Mini Class – Governance in Family Business
✨ Working Luncheon
Governance in a family enterprise is far more than legal documents and formal board meetings. At its core, it’s about aligning the three interconnected systems that shape your long‑term success:
- Your Family
- Your Ownership Group
- Your Business
When these systems drift out of sync, what looks like a personal conflict is often a structural misalignment. This introductory luncheon brings clarity to those hidden dynamics and offers a practical, accessible framework for strengthening your enterprise from the inside out.
What We’ll Explore
- How to create open, productive dialogue across generations
- Ways to coordinate expectations among family members, owners, and leaders
- The foundational structures every family business should establish before formal legal agreements are drafted
- How family dynamics intersect with corporate frameworks—and how to keep both healthy
Who Should Attend
Whether you’re:
- A founder navigating succession
- A next‑generation leader preparing to step into responsibility
- An owner seeking clarity around roles, rights, and decision‑making
…you’ll walk away with a grounded understanding of how governance supports continuity, reduces conflict, and builds resilience across generations.
️ Why This Session Matters
This luncheon is the launch point for our in‑depth Fall Governance Series, designed to help families move from insight to implementation. Attending this session ensures you begin with a shared language, a clear framework, and a stronger foundation for the conversations ahead.
This session is made possible through the support of McCarter Grespan, with opening remarks from Amy Finch, who will introduce the theme of governance and set the context for the conversation ahead. Amy’s introduction will lead into insights from our featured speakers:
👤 Meet Our Presenters
Amy Finch
Amy Finch is a Director at McCarter & Grespan and Chair of the firm’s Wills and Estate Planning Practice Group. Her practice spans corporate, commercial, and business law, with deep expertise in mergers and acquisitions, succession and estate planning, complex reorganizations, restructurings, private placements, and corporate financings.
McCarter & Grespan has long supported CFFB and champions early governance education. Amy will share why the firm views governance training as a vital investment for family enterprises of all sizes.
Vivian Zochowski
Vivian Zochowski trained as a lawyer and built a successful corporate career in finance, estate planning, and related fields. In retirement, she continues to lend her leadership and governance expertise to numerous not‑for‑profit organizations.
Vivian will introduce the core “circles of influence” that shape governance in a family enterprise and highlight key themes to watch for throughout the session.
Sandra Hamner
Sandra Hamner brings a distinguished career across corporate and not‑for‑profit leadership, with extensive experience in the health, social services, and disability sectors locally, provincially, and nationally. She has also served as a health‑care executive in New Zealand and currently sits as a Waterloo City Councillor and Executive in Residence at Capacity Canada.
Sandra has guided many organizations in building strong governance foundations. She will outline the essential building blocks to focus on as you begin—or strengthen—your governance journey.