In April 2024, Ricardo Garza Limón, the founder of Grupo Garza Limón in Mexico, was reflecting on the succession process he had embarked on in 2016. Despite making progress, Ricardo regretted not having achieved his main goal: seeing one of his two sons take on the role of chief executive officer (CEO) in the family firm. The company had a solid nonfamily CEO in place but needed to strengthen its board of directors and formalize a trust to align future generations with corporate governance principles. Ricardo also recognized the serious challenges facing the succession process. Not only were his sons unprepared for leadership and lacking key competencies, but there were ongoing conflicts between family members and struggles to balance family dynamics with business needs. With all these considerations in mind, Ricardo wondered whether his chosen succession plan had been the right one. If not, did he need to do something else to ensure the continuity and success of his business legacy?
Metaza SA (Metaza) was a family business created by two brothers who later invited their younger siblings to join the firm. Metaza operated in the steel sector, a capital-intensive business with fierce competition. The industry had experienced several mergers and acquisitions led by international players. To remain competitive, Metaza had changed its strategy, moving away from being a steel dealer and toward being a value-added producer. However, these changes generated debate within the family business, which operated with a low level of institutionalization. Consequently, the brothers hired a family business governance consultant for assistance. Metaza’s chair and chief executive officer needed to learn how to implement these strategic changes so that he could pass the torch of a healthier organization.
<p align= "justify">Many factors influence corporate governance in a family firm, the most prevalent form of business entity in Latin America. National culture affects a family firm's societal values, as well as economic, political, and legal systems of governance. Normative behaviour and expectations are also key factors that affect both individual and organizational norms. The firm’s characteristics are another major source of influence. In addition to these major factors, various other variables play a role on shaping the firm's corporate governance, including family unity, patriarchal expectations, and inclusivity of the family definition. All of these factors can influence the numerous decisions that family businesses make in regard to their corporate governance, which makes it impossible to apply one approach for all family firms in Latin America. Each organization’s board of directors may have specific characteristics that require different mechanisms to make effective governance decisions. This technical note discusses an evolutionary pattern of corporate governance, rather than a single approach, that could be effectively applied to the decision-making board of a family firm in Latin America.
Boards of directors have important responsibilities in the context of top management succession processes. However, their role has not been sufficiently studied in the setting of family-controlled firms. Meanwhile, family executives often play a major role in the performance of family firms. In fact, replacing those family managers has important implications and needs to be treated as a priority by boards of directors. In this industry note, we explore the unique challenges that succession processes pose for the boards of family firms. We conclude that boards of directors should be particularly conscious of the need for planning, coordinating, and overseeing succession processes to meet both the business challenges and the controlling family’s expectations.