DCU National Centre for Family Business launches new Podcast series

Few studies have been undertaken to identify the gender related barriers and opportunities to succession and top leadership for women in Irish family businesses.  This study comprised interviews with female leaders in family businesses, of various sizes and sectors, from across the Republic of Ireland.

Participants were women who are, or recently have been, managers and/or directors of their family businesses in which a male family member of the same generation is also involved in management or directorship.  Half of the participants came from family businesses that have not yet undergone succession (i.e. leadership transfer) and half were post-succession firms.

Traditionally, women in family business have played vital, albeit largely invisible, informal and unpaid roles in the business.  Although these roles are today much more visible and formalised, with a growing number of women assuming senior leadership positions, there is still evidence that succession by the first-born son remains the norm.

Surviving a Crisis as a Family Business – Cashflow Podcast

DCU National Centre for Family Business has produced this podcast series in association with the National Forum for the Enhancement of Teaching and Learning in Higher Education and AIB Bank. On 25th January the NCFB launched “Surviving a Crisis as a Family Business” report.

The survey had two main aims.

Firstly, to conduct the first all island research study that assessed the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic on Irish family businesses. Secondly, to understand how family business teams respond during crises. 84.8% of CEO’s surveyed were concerned about insufficient cash flow over the next six months in their businesses. On the webinar which aired on 25th January we touched on cashflow with our industry experts.

It is widely acknowledged that businesses don’t fail because they are not profitable they fail because they do not manage their cash – they run out of money.

We are joined today by Eimear Fitzgerald, who is Head of Business Banking branch network in AIB covering Dublin North & West and Darren McDowell who is a senior partner with Harbinson Mullholland.

Harbinson Mulholland is a Belfast based accountancy firm and home of the Northern Ireland Family Business. On this podcast we will discuss cashflow in more detail as respondents in the research acknowledged the need to manage cashflow better.