From father to daughter: the new leadership of family businesses

It is no longer an exclusive dialogue between fathers and sons: women are gaining space at the top of Italian family businesses. Approximately one company out of four is giving female leadership. A trend supported by a new generation of leaders: prepared, with experience outside the family business and an international outlook.

More and more often, new female CEOs are taking the reins of companies by themselves, with a style based on listening, sustainability and a culture of merit. This is the case of Federica Minozzi, ceo of the Iris Ceramica Group, who after leaving the family business has returned to guide its international expansion and technological innovation. Or Maria Laura Garofalo, who transformed Garofalo Health Care into one of Italy's leading private healthcare groups, leading it to listing on the stock exchange and being awarded the Cavalierato al Merito del Lavoro. And again: Francesca Cerruti, who broke the patriarchal model in ab medica by introducing managerialism and gender equality; Michela Conterno, the protagonist of the industrial relaunch and internationalisation of the family company, Lati Industria Termoplastici, which is now a historic brand of national interest; and Gaia Paradisi who, having become CEO at just 27 years of age after the death of her father, has turned the metalworking company founded by her grandfather - the Paradisi turnery - into a participative reality capable of attracting new talent.

Different stories, united by the same denominator: they all had to confront the double stereotype, of gender and generation. Being women and being 'daughters of' meant facing deep-rooted biases that had to be overcome with the only possible lever: competence.

But there is also another model that continues to make inroads: shared leadership between siblings. This is the case of Laura Ottaviani, who manages the silverware company Ottaviani spa together with her brother Marco, bringing a strong creative and digital imprinting to the group, or Annalisa and Roberto Gandolfi, at the helm of Erreà, an international sportswear brand that has transformed a tailor's workshop into a global player. Or again: Roberta and Alessandro Vitri, engaged in the managerialisation of Vitrifrigo, an example of how the sister-brother duo can be complementary in the management of industrial processes and commercial strategies. These are models in which roles and responsibilities are clearly distributed, based on shared vocations, training and objectives.

Not only that, many of the family businesses led by daughters or by the brother-sister duo, have embarked on structured paths towards the certification of gender equality, promoted work-life balance and a respectful and inclusive culture. The challenge of the coming years will be to transform these experiences into a widespread model in which the generational transition becomes an opportunity to create development also through diversity.