Part 1: The Importance of Culture in Family Business: 2021 Family Business Symposium

Session One of WashU Olin's four-part family business event was February 2, 2021, featuring a keynote by Subramanian Ramadorai, former MD and CEO, Tata Consultancy Services. Our panel, moderated by Peter Boumgarden, newly named Koch Family Professor of Practice in Family Enterprise, featured Mark Leeker, managing director, Harbour Group; and Seth Carnahan, associate professor of strategy, WashU Olin.

The remaining three parts of the symposium are:

Wednesday, February 10
Keynote: Lisanne Cape Dorion, board director, Bacardi Ltd.
Moderator: Gina Hoagland, Chairman & Principal, Collaborative Strategies, Inc.
Panelists:
Joshua Hager, President and Chief Operating Officer, Hager Companies
Kevin Maher, Jr. Vice President & General Manager, St. Charles Automotive
Chris Seyer, CEO, Seyer Industries, Inc.

Thursday, February 18
Keynote: George H. Walker, chairman and CEO, Neuberger Berman LLC
Moderator: Peter Boumgarden, Professor of Practice, Strategy and Organization
Panelists:
David Eichhorn, CEO and Head of Investment Strategies, NISA Investment Advisors
Michael Dierberg, Chairman of the Board, First Bank

Thursday, February 25
Keynote Panel:
Carolyn Kindle Betz, CEO of St. Louis CITY SC
William O. DeWitt III, President, St. Louis Cardinals
Tom Stillman, Chairman and Governor, St. Louis Blues
Moderator: Spencer Burke, Principal and Director, The St. Louis Trust Company, and Eugene F. Williams Jr. Executive in Residence, WashU Olin