Interview
BBVA Global Wealth & IE University | Center for Families in Business
4 oct 2022
Carlos Mas shares in an interview his vision and experience, as well as key conclusions from our research
(Text in English and video in Spanish)
Inés Castro, director oferta de valor y desarrollo de negocio de Global Wealth, BBVA interviews Carlos Mas, co-author of the report
Inés Castro: Carlos, to whom is the study Moments of Truth for Business Families aimed?
Carlos Mas: With this study we aimed to interest a very broad audience of business families.
And this is a challenge in itself, since no two business families are the same…
...because each family is made up of a different set of diverse individuals who find themselves, at each moment, in specific circumstances.
However, they have some key aspects in common:
01_They all have to manage three interdependent and unstable areas, which, however, should be in balance: that of the family – that of business – and that of assets
02_They also have a purpose and an ambition to create value that goes beyond the financial: it is the so-called socio-emotional wealth
03_and, finally, they combine a long-term vision, normally guided by a strong purpose, with agility in decision-making and short-term action.
Inés Castro: Can you explain to us what you mean by moments of truth and why you focus on this concept?
Carlos Mas: Apart from the fact that no two families are the same, each family also changes over time.
The time factor is determining and entails the challenge of harmonizing different expectations, speeds and dynamics between the 3 areas: family, business and assets.
The family grows and evolves at the biological rhythm of generations... while today businesses change much more quickly and drastically than before, with increasingly shorter life cycles.
That is to say, a successful business can run out before the family does, and it is not obvious to ensure that shared wealth management replaces it as a new way to unite the business family and ensure the intergenerational legacy to which they aspired endures.
In its evolution over time, each business family will encounter critical moments that involve fundamental decisions, that require deep reflection and that test the consensus within the family.
We call these situations moments of truth, since they will define the family future in one sense or another. From being to not being, from achieving success to failing, from union to conflict and from recognition to the loss of good reputation...
And our study identifies and analyzes them to help anticipate them and be able to respond to them correctly.
Inés Castro: Without now going into the 9 moments of truth that you have identified, as your co-author Tecla Keller goes into them in depth, can you tell us the focus of the report?
Carlos Mas: First-hand witnesses have been a fundamental part of the development of this study, along with our experience in interacting and accompanying very diverse families over the years.
To carry out the study, we have held in-depth conversations with 4 experts and 19 members of business families, with very different cases in terms of generational situation, size and complexity, relationship with their business, sectors of activity, degree of asset diversification
and geography. I take this opportunity to thank them for their willingness to share experiences and lessons learned.
We have attempted to go beyond messages and recommendations that are either very academic, or very general and recurring, through a document with contributions and practical, different and enriching elements that help business families to successfully overcome the
moments of truth with the which they will undoubtedly meet on their journey through time.