Management

In family businesses, female leadership drives continuity

This emerged from a survey by Banca Sella, carried out by LIUC - Cattaneo University, in collaboration with AIDAF, which involved 74 women at the top of family businesses

by Cristina Casadei

14 May 2026

businessman with paper standing in night office peshkova - Fotolia

4' min read

Translated by AI

Versione italiana

Key points

The Eva model
The identikit
Generational continuity and values
The positive effects of female leadership
Social Governance and Sustainability
The roadshow

4' min read

Translated by AI

Versione italiana

In family businesses, female leadership drives continuity, sustainability and process improvement. This is what emerges from a survey by Banca Sella, carried out by LIUC - Cattaneo University in collaboration with AIDAF (Italian Association of Family Businesses), which involved 74 women at the top of family businesses, with the roles of managing director or ceo, in different sectors, throughout Italia. Anna Grosso, co-general manager of Banca Sella, is convinced 'that Banca Sella can play a leading role in accompanying the growth of people and businesses, with particular attention to the female universe. The Voglio una Borsa Rosa (I Want a Pink Stock Market) project stems from the desire to promote an inclusive financial culture, capable of strengthening women's economic awareness and autonomy: fundamental tools to enable them to make informed decisions, invest with farsightedness, grow in companies, and establish themselves with greater confidence in the entrepreneurial fabric of Italia. The goal is to support women's leadership in companies and facilitate the development of innovative projects, thus helping to generate value for the entire national economic system'.

The Eva model

Determining the achievements of female leaders is what the research calls the Eva model, i.e. Empathy, Vision and Authenticity, which are the three distinctive characteristics of female leadership, investigated in a qualitative study that delved into the history of nine realities led by successful female CEOs, not necessarily belonging to the owner family: Axet Facility (Mariateresa Silvestri, Milan), Donnafugata (Josè Rallo, Trapani), Feltrinelli (Alessandra Carra, Milan), Green Oleo (Beatrice Buzzella, Cremona), Grendi (Costanza Musso, Genoa), Irinox (Katia Da Ros, Treviso), Pasta Cuomo (Amelia Cuomo, Gragnano), Ponti (Lara Ponti, Novara) and Timeswapp (Ludovica Busnach, Milan).

L’identikit

The portrait that the research reconstructs is that of women who lead companies with the mission of continuing the family tradition, passing on values and entrepreneurial spirit from generation to generation. With a strong focus on economic and financial performance, but also on environmental, social and governance performance.

The LIUC Family Business Lab (Fabula) team set itself two objectives: on the one hand, to identify the main levers of women's professional growth and the benefits generated by their leadership in their respective organisations, and on the other hand, to analyse the distinctive characteristics and paths of women at the top of family businesses, highlighting their common traits. The answers to the questions contained a numerical scale from 1 to 5, to allow the participants to express a summary evaluation of the importance of the different elements analysed. In the interpretation of Salvatore Sciascia and Valentina Lazzarotti, Co-Directors of FABULA at LIUC - Cattaneo University, 'the presence of women in top management roles in Italian companies is still limited and the world of family businesses is no exception. Moreover, women who enter family businesses often have higher educational qualifications and experience, so it is clear that we are facing a distortion that is not at all beneficial to businesses and deserves much attention'.

Generational continuity and values

The results highlight the centrality of generational continuity and the custody of values in women's choice to lead the family business. The possibility of continuing the family tradition and passing on values and entrepreneurial spirit from generation to generation has a score of 4.39, that of helping to steer and influence the future of the business of 4.27, and that of helping others through one's own work and the activity of the family business of 4.07.

The positive effects of female leadership

The contribution of women's leadership can be seen in many areas, from economic to sustainability (environmental, social and governance) to entrepreneurship. On the economic and financial level, there is an improvement in company results in terms of both turnover (3.46) and profitability (3.57). On the entrepreneurial level, the effects are the improvement of existing processes (3.85), the strengthening of competitiveness and business resilience (3.84), the stimulation of a culture of innovation and experimentation (3.76) as well as the improvement of the company's agility and ability to adapt to market changes (3.75). The female CEOs explain that the main benefits of female leadership are mainly in the adoption of policies to protect the environment (3.74), the promotion of environmental awareness initiatives aimed at the reference community and stakeholders (3.72), better waste management and the use of recyclable or renewable materials (3.57).

Social Governance and Sustainability

On governance, the main benefits relate to improved communication and reporting practices (3.96), the development and consolidation of codes of ethics and conduct (3.91), accompanied by a growing commitment to greater female representation in the company's main governing bodies, thus favouring the access of more women to senior roles (3.87). On social sustainability, the results highlight as the main benefit the improvement of working conditions and the creation of a more cohesive working environment (4.19), followed by the improvement of the company's reputation and ethical image (4.15) and the development of corporate welfare plans (4.06).

The roadshow

The survey is part of the 'I want a pink bag' project, launched by Banca Sella and dedicated to financial education, and will be taken around Italia. After the inaugural meeting on 6 May at LIUC - Cattaneo University in Castellanza (Varese) and the one in Cuneo on 11 May, the next two appointments will be in Verona (21 May) and Cesena (28 May). Each meeting will be an opportunity for dialogue and comparison between territories, the academic world, business associations and companies, with direct testimony from female entrepreneurs and managers who will share their paths, decisions, challenges faced and strategies adopted for growth.