AROUND 500 delegates are expected to attend this year’s family business conference in September.

The Family Enterprise Excellence Conference (FEEC) on Sept. 28 and 29 in the Marco Polo Plaza Cebu will feature international and local speakers who will share best business practices of running family enterprises in the age of millennials, women empowerment, and economic integration.

It will be anchored on the theme, “The Knowledge of Khan (Genghis Khan): Fathoming the Myths and Truths of Family Business” and is organized by Cebu-based Premier Family Business Consulting (PFBC).

“We aim to equip families in business with both global and local knowledge in achieving harmony and sustainability amid our fast-changing and challenging business environment,” said PFBC founder and chief executive officer Jonathan Ramos.

He added it is important to raise awareness in professionalizing family businesses as 86 percent of the enterprises in the country are run by families, which employ 76 percent of the working population.

According to Ramos, there is a need to drum up discussions about family businesses and be interested in securing the longevity of their endeavors because they contribute significantly to the country’s economy.

Roster of speakers

Among the featured speakers in the upcoming conference are Borja Raventos, a family business advisor in Europe; professor Toshio Goto, one of the leading and pioneering business consultants in Japan; professor Roger King from Harvard University and founder of the Center for Asian Family Business and Entrepreneurship Studies; Jeremy Cheng, a transgenerational entrepreneurship expert from Hong Kong; and Jonathan Yabut, a motivational and leadership expert from the Philippines and winner of The Apprentice Asia.

PFBC has also invited Cebu’s Espina-Garcia cousins, who will share their journey in professionalizing their family business. Architect Felino Palafox will also give a talk at the conference.

“FEEC is our way of supporting the economy of the country,” said Ramos, adding that they hope to develop the leadership skills of each family member and make them better understand their roles and responsibilities in the family enterprise.

Besides staging conferences, PFBC has forged a partnership with the College of Commerce of the University of San Jose-Recoletos early this year.

Dean Edgar Detoya said they have integrated in their business curriculum a seminar series on family business. They have also offered the same program for their faculty.

Detoya said they are eyeing to create a separate course on family business in the near future. (KOC)