Training future generations

• The family enterprise’s mission, culture, and values should guide the business rather than being reliant on one individual, especially as the family expands.
• Foster has collaborated with Pepperdine Graziadio School of Business to develop a Master of Science in Family Enterprise (MSFE) program, to equip young people with both personal and professional skills to manage family businesses.
• To further this initiative, Foster has engaged Touchdown Ventures to manage the family’s venture capital activities and provide next-gen family members with state-of-the-art training.

Frank Hixon Foster, chairman emeritus of Hixon Properties, has seen the ups and downs of managing multi-generational wealth and has come through the other side. But since retiring formally in June 2022, he has used that wealth of experience to become a thought leader focused on the next generation. Here, he talks to CampdenFB about working with the Pepperdine Graziadio School of Business to develop a program that will give the next generation what they really need, and why the innovation engine is important. 

Could you tell us about the initiatives you have taken on since you retired?

Frank Foster: I formally retired in June 2022 after having served as Chairperson for nine years which is our mandatory term limit. It has been a great privilege to serve the Hixon family which is now entering its seventh generation working together. My first responsibility as Chairman Emeritus was to make sure that the transition to my successor went well, and that I was available to support my cousin – Dylan Hixon – to take on the role. The reason we have term limits is to ensure that the family is always preparing new leadership, and not overly reliant on any one individual. Especially as the family gets larger, the mission, culture and values need to be the guiding forces rather than one personality. 

How have you managed the transition from chairman to thought leader?

Frank Foster: Stepping back as Chairman has given me the opportunity to reflect on our business and Family Enterprise in general. I have had the opportunity both to consider what we did successfully, and what could have been done better. More importantly, I feel a responsibility to continue to help the Hixon family continue its legacy into future generations, as well as share these insights to help other family businesses succeed and thrive.

What is it that families typically get wrong about their own management?

As those of you who are familiar with our family know, the Hixons have invested heavily in next generation training and development over the past 15 years. While our programs and the results have been exceptional, I am also aware that they could be improved, and that an institutional solution to the training of next generation is something that would be extremely valuable and needed by our family and others. 

An institutional solution to the training of next generation is something that would be extremely valuable and needed by our family and others. 

How should they address the problem?

In response to this need for an institutional solution, for the past four years, I have been working with Darren Good, Professor of Applied Behavioral Science, and the Pepperdine Graziadio School of Business to develop a full-time, accredited program combining the experience of the Hixon Family and the resources of a top tier institution that offers world-class business and social science education. Our vision is that this program will be a truly transformative educational experience that develops both the personal and professional skills these young people need to successfully manage the significant responsibilities and opportunities ahead of them. 

Last year we received full accreditation to offer the MSFE, a Master of Science degree in Family Enterprise. Currently, we are working with Pepperdine Graziadio Business School on the design and build out of a new facility which will be a state-of-the-art learning environment. Assuming we can complete the construction in time, we will be targeting a first class in Fall 2026. Our goal is to create a cohort of outstanding young people from all over the world who will positively impact each other, their Family Enterprises and most importantly, the greater community around them. 

You have developed the idea of futurizing the family business. What do you mean by that?

My second area of focus is developing a concept I call “futurizing,” which is the alignment of innovation investment and next gen development within the Family Enterprise. Simply put: “How do you use your young talent to help identify the trends and innovation that will eventually define the future of the business where they will be the leaders?” 

For the past 10 years, the Hixon family has reimagined our venture capital business to act as the innovation engine for the core real estate business and also the training ground for our young family members. As our next gens learn about new markets and technologies affecting the business of real estate, our program has given them the opportunity to learn about future trends affecting real estate, investment fundamentals, and the importance of good management – all while better understanding our core business and its needs and challenges. This program also provides our next gens with a unique opportunity to interact with older family members and the non-family management.

How have you developed this idea?

To take this initiative to the next level, we have engaged Touchdown Ventures, a leading manager of outsourced corporate venture capital services. Touchdown now jointly manages our venture capital activities, providing us with the same world-class investment professionals, deal flow and resources that they bring to their corporate clients.

In addition, we have enlisted Touchdown’s team to train our next gen family members where they are able to access their state-of-the-art training programs and allow the young family members to develop side by side with professionally trained peers. We only recently began this program, but the initial results for both the investment and education are extremely encouraging.

Finally, I recognise that all of this investment in the future is only worthwhile if the family is able to stay together and committed. As Chairman, I deeply appreciated the importance of a stable and cohesive shareholder base which enables better long-term decisions and investments – which has been a critical element of our success and longevity. I also appreciate that as the family grows in size, this becomes increasingly difficult and the goal of “strong communications” must be elevated to a mission of “deep connections” with the explicit outcome of creating a Family Community that is engaged, cohesive and committed to the business and each other. 

My first thought piece along with Dr Good and the team from Generation Transition Advisors offering a new lens for family shareholder engagement entitled “The Power of Mattering,” will be published here next week. I intend to work closely with our family as we look ahead to generation eight and beyond.