John L. Ward
Co-Founder
info@thefbcg.com
P: 773-604-5005
Resources
- Fair Process: So Important, So Subtle
- Diversifying Your Family Business May Make Sense
- Family Foundation as Family Glue
- Do-It-Yourself Family Meetings
- Building a Successful Family Business Board: A Guide for Leaders, Directors, and Families
- Owners By Choice
- Feeling Better about Refusing to Choose between Your Family and Your Business: You Can (and Must) Care for Both!
- Building A Healthy Team
- Policy-Making: The Process
- Developing a Philosophy of Compensation
- Sibling Teams: Understanding the Emotional Problems
- Family Business In-Laws
- The Case for Clarity on Future Ownership
- The Roles and Responsibilities of Family Ownership
- How Young Successors Cope With Stress
- Changing Attitudes Toward Family Business Finance
- Mastering Family Business Polarities: Learning to Manage Dilemmas That Can’t Be Solved
- Ten Myths About Outside Boards
- Voice and Exit in the Family Firm
- Optimizing Ownership: Values, Vision, Goals
- Developing the Sibling Partnership
- Where to Draw the Line
- The Burdens of Ownership
- An Open Letter to the Non-Family Executive
- Pay Issues Vary with Family Business Stages
- Summer Jobs for Family
- Choosing Among Siblings
- The Importance of Family Business Philanthropy
- Shirtsleeves to Shirtsleeves
- Helping a Smart Board Also Be Wise
John L. Ward
John Ward is a co-founder of The Family Business Consulting Group and consultant emeritus well-regarded for his expertise on continuity, ownership, governance and philanthropy. He is author or co-author of leading books on family business: Perpetuating the Family Business; Family Business as Paradox; Keeping the Family Business Healthy; When Family Businesses are Best; Building a Successful Family Business Board; and many others. With Craig Aronoff, John authored many books from “The Family Business Leadership Series.”
In addition to his consulting and writing work, John served as co-director of The Center for Family Enterprises at Northwestern University’s Kellogg School of Management where he was Clinical Professor of Family Enterprises. Prior to that, he was the Ralph Marotta Professor of Private Enterprise and Associate Dean at Loyola University Chicago and a Senior Associate with Strategic Planning Institute (PIMS Program) in Cambridge, Massachusetts. John has taught at IMD (Switzerland), Hong Kong University of Science and Technology, Indian School of Business, and IESE (Barcelona).
John is also a founding member of the Family Firm Institute and the 1994 recipient of the Richard Beckhard Practice Award that honors distinguished practitioners in the family business field.
Education
- B.A, Northwestern University
- M.B.A. and Ph.D., Stanford Graduate School of Business