2021 Grossman School of Business, 9th Schlesinger Global Family Enterprise Case Competition Judges

University of Vermont - Grossman School of Business 9th Annual

October - November 2021

Judges PROFILE BOOKLET Established 2013

CONTENTS Competition Judges

2

4 4 5 5 6 6 7 7 8 8 9 9 10 10 11 11 12 12 13 13 14 14 15 15 16 16 17 17 18 18

Nupur Pavan Bang Mira Bloemen-Bekx Chi Yeung Cheng Mahamadou Biga Diambeidou Mita Dixit Don Droppo Jr. Davis Farmer Feranita Feranita Anita van Gils Janie Goldstein Mark Green Adam Ifshin Albert James Jim Keller Siobhan Killion Luis Kleinknecht Bram Kleppner Steve Legler Peyton Leveillee Viviane Neiter Felix Orole Richard Owens Claire Seaman Leslie Sullivan Rachel Taliaferro Carrie Teffner Ken Wexler Marta Widz Paul Woodfield Robyn Worrall

3

COMPETITION JUDGES

3

Nupur Pavan Bang nupur_pavan@isb.edu Indian School of Business India

Dr. Nupur Pavan Bang is Associate Director at the Thomas Schmidheiny Centre for Family Enterprise, Indian School of Business. She specializes in family business and finance. She has taught at prestigious B-Schools, is a renowned thought leader in family businesses, and is a frequent speaker at industry forums on issues related to family governance, role of a family office, and the role of women in family businesses. She is an astute observer of “families” in family businesses and has interacted with several of them to understand their challenges, strengths, and best practices. She has authored several research papers, case studies, white papers, and articles for international and Indian publications.

She was listed amongst the Top 100 Women in Finance in India in the year 2020.

Mira Bloemen-Bekx w.m.j.m.bloemen-bekx@pl.hanze.nl Hanze University of Applied Sciences The Netherlands

Dr. Mira Bloemen-Bekx is the Dean of the School of Facility Management at the Hanze University of Applied Sciences in Groningen, the Netherlands. Her academic interests include (the early phases of ) the family business succession, the role of social mechanisms in families (for example, learning experiences and informal family governance mechanisms), and business families. Since the beginning of the SG-FECC, she has been involved as a coach or as the judge orientation leader.

4

Chi Yeung (Jeremy) Cheng

Jeremy Cheng is a researcher at the Center for Family Business at The Chinese University of Hong Kong. He is a member of the Global Survey/Case Committee of the STEP Project Global Consortium. He serves the Family Firm Institute (FFI) as Founding Chair of its Asian Circle, faculty member of the FFI Global Education Network, and member of the Research Applied Board of Family Business Review. He was granted the FFI Fellow status in 2019 and the Barbara Hollander Award in 2021. His research focuses on governance, family office, transgenerational entrepreneurship, and family advisory practices.

To inform his research, Jeremy advises a few ethnic Chinese families in Asia, spanning from local millionaires to Forbes billionaires.

Mahamadou Biga Diambeidou bigadm@gmail.com ICN Business School ARTEM France

Biga is a Professor in Entrepreneurship, Initiator and Leading ARTEM Entrepreneurship & Family Business program at ICN ARTEM Business School (France). An award-winning teacher and case competition coach, he is responsible for the Sustainable Entrepreneurship North-South/Africa Initiative at the UNESCO Chair - Art and Science.

SCHLESINGER GLOBAL FAMILY ENTERPRISE CASE COMPETITION | COMPETITION JUDGES

jeremychen@link.cuhk.edu.hk The Chinese University of Hong Kong China

55

Mita Dixit

mitadixit@gmail.com Equations Advisors Pvt. Ltd. India

Dr. Mita Dixit is a Co-founder and Director at Equations Advisors Pvt. Ltd., a family business advisory company in India. She facilitates business families to align their vision and goals, create a culture of governance, manage conflict, and prepare for next-gen transition. She mentors successors on leadership.

Mita is passionate about family business research. Her articles are published in international journals and magazines. Her case studies have been accepted by SG-FECC in the past. She is a co-author of the book, “The 5Gs of Family Business,” published by Sage. Mita is a visiting faculty member at reputed family business programs. Mita is a CFBA and a PhD on “Conflict in Indian Family Businesses.” She is an Independent Director on company Boards and an advisor to Family Boards.

Don Droppo Jr

dondroppo@curtispackaging.com Cutis Packaging USA

Don Droppo Jr. graduated from UVM in 1996 with a Bachelor’s of Science in Marketing and Finance. Since joining the family business in 2003, Curtis Packaging has been listed among America’s top luxury sustainability packagers, is a proud winner of the 2018 UVM Multi-Generational U.S. Family Enterprise Award, and is a certified Zero Waste to Landfill company.

6

Davis Farmer

Davis Farmer is an entrepreneur in the life sciences. He has extensive experience with technology transfer, company formation, deal formation, and corporate governance. He has executed on transactions in China, Japan, Europe and the Americas. He has established companies in the US, UK, New Zealand and Russia and has done business in Turkey and Argentina as well.

His current focus is on developing a novel platform for vaccine discovery that activates all components of the immune system.

Feranita Feranita feranita@taylors.edu.my Taylor’s University Malaysia

Dr. Feranita is a Senior Lecturer at the Faculty of Business and Law, Taylor’s University, Malaysia. She is also the founding leader of Family Enterprise and Entrepreneurship Hub (FEEH) at Taylor’s University. She received her PhD from Lancaster University, UK. Prior to that, she obtained a Master of Research in Management Sciences from ESADE Business School, Spain, and an MBA from Nanyang Business School, Singapore. Her research centres around family business, entrepreneurship, innovation, and university-industry collaborations. She has published in journals such as R&D Management and Journal of Family Business Strategy. Her publications also include family business cases in SAGE Business Cases, book chapters in the area of entrepreneurship, as well as media articles.

SCHLESINGER GLOBAL FAMILY ENTERPRISE CASE COMPETITION | COMPETITION JUDGES

dfarmer@ulyssesadvisorygroup.com The Ulysses Advisory Group USA

77

Anita Van Gils a.vangils@maastrichtuniversity.nl Maastricht University The Netherlands

Anita Van Gils is a Professor in Family Business and Strategic Entrepreneurship at the School of Business and Economics of Maastricht University. Next to fulfilling the role of Master programmes director, she has been a teacher and coach for the schools’ undergraduate case competition teams. Anita did grow up in a family business environment. With her focus on strategic entrepreneurship, she aims to strengthen the competitive position of family businesses. Her research efforts contribute to the establishment of strong relationships between business families, their firms, and the different stakeholders. Topics central to her studies are entrepreneurship, innovation, strategy, governance, and sustainability. Her research has resulted in international publications in journals and books.

Janie Goldstein janieg@ryerson.ca Ryerson University Canada

Janie is currently an instructor for the Family Business course at the Ted Rogers School of Management at Ryerson University (Toronto, Canada). She is also on the Board of her own family’s business. She holds an Electrical Engineering degree from McGill University and an MBA from Harvard Business School.

Janie was a co-founder of The Upside Foundation of Canada which provides a platform for Canadian startups to be philanthropic, by allocating a small percentage of equity at the outset which is ultimately given to charity only when the startup has a successful exit. Janie has devoted significant time to non-profit Boards, most notably the elementary school at which her children attended. For her various philanthropic and community efforts, she has received awards including a Canada 150 Exemplary Canadian Award (2017), Harvard Business School Alumna “Making a Difference” (2017) and an Eglinton-Lawrence Volunteer Service Award (2019).

8

SCHLESINGER GLOBAL FAMILY ENTERPRISE CASE COMPETITION | COMPETITION JUDGES

Mark Green mark@markgreenphd.com Pacific Family Business Institute USA

Mark is the co-founder of the Pacific Family Business Institute and leads his own family business consulting firm. He consults for companies internationally on family business issues such as succession, governance, strategy, conflict resolution, and leadership. Previously, Mark was a principal with the Family Business Consulting Group based in Chicago. He authored “Inside the Multi-Generational Family Business”, published by Palgrave Macmillan. He earned his Ph.D. in economics and political science, from the Claremont Graduate School.

Adam Ifshin

aifshin@dlcmgmt.com DLC Management USA

Adam Ifshin is Founder and CEO of DLC Management Corp., which he founded in 1991. Since then, he has grown DLC into one of the nation’s premier owners and operators of retail real estate, and one of the most active acquirers of assets with value added potential. Mr. Ifshin oversees DLC’s acquisitions and dispositions, capital markets activities, redevelopments, joint ventures, and corporate strategy. As a principal, he has been involved in over $4.5 billion of real estate transactions. Mr. Ifshin received a BA, cum laude, from Williams College, with honors degrees in economics and history, and was elected to Phi Beta Kappa. Mr. Ifshin is a member of the Board of Trustees of the International Council of Shopping Centers (ICSC), a member of the Executive Board of the Board of Trustees of ICSC, and a full member of the Urban Land Institute (ULI).

9

Albert James

albert.james@dal.ca Dalhousie University Canada

Albert James is an Associate Professor in the Faculty of Management at Dalhousie University. A late bloomer who after 25 years working for family businesses became an academic in his 50th year. Research and teaching interests are focused on family business topics, entrepreneurship, Indigenous entrepreneurship, decolonization in our curriculum, and stewardship theory.

Jim Keller

jim_keller@mac.com Green Mountain Business Consultants USA

Jim Keller is the President of Green Mountain Business Consultants, a consulting business solving a diversity of issues for International enterprises. He is also the retired President of Rengo Packaging Inc., a packaging manufacturer located in Honolulu, Hawaii. Mr. Keller received a Bachelor of Science from the University of Vermont and currently serves as the Interim CEO and President of the UVM Foundation. He received his Masters of Business Administration from Dartmouth College. Mr. Keller is currently the Chairman Emeritus of the University of Vermont Foundation and the Chair of the Indigenous Education Foundation of Tanzania, which provides for co-education opportunities in rural Tanzania Communities.

10

10

Siobhan Killion

Siobhan is a graduate of Trinity College Dublin with a PhD in Family Business and Entrepreneurship. Siobhan is currently lecturing in Strategic Management and Research at the Technological University Dublin. From a family business background, Siobhan is passionate about understanding how family businesses operate and strategies for transcending generations.

Siobhan believes that family business research has much to contribute to the understanding of how family and non-family organisations operate.

Case Study Competitions allow students to contribute to the collective understanding through the process of deliberation and contemplation resulting in more informed, considered and insightful answers.

Luis Kleinknecht

lakleinknecht@wpi.edu Worcester Polytechnic Institute USA

Luis Kleinknecht is a Ph.D. Student that is focusing on Family Business at the Worcester Polytechnic Institute. His research interests are Family Business Internationalization, Strategy, and Corporate Governance. He is not only interested in family business academically, but also as a practitioner, since he was the Chairman of the Board of Directors of his family’s firm. He has also been a consultant for other family managed companies. Luis was a faculty member at Universidad Panamericana in Mexico. There he had the opportunity to be a member of the Advisory Board of the Family Business Management Bachelor’s Program. He has published some articles in local business magazines in Mexico regarding succession and conflict management in family business.

SCHLESINGER GLOBAL FAMILY ENTERPRISE CASE COMPETITION | COMPETITION JUDGES

Siobhan.Killion@tudublin.ie Technological University Dublin Ireland

11

Bram Kleppner

bkleppner@danforthpewter.com Danforth Pewter USA

Bram has led Danforth to growth and profitability; instituted company-wide profit-sharing and partially paid maternity leave; added an employee to the Board; and committed the company to getting to zero fossil fuel use. Previously, Bram spent 10 years at Ben & Jerry’s doing international marketing. Bram serves on the VT Climate Council, creating the legally binding plan to reduce Vermont’s greenhouse gas emissions, and has served on the VT Tax Structure Commission, the Governor’s Business Advisory Board for Health Care Financing, and the Medicaid Exchange Advisory Board. Bram also chaired the board of directors of the non-profit Population Media Center, which promotes the rights of women and girls in the developing world. PMC’s programs have been seen by over 500 million people.

Steve Legler

sl@stevelegler.com TSI Heritage Canada

Steve Legler grew up as the heir apparent to his father in the family business that “Steve Sr.” had started before “Steve Jr.” was born. After dutifully completing his MBA to prepare himself to eventually take over their steel fabricating business, a liquidity event changed those plans pretty quickly. So instead, Steve spent a couple of decades running their “Family Office” even though that term was still not well known. Steve eventually got wind of the “Family Enterprise Advisor Program” in Canada, and somehow ended up there, just in time to have his “calling” in his late 40’s. He has since re-oriented his work towards helping family businesses, while concentrating on the family circle. Steve immersed himself in coaching, mediation and facilitation training, and continues to study Bowen Family Systems Theory. He is the author of SHIFT your Family Business (2014) and the Interdependent Wealth (2019).

12

Peyton Leveillee

A Grossman school alumni and fifth-year judge, Peyton is the president of B&L Automotive, a family business that has been repairing and selling cars since 1980. B&L Automotive, ranked by Motor Age as a top 10 shop in the country, most recently won the best auto repair award in Springfield, MA’s largest paper. As president, Peyton focuses on making the right investments into equipment, improving the application of technology, and hiring.

Before, Peyton was the Lead Product Manager at the Appalachian Mountain Club, where he led the design and development of their new website and eCommerce offerings. Post-launch, the monthly purchase average doubled.

During school, Peyton competed and placed second in the Alberta Energy Case Competition and served on the Organizing Committee of SG-FECC.

Viviane Neiter neiter.consulting@wanadoo.fr Neiter Consulting France

Viviane is a slasher in corporate governance. After running a family jewellery store between 1980 and 2003, she has been a family and business advisor at Neiter Consulting in the East of France. She animates the consultative shareholders committee at Wendel, a family business firm. Moreover, she serves as a board member in 4 french listed companies and as a Chair of the french subsidiary of an irish company Glanbia Performance Nutrition. Viviane teaches corporate governance & CSR in a couple of business schools. She regularly attends FERC and she is a member of the Governance Professionals of Canada. She is excited to serve once more as a judge. All the more, she was co-coach of the ICN team for the 6th annual SG-FECC. She graduated from NEOMA BS in Reims, France.

SCHLESINGER GLOBAL FAMILY ENTERPRISE CASE COMPETITION | COMPETITION JUDGES

peyton.leveillee@gmail.com B&L Automotive USA

13

Felix Orole

felix.orole@acu.edu.au Australian Catholic University Australia

Felix Orole is Assistant Professor of Management at Australian Catholic University’s Peter Faber Business School. Felix also held an academic position at the University of Queensland and Queensland University of Technology. Before entering academia, he has extensive industry experience in telecommunications, customer services, and business development, consulting for Fortune 500 and multinational corporations such as Manpower Group and Singapore Telecommunications. His research interest is in Family Business (Succession, Next Generation Mentoring, Governance, Sustainability), Entrepreneurship (Individual- and Firm-level entrepreneurialism), Internationalization of the firms (alternative systems of inter-firm exchange), and Digital Coaching and Immersive Learning Technologies.

Richard Owens

richard.owens@shoeysgroup.com.au Shoeys Pty LTD Australia

Richard Owens is Chairman of his family’s Retail, Real Estate and Investment companies in Sydney, Newcastle and Hunter Valley in Australia. After he sold his supermarket company ‘Shoeys’ to Australia’s largest retailer in 1988, he was invited to a role as Executive in Residence in the faculty of Family Business at IMD in Switzerland. For the past 20 years, he has taught Family Business and Governance at IMD, Harvard Business School, Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University in Chicago and spoken to many other groups around the world. He spends a good percentage of his time with not for profit and community groups and has been awarded by the Australian government for this work and his philanthropy.

14

Claire Seaman

Professor Claire Seaman holds the Chair in Enterprise and Family Business at Queen Margaret University in Edinburgh, Scotland. She has published extensively in the field of family businesses research, in the UK, New Zealand, Canada, Asia, Jordan and Latin America and is a regular contributor to family business conferences worldwide. Her books include Corporate Citizenship and the Family Business (Greenleaf, an imprint of Routledge, forthcoming) and The Modern Family Business, published by Palgrave McMillan. Claire maintains close links with the business community and business organisations such as Family Business United Scotland and local economic development agencies. Her current research interests include work on sustainability in family business, business start-up and entrepreneurship.

Leslie Sullivan lblack6000@yahoo.com University of Vermont USA

Leslie Black Sullivan spent 25 years in the investment business. Her career began at Smith Barney and Bear Stearns in New York. She then served as a Vice President at American Express Asset Management and First Asset Management in Minneapolis. She then became a Managing Director at the Okabena Company, the family investment office for the Dayton family of Dayton Hudson and Target Department Stores. Her interests include the arts and humanities and animal protection and welfare. She is currently serving on the advisory board of the Morgan Horse Farm. Previously, she has served on the boards of the Vermont Symphony Orchestra, Burlington City Arts, and the Frederick R. Weisman Art Museum at the University of Minnesota. Leslie has a B.S. from the University of Vermont and holds an International Diploma in Humanitarian Assistance from the Institute of International Humanitarian Affairs at Fordham University.

SCHLESINGER GLOBAL FAMILY ENTERPRISE CASE COMPETITION | COMPETITION JUDGES

cseaman@qmu.ac.uk Queen Margaret University United Kingdon

15

Rachel Taliaferro rachel.taliaferro@sagepub.com SAGE Publishing USA

Rachel Taliaferro is an Acquisitions Editor with SAGE Business Cases and coordinates the collection's Family Business case series. Rachel graduated from the University of Texas at Austin with a Bachelors of Journalism and a Bachelors of Arts in French.

Carrie Teffner

carrie.teffner@gmil.com BFA Industries USA

Carrie Teffner is a seasoned executive with experience in the consumer products and retail industries and is a director for BFA Industries, an online beauty subscription business. Carrie was previously on the boards of Ascena Retail Group, GameStop, and Crocs. Prior to her board work, Carrie held CFO roles for well-known public and private companies including Crocs, PetSmart, Weber, and Timberland. Carrie started her career at Jogbra in Essex, VT and after its acquisition, went on to spend 21 years in various leadership positions at Sara Lee Corporation. Carrie holds both a Bachelor of Science degree and an MBA from the University of Vermont and serves on the Board of Advisors for the Grossman School of Business and on UVM’s Foundation Leadership Council.

16

Ken Wexler

Ken is the second generation of Wexlers responsible for the overall direction and sustained growth of Wexler Construction and Elaine Construction. Ken joined the firm, founded by his father, Leo A. Wexler, in 1965. As President from 1975-2006, Ken took an active role in Elaine Construction’s delivery of service to a diverse client base, focusing his attention on client relations, and building and retaining a team capable of delivering consistently high-quality service which goes beyond the traditional construction management role.

His technical knowledge of the construction process and his vast experience make him an invaluable resource to clients and staff alike. As chairman, Ken continues his involvement through a variety of community and professional activities, as well as mentoring and training Elaine Construction staff.

Marta Widz

martawidz@wmi.edu.sg Wealth Management Institute Singapore

Marta Widz is a Director, Family Office Research at Wealth Management Institute, Singapore and an Executive in Residence at INSEAD. A specialist in governance, sustainability, and family offices, she has worked with large, global, and multigenerational family businesses. She obtained her PhD at the Center for Family Business at the University of St. Gallen, Switzerland, and was a Research Fellow at the IMD Business School in Lausanne, Switzerland.

SCHLESINGER GLOBAL FAMILY ENTERPRISE CASE COMPETITION | COMPETITION JUDGES

kwexler@elaine.com Elaine Construction Company USA

17

Paul Woodfield

After a decade traversing the property industry in consulting, contractor, and engineering roles, Dr. Woodfield has a role in the department of International Business, Strategy, and Entrepreneurship at Auckland University of Technology, New Zealand, and has an appointment with the NZ National Science Challenge: Science for Technological Innovation, investigating ‘Building NZs Innovation Capacity’. Paul’s research concentrates on entrepreneurship, innovation and knowledge management in family businesses and traditional industries, with a specific interest in wine businesses stemming from his family winegrowing heritage. He is an International Family Enterprise Research Academy (IFERA) Board Member and an Editorial Board Member of the Journal of Family Business Strategy.

Robyn Worrall

robynpw@gmail.com Lannett Company USA

Robyn graduated from the UVM business school in 2014, and also participated in FECC her senior year. After graduation she worked in NYC in sales, and eventually went on to work at her family business. She worked in the generic pharmaceutical industry, and after a few years working and learning from the family, she took the opportunity to grow her experience and knowledge base at another generic company where she now works in Business Development.

18

SCHLESINGER GLOBAL FAMILY ENTERPRISE CASE COMPETITION | COMPETITION JUDGES

paul.woodfield@aut.ac.nz Auckland University of Technology New Zealand

Established 2013

Grossman School of Business University of Vermont Kalkin Hall 55 Colchester Ave. Burlington, VT 05405 uvm.edu/business

19