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Ethiaxe PDF
Download brochure
Ethiaxe PDF
Ethiaxe helps you to serenely pass on your business to the new generation by organising the future now.
Family businesses are the backbone of any country's economy. Their success gradually makes them more important players.
However, the corporate culture, methods and structures do not always follow growth and success, weakening the company in the long term.
Many family businesses disappear quite quickly after the departure of the first generation or lose their dynamism and creativity, because they have not prepared for this generational transition, yet inevitable.
Ethiaxe works alongside family shareholders:
To raise their awareness and to accompany them in the transition from a strictly family company to a larger entity that fully plays its socio-economic actor role towards all stakeholders.
The drafting of a family charter.
The creation and management of a family office.
The periodic valuation of the company.
The search for a buyer or a minority shareholder.
The negotiation and closing of the transfer.
The takeover by executives and/or managers (management "buy in" and management "buy out").
At the sudden death of his father in 1983, Adam B., 61, inherited a
textile workshop employing 5 people. Adam worked to develop the business and
after a few years the company already employed 15 people. Faced with the
increasingly aggressive competition from Asian countries producing at much lower
costs for a roughly equivalent quality, Adam embarked on a strategic shift. He
specialized his company in a niche in which there was growing demand and less
competition: fire retardant fabrics for curtains and furniture designed for public
places such as theaters, hotels, official buildings. He decided from the start that his
products had to meet the stringent European standard EN 13773.
Excellent
business developer, Adam’s intuition proved to be accurate: the success exceeded
all expectations and the company quickly carved an important market share in this
niche market. Within a few years, the number of employees reached 250 people. To
grow even more, a lateral diversification was decided: since in public places all the
seats and armchairs had to be covered with fire retardant fabrics, why not also
start producing seats and armchairs. It proved to be also a success. Today the
company employs 580 people and a new factory was built 3 years ago.
Last year,
Adam was hit by a serious heart attack that forced him to permanently slow down
his work rhythm and suddenly reminded him of the urgent need to think about his
succession. Adam has three children: a son who is neurosurgeon in Boston, another
son who is a theater actor in France and a 23-year-old daughter finishing her
business studies at the University of Montréal. She could join the company next fall,
but would still like to make a post graduate in management.
Among the senior executives of the company, there are several people that Adam
appreciates a great deal. Having built the company almost from scratch, Adam was
used to take almost all decisions himself and has always hesitated to delegate
powers.
After much thought, Adam realized he needed help. He did not want to hire a large
consulting firm. He feared that they would arrive with young graduates fresh out of
college and sell him very expensive "off-the-shelve" solutions. He wanted to call on
experienced people, who themselves had managed delicate situations, people who
would not sell anything, but who would be listening, analyzing in depth his specific
situation and advise and support him effectively from end to end in this delicate
transition process.
Adam decided to hire Ethiaxe, that perfectly met all his criteria.
ETHIAXE's approach is patient and respectful; First of all, ETHIAXE strived to know Adam well: his personality, his vision, his methods, his
ideas, his analysis, his expectations. Then ETHIAXE did spend a lot of time getting
to know the company, its leaders and its staff. Ethiaxe also met Adam's daughter
several times.
Ethiaxe presented its analysis and possible solutions to Adam:
a) The succession of Adam in the management of the company.
b) The organization of Adam's inheritance estate between his children, two of whom
would never be active in the business.
c) The need to change the management methods from "the boss decides
everything" to a management by delegation and objectives.
d) The need to change the culture of the company so that the entire social body
understands and adheres to this evolution.
e) This step also raised the question of the opportunity to bring minority
shareholders into the company that could provide it with the means to finance new
developments, such as the conquest of new markets overseas, which could require
the construction of a factory abroad.
After analyzing all the options, the solution decided was that Adam would
be appointed Chairman of the Board of Directors, that in addition to his Chairman
duties, he would devote a good deal of his time to relations with major clients.
The
General Management would be entrusted to Adam's two closest managers, the
Sales and Marketing Director, and the Production and After-Sales Service Director.
Adam’s daughter was to become a salaried employee of the company in the fall,
beginning with a two-year internship leading her through all sectors of the
company. The two co-CEOs were to be granted shares of the company through an
"earn in" scheme: Adam placed 10% of the shares in a Staff Fund, 20% of the
shares in a Fund for CEOs and the management, so as to gradually allocate shares
to staff and each CEO and manager, depending on the overall result achieved by
the company over the next 5 years. The remaining 70% of the shares were
allocated as follows: 25% to the father and 15% to each of the 3 children. It was
decided to postpone the decision on Stage 3 by two years, until the new
governance takes hold. It is already agreed that ETHIAXE will also support the
accompaniment for this later stage.
ETHIAXE intervened in all the steps of the process, including the evaluation of the
company, the design of the solutions, the drafting of the family charter, the writing
of the stock options and the exit mechanisms, the coaching of Adam, of the CEOs,
of Adam's daughter, the organization of seminars for the staff.
ETHIAXE also ensured the periodic follow-up and the support of all the protagonists
during for as long as necessary.
Will you be the next satisfied customer?
Yes
