5. We are co-chiefs, but who is in charge after you are gone, papa?
(Image: Avel-Chuklanov via Unsplash)
Some Asian tycoons such as UOB's Wee Chow Yaw and Li Ka-shing handed over the reins of their family empires to their oldest son while others appoint two sons as co-chiefs. Examples include BEA's recently retired chief David Li Kwok-po (who handed the reins to sons Adrian David Li Man-kiu and Brian David Li Man-bun) and Lee Shau Kee (who appointed sons Lee Ka Kit and Lee Ka Shing take over.)
Who will have ultimate say would depend on the rules of engagement relating to family governance, as set out in family constitution or by-laws of the family business, aligned to family values, said succession planning experts. «Increasingly, how to distill a set of family values and use it to align perspectives across generations becomes imperative,» noted Wang Dian, chief executive of Hywin Wealth, who spoke with finews.asia. «Family charter, family governance, family council – these concepts have leaped from books into the conversations within the families, and between families and their advisors.»
In the event that one sibling refuses to abide by the family constitution or by-laws, the next recourse would be an appeal to a higher authority, said Lee of DBS Private Bank. This can take the form of a submission to a properly constituted family council comprising a representative group of senior family members, or by deferring to a family-appointed mediator or arbitrator whose decision the family must accept as binding.
Without governance, precedents exist to illustrate the potential catastrophe that awaits an empire with no clear leader. One need not look much farther than the historical split of Reliance Group between the Ambani brothers, Mukesh and Anil, due to a lack of a will following the death of founder Dhirubhai Ambani.
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