Top 75 Family Business Leaders 2019: Europe
CampdenFB celebrates in October the Top 75 leading lights in the family business and family office space over its 75 issues. Last week we profiled the key ones-to-watch in the Emerging Markets of the world. We turned our attention to the inspirational figures in Asia-Pacific in the week before and the major players in the Americas at the start of this series. This week, for the fourth and final section, we focus on arguably the heart of the global community of multigenerational family businesses of wealth—Europe.
Over the past 75 issues, CampdenFB has had the pleasure of featuring literally hundreds of fascinating family businesses that we have scoured the globe to uncover. So to mark our 75th edition we decided it would be a great opportunity to reflect on our wide cast of characters. The list is not supposed to be exhaustive, and in fact we had to make a couple of very hard decisions on who to include however, it is supposed to reflect a varied mix of the established icons of family business right through to some lesser-known rising stars. Welcome to our ’75 for 75’.
EMMA ANTOLIN
• Member of the Board of Directors and Sustainability Director
• Grupo Antolin
• Spain
The second generation of the $6.4 billion Spanish auto components company, Antolin is member of the Board of Directors of Grupo Antolin and its Sustainability Director after graduating with two masters in business and finance and a degree in psychology. Responsible for the company’s sustainability strategy, she signed in 2016 a partnership agreement with the United Nation’s SDG Fund to achieve the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.
BERNARD ARNAULT
• Chairman and chief executive
• LVMH
• France
Arnault, France’s richest man, heads the $54.4 billion revenue-making LVMH Moët Hennessy Louis Vuitton—the world’s largest maker of luxury goods. His career began at the age of 25 when he joined Ferret-Savinel, his father’s holiday accommodation business, succeeding his father in 1979. He then acquired luxury goods company Financière Agache and with it, Christian Dior. Since 1988, Arnaut has incrementally bought LVMH stock, and now owns 40.9% of its shares, and 59.01% of its voting rights. Four of his five children have executive roles within LVMH.
SIMONE BAGEL-TRAH
• Chairman of the Supervisory Board
• Henkel
• Germany
Bagel-Trah took over as chairman of the consumer goods company, which produces household names like Persil, Schwarzkopf, and Loctite, in 2009 after succeeding Albrecht Woeste. The appointment was lauded as Bagel-Trah was the first woman to chair a top German company. She is the great-great granddaughter of the company founder and fifth generation of the Henkel family to oversee the running of the business. Since her appointment, the company has grown into a $23.2 billion global revenue company with about 53,000 full time employees.
HELEN BARBOUR
• Vice chairman
• Barbour
• UK
Barbour was two-years-old when her managing director father, John Barbour, died suddenly in 1968 and her mother, Dame Margaret, became a director. Now vice chairman, Helen worked with Margaret to establish the Women’s Fund in 1999 to support women in England’s North-East, where the fifth-generation firm still manufactures its signature wax jackets. Mother and daughter are also trustees of the Barbour Foundation, which bolstered its relationship with The Prince’s Trust by donating to the trust’s Enterprise Programme, supporting young entrepreneurs.
ANA BOTÍN
• Executive director
• Santander Group
• Spain
Fourth-generation Botín succeeded her father, Emilio, as chair of the Spanish bank after his sudden death in 2014. Prior to the appointment, she became the first woman to run a major British bank when she took over as chief executive of Santander UK in 2010. She pulled off a coup in 2017 when Banco Santander acquired failing banking group Banco Popular for a symbolic €1 ($1.10) to become one of Spain’s largest banks. Santander posted revenues of $56.2 billion in 2018.
CHARLENE DE CARVALHO-HEINEKEN
• Executive director
• Heineken
• Netherlands
De Carvalho-Heineken is one of the richest women in the world, thanks to the 23% controlling stake in beer giant Heineken she inherited from her late father, long-time chief executive Freddy Heineken in 2002. Under her ownership, the world’s second-largest brewer has expanded into a $30.3 billion revenue making business, dealing with changing consumer tastes by acquiring craft-beer makers, and venturing into new product categories, including zero alcohol beer and cannabis-infused seltzer water sold by one of its recent acquisitions, Lagunitas Brewing Company.
MARIE-CHRISTINE COISNE-ROQUETTE
• Chairman and chief executive
• Sonepar
• France
Fifth-generation Coisne-Roquette, a trained lawyer and great granddaughter of Sonepar co-founder Henri Coisne, has served as chairman since 1998 and was chief executive from 2002 to 2017. Since then, the independent family-owned group has transformed into a global leader in electrical equipment distribution, recording sales of $25.2 billion in 2018.
AXEL DUMAS
• Executive chairman
• Hermès
• France
Sixth-generation family member Axel Dumas took over as executive chairman in 2014 after spending eight years as an investment banker for Paribas, now BNP Paribas, and an 11 year grooming period at Hermès, starting as an auditor. Under Dumas, Hermès’ growth has outstripped that of its rivals—in 2017 sales increased by 9%, which has helped to send share prices rocketing. He has also increased the production of its renowned leather goods, turning the company into a $6.14 billion per year enterprise.
JOHN ELKANN
• Chairman
• Exor
• Italy
John Elkann is the fifth-generation heir of Italy’s billionaire Agnelli family—the founders of the Fiat automaker—handpicked by his grandfather Gianni Agnelli to lead the family business. He was parachuted onto the Fiat board at the age of 21 and took over just seven years later when Gianni died. He is now the chairman of $133 billion revenue Fiat Chrysler Automobiles, chairman and chief executive of $143.4 billion family holding company Exor, and was appointed chairman of Ferrari last year.
JAMES FERRAGAMO
• Vice chairman
• Salvatore Ferragamo
• Italy
James Ferragamo is helping to lead his family’s company into its third-generation of global success, following his father, company chairman and president, Ferruccio, and his grandfather Salvatore, who founded the brand. He entered the business at the age of 27, currently serves as men’s and women’s leather product director and vice chairman, and is tipped to lead the family’s third generation. His sister Sole has founded SO-LE Studio, a self-funded start-up, which designs and crafts leather jewellery using off-cuts from the luxury industry.
GIOVANNI FERRERO
• Chief executive
• Ferrero
• Italy
Giovanni Ferrero became joint-chief executive of his family’s luxury chocolatier business along with his brother, Pietro, when they succeeded their father, Michele, in 1997. He became sole chief executive after his brother’s death in 2011. Since then, third-generation Giovanni has focused on expanding Ferrero through acquisitions. His biggest deals have included a $1.3 billion deal for US sweets makers Ferrara, Nestle’s candy business for $2.8 billion, and Kellogg’s brands for $1.3 billion. The company now generates over $12 billion in annual sales across more than 170 countries.
ROCCO FORTE
• Group chairman
• Rocco Forte Hotels
• United Kingdom
Fourth-generation heir to his family’s hospitality dynasty, Rocco became chairman when his father stepped down in 1992. However, after Forte Plc fell victim to a hostile takeover in the 1990s, Rocco used the capital to found luxury hotel company Rocco Forte Hotels. Over the years, the company has expanded to 14 hotels, which collectively turned over $267 million in 2018. His daughter Lydia joined the firm after earning her MBA from INSEAD and won CampdenFB’s Top Family Business Rising Star Award at the European Families in Business Awards 2018.
KJELD KIRK KRISTIANSEN
• Chairman
• The LEGO Group
• Denmark
Kjeld Kirk is the third-generation owner of his family’s toy company and was its president and chief executive from 1979 to 2004. He brought in professional management in the early 2000s—a move that has paid off handsomely with The LEGO Group reporting $5.5 billion in revenue in 2018. Earlier this year, Kjeld Kirk stepped down from the board, leaving his son Thomas to lead the company. For the past 15 years Thomas has been groomed to take over, joining the board as a director in 2007.
ANE MÆRSK MC-KINNEY UGGLA
• Vice chairman
• Maersk Group
• Denmark
One of the most powerful women in Denmark, Mc-Kinney Uggla has chaired the AP Møller Foundation, which owns the controlling stake in the Mærsk Group, since 2010. The world’s largest container shipping company now has a revenue of $31.18 billion (2018), with subsidiaries across 130 countries and about 88,000 employees. Her two sons, fourth-generation Robert Mærsk Uggla and Johan Pedersson Uggla, both have executive roles in the company, with Robert tipped to be heir apparent to the family business.
LAKSHMI MITTAL
• Chief executive
• ArcelorMittal
• Luxembourg
Hailing from a family steel business started by his father in India, Lakshmi separated from his siblings to start Mittal Steel, then went on to merge the company with France’s Arcelor in 2006. Now the largest steel producer in the world, the company reported revenues of $76 billion in 2018. His son, Aditya, the president and chief financial officer of ArcelorMittal, who led Mittal Steel’s offer for Arcelor, and its merger with Mittal Steel, has been tipped to succeed his father as chairman.
GERARD MULLIEZ
• Founder
• France
Third-generation Gerard Mulliez expanded his family’s high street clothing business into the world’s principal distribution group with 639 hypermarkets, 2,874 supermarkets, and $57.7 billion in revenue (2018). He was succeeded as president by his nephew Vianney in 2006, chosen over Mulliez’s own son Arnauld. The ownership and management of the business is monitored by the family through L’Association Familiale Mulliez—co-owned by thousands of family members. Since Vianney’s appointment, the company has been further internationalised, entering a number of emerging markets.
AMANCIO ORTEGA
• Co-founder and board member
• Zara / Inditex
• Spain
Ortega and his then-wife Rosalía Mera opened the first Zara store in 1975, which produced popular fashion at low prices. After its success, he created Inditex in 1991 as a holding company for Zara but soon began expanding, creating casualwear stores Pull and Bear, Bershka, and acquiring fashion brands Stradivarius, and a 65% share in Massimo Dutti. Inditex is now the biggest fashion group in the world, posting revenues of $29.4 billion in 2018, and Ortega owns 60% of the company.
KARL-JOHAN PERSSON
• Chief executive
• Sweden
Persson is the third-generation of his family to head up the fast fashion favourite. He joined the family business in an operational role, working his way up through the company before taking the reins from his father, Stefan Persson in 2009. His appointment came at a challenging time for retailers, but Persson tackled the downturn by going on the offensive and opening a host of new stores abroad, expanding it into a global $22.6 billion revenue powerhouse with more than 4,400 stores in 66 countries.
FRANÇOIS-HENRI PINAULT
• Chairman and chief executive
• Kering Group
• France
Second-generation Pinault heads the $15.3 billion revenue making luxury group, which owns fashion brands Saint Laurent, Alexander McQueen, and Gucci. His father, François, was responsible for changing the direction of his wood and building materials company towards luxury after buying a controlling stake in Gucci Group in 1999. Since succeeding his father in 2005, Pinault has further expanded Kering’s portfolio with acquisitions of watchmakers Girard-Perregaux and Ulysse Nardin, Italian tailor Brioni, jewellers Qeelin and Pomellato, and German designer Tomas Maier.
JUAN ROIG
• Chief executive
• Mercadona
• Spain
Juan Roig has turned a small regional supermarket chain started by his father into one of the largest in Spain, which generated sales of $27.3 billion in 2018. He has put particular focus on ensuring the sustainability of Mercadona’s supply chain, and treatment of employees, which has earnt it plaudits as one of Forbes’ most reputable companies. His daughter Juana, has taken on the challenge of rapidly digitising the family’s chain, which had fallen behind the times with its online offerings accounting for only 1% of revenue.
ALEXANDRE DE ROTHSCHILD
• Executive chairman
• Rothschild & Co
• France
The seventh-generation Alexandre is the newly-appointed chairman of banking dynasty Rothschild & Co. He first joined the bank during the financial crisis in 2008, moving from private equity at Argan Capital, where he was manager for three years. Prior to that, he worked briefly for the now defunct bank Bear Sterns. Last year, he stepped up to succeed his father, David de Rothschild, 75, following his father’s move to become chairman of the bank’s supervisory board.
STEPHEN RUBIN
• Group director
• UK
Under Stephen Rubin and his son Andy—second and third-generation family members—this British sports brand firm has become a global powerhouse. The £3 billion ($3.8 billion) group is the majority owner of JD Sports Fashion, which acquired US footwear chain The Finish Line last year. It owns Speedo, Berghaus, and Canterbury of New Zealand, plus licences and joint ventures. As well as winning the Top Family Business Award at CampdenFB’s Families in Business Awards in 2014, the group won the IMD Global Family Business International Award in 2017.
GÜLER SABANCI
• Chairman
• Sabanci Holding
• Turkey
Third-generation family member Sabanci is the first woman to run her family’s $11.3 billion business—one of the largest industrial and financial conglomerates in Turkey, which was started by her grandfather in the 1930s. Since she took over as chairman in 2004, she has overseen rapid growth at the family business, whose operations span banking, retail, and energy. She is also the founding president of Sabanci University, and her success has seen her named annually as one of Forbes’ most powerful women.
DIETER SCHWARZ
• Chairman / chief executive
• Schwarz Group
• Germany
Schwarz inherited and became chief executive of the Schwarz & Lidl discount chain after the death of his father and founder, Josef Schwarz, in 1977. Under his leadership, the company became Germany’s second-biggest discounter, before expanding the business internationally. After rapidly opening over 10,000 stores across Europe and the US, the company is now the fourth-largest retailer in the world, with a revenue of $109.6 billion. Through Schwarz Group, he has also created hypermarket chain Kaufland, which has 1,200 stores around Europe.
JACOB, PETER, AND MARCUS WALLENBERG
• Chairman, director, vice chairman
• Investor AB
• Sweden
Brothers Jacob and Peter, and their cousin Marcus (pictured) are the fifth-generation leaders of Sweden’s legendary business family, who took over from their parents in 2006. They oversee an empire worth over $290 billion, with controlling stakes in some of Europe’s largest industrial groups, ranging from drug giant AstraZeneca, and white-goods manufacturer Electrolux, to defence group Saab and telecoms maker Ericsson. The flourishing business has created opportunities to acquire under-performing companies, preferring to develop existing businesses rather than founding new ones.
