Professor Alfredo De Massis Honoured with FERC Lifetime Achievement Award at 20th Annual Conference

Dublin City University (DCU) and Ulster University proudly hosted the 20th Annual Family Enterprise Research Conference (FERC) in Dublin, Ireland, where Professor Alfredo De Massis was awarded the prestigious FERC Lifetime Achievement Award. This accolade, a cornerstone of the conference, recognises individuals whose scholarly contributions have significantly shaped the field of family enterprise.

Reflecting on receipt of the award, Professor De Massis shared:

“To be honored with the FERC Lifetime Achievement and Impact Award is deeply humbling — not just because it recognizes academic milestones, but because it affirms the very purpose that has guided my career: to create research that makes a real impact. Impact that goes beyond publications — reaching families, businesses, students, policy, and society. This award speaks to that aspiration, and I am especially grateful that the impact I set out to achieve has been seen and felt.”

Currently Professor of Entrepreneurship and Family Business at the Free University of Bozen-Bolzano, IMD and Lancaster University and is internationally acclaimed for his pioneering research and unwavering dedication to academic excellence. In conversation with Professor Donald Neubaum of Florida Atlantic University at the conference, he reflected on his career journey—from finance to a PhD in management—and his passion for understanding family businesses.

Professor De Massis noted:

“From the very start of my journey, I believed that rigor and relevance are not opposing forces, but essential partners — like two legs of the same path. Rigor gives us credibility; relevance gives us meaning. One without the other leads us nowhere.”

A recognised thought leader, Professor De Massis was named one of the world’s top 25 star professors of family business by Family Capital, and featured in their 100 Family Business Influencers list in 2022. His consulting and advisory work spans globally renowned firms including Accenture Strategy and the London Stock Exchange Group. In 2017, he shared his expertise on family business succession with the UK Parliament, further evidencing his real-world impact.

He has guest-edited leading academic journals such as Strategic Management Journal and California Management Review, and his work has been featured in Harvard Business Review, Financial Times, and on RAI1.

In a conversation following the event, when asked to share a piece of advice for emerging researchers, he offered:

“Combining rigor and relevance is not easy — it’s a choice, a strategy, a climb. But choose your mountain, start climbing, and don’t fear the steepness. That’s where the view becomes truly extraordinary.”

DCU extends its sincere congratulations to Professor De Massis for his enduring contributions to family enterprise scholarship and his inspirational leadership across academic and professional spheres. At just 47 years old, we eagerly anticipate many more years of impactful research and thought leadership from Professor Alfredo De Massis.