4. The actions that needed to be taken in the first few days following their fathers death which included dealing with grieving staff, industry rumours about the on-going viability of the business and a major hail storm that not only destroyed part of their business premises but also resulted in 100’s of calls from clients claiming under their insurance policies.5. Most significantly, how the next generation put its stamp on the business and created their vision for its future.
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