Great family businesses have always offered something many executives actively seek: purpose, long-term thinking and the opportunity to make a lasting impact.
Unlike many listed or private equity-backed organisations, decisions are often made with the next generation in mind rather than the next reporting period or transaction.
Relationships matter.
Culture matters.
Reputation matters.
Yet many family businesses seem to lack belief in their ability to hire great leaders and are often weighed down by past struggles to attract and retain the very people who could help ensure their family business continues to thrive.
Over the years, we’ve worked with family businesses at different stages of their evolution. While every organisation is unique, the businesses that consistently attract outstanding leaders tend to approach hiring in similar ways.
Written with insights from Redgrave’s executive search and leadership assessment specialists, drawing on experience advising family-owned businesses on senior appointments, leadership transition and executive integration.
Contributors:
Adrian Bassett
Head of Assessment, Redgrave
Kristian Barratt
Chief Operating Officer, Iceland Foods
Louisa Hogarty
Chief People and Impact Officer, Noble Foods
Martyn Worsley
Global CPO, Lockton
Naomi Barton
Partner and Head of People & Culture, Redgrave
More often, the challenge is helping external leaders understand how success is defined within a family business and finding individuals who can drive commercial performance while respecting the values and legacy that have made the business successful.
01
Sell the opportunity, not just the role
Family businesses often underestimate how attractive they are.
For many experienced executives, the attraction lies in the opportunity to become part of a business where relationships are closer, there is greater access to owners and decision-makers, and they have the freedom to make a meaningful impact on the business.
Remuneration will always matter, but it’s rarely what differentiates one opportunity from another. What often makes the difference is how clearly a family business communicates what makes it distinctive, including:
- their purpose
- their long-term vision
- the influence the role can have
- the values that underpin decision making.
Senior leaders want to understand not just the role they’re taking, but the business they’re joining and the contribution they’re expected to make.
In practice:
What attracts people isn’t just the role. It’s the opportunity to join a business with a clear sense of purpose, close relationships and the freedom to make a real difference. People want to know they’ll be trusted to lead and that they’ll be joining a business that’s committed to developing its culture, not just talking about it.
– Louisa Hogarty – Chief People and Impact Officer, Noble Foods
02
Recruit people who strengthen your culture
Recruiting for “culture fit” rather than “culture add” may be the wrong approach and can easily become a way of appointing people with similar backgrounds, experiences or perspectives.
The question shouldn’t be, “Will they fit in?” It should be, “Will they make us better and stronger?”
The right appointment will respect the values that have made the business successful while bringing different experiences, perspectives and judgement that strengthen decision-making, support future plans and help protect the business for future generations.
This is particularly important when recruiting leaders from PLC or private equity-backed businesses. Their experience can be highly valuable, but only if they are able to adapt it to a different ownership model and culture.
In practice:
We recruit against culture add rather than purely on skill set. We find people who can make our culture stronger, bringing new energy and ways of thinking. We’d rather wait for the right person than compromise, because the wrong hire can damage a culture, while the right one helps it evolve.
– Martyn Worsley, Global CPO, Lockton
03
Be clear about governance and how decisions are made
Many executives are attracted to family businesses because they are attracted to a dynamic with fast decision-making, close working relationships and greater influence over a business.
The reality can be more nuanced. Family ownership often brings a different approach to governance, with family members playing varying roles in strategy, oversight and day-to-day decision making.
Being clear about these dynamics from the outset helps build trust, avoids misunderstandings and gives new leaders confidence that they’ll have the ownership and freedom to do the job they’ve been hired to do, rather than spending their time navigating uncertainty.
This means candidates should understand:
- who makes the key decisions
- how family members are involved
- how governance operates
- where they will have autonomy and where collaboration is expected.
In practice:
Before accepting the role, I wanted to understand how the family worked, where decisions sat and how much freedom I’d have to lead. Those early conversations gave me confidence. Once I understood that, I knew what I was accountable for and that I’d be trusted to get on with the job.
– Kristian Barratt, Chief Operating Officer, Iceland Foods
04
Balance legacy with future vision
Being clear about how the business operates is only part of the conversation. Senior leaders also want to understand where the business is heading and the role they will play in its future.
One of the biggest concerns for external executives is whether they’re being brought in to maintain what already exists or to help shape what comes next.
The businesses that attract the best external leaders make both explicit. They celebrate the values, heritage and relationships that have made them successful, while being equally clear about the changes they expect a new leader to drive.
Candidates should leave the recruitment process understanding:
- what should never change
- what must evolve
- where they are expected to bring fresh perspective and experience.
In our experience, external leaders aren’t looking to change what has made a family business successful. They want to understand what should be protected, what needs to evolve and where their expertise can make a difference. They want the opportunity to help write the next chapter.
In practice:
I didn’t join because it was a family business; I joined because of the opportunity. It was only after I arrived that I realised the advantages of family ownership. There wasn’t the same pressure to optimise for the next reporting period. Instead, decisions could be made quickly, there was real trust, and people were empowered to do what was right for the business, its people and its long-term future.
– Kristian Barratt, Chief Operating Officer, Iceland Foods
05
Align the family before you appoint the leader
Before starting a search, it’s vital to spend time agreeing with all stakeholders exactly what the business really needs from its next leader.
In family businesses in particular, senior appointments influence family shareholders, future generations and the direction of the business itself. That makes alignment before the search begins critical ahead of the selection process.
The recruitment process tends to run much more smoothly when there is early agreement on:
- what success looks like
- the experience and capabilities the business needs
- where the executive will have the freedom to lead
- how the family and leadership team will work together.
This doesn’t mean every family member needs to be involved in every interview. It means candidates should hear a consistent view of the role, the business and its ambitions.
When those conversations happen before the search begins, appointments are made with greater confidence and new leaders are better placed to settle into the business quickly.
In practice:
One of the questions I encourage family businesses to ask is: who is helping us think objectively about the leadership and organisational capability we need next?
A senior appointment shouldn’t be considered in isolation. It needs to connect to the direction of the business and the wider people and talent strategy — what capabilities need to be built, where the gaps are, and what that means for the leadership required.
In some businesses that expertise sits within the organisation; in others, an external perspective can be valuable. What matters is having someone with real expertise in people and talent involved early enough to challenge assumptions, bring an external view and help the family reach a shared understanding of what the business needs before the search begins.
– Naomi Barton, Partner and Head of People & Culture, Redgrave
06
Invest as much in integration as recruitment
Even the most experienced executives need time to understand how the business works, build relationships and learn what has made it successful.
The first twelve months often determine whether a senior appointment succeeds over the long term. Investing in that transition shouldn’t be left to chance.
Perhaps most importantly, the experience of joining the business should reflect the experience candidates were promised during the recruitment process. Consistency builds trust.
Family businesses need to help new leaders:
- understand the history of the business
- build relationships with family members and key stakeholders
- appreciate the values that shape decision making
- recognise where fresh perspective is expected and where continuity matters.
Giving new leaders the time and support to integrate, build relationships and understand the business is one of the most effective ways to improve long-term retention.
In practice:
Finding the right person is only part of making a senior appointment successful. However experienced a leader is, they still need the right support to understand the context they’re stepping into and establish themselves in the business. The first 100 days are an opportunity to build on the confidence created during the search, focus on the right priorities and set the leader up to make an impact.
– Adrian Bassett, Head of Assessment, Redgrave
07
Invest in the right search partner
Senior leadership appointments shape the future of a family business for years to come. They deserve the same level of thought and rigour as any other strategic investment.
The search process is an opportunity to define the leadership the business needs, test assumptions and help both the family and prospective candidates understand whether there’s genuine alignment around ambition, culture and ways of working.
A great search process starts with a clear brief, honest conversations about the business and a disciplined assessment of the experience, behaviours and leadership style needed for the next stage of growth.
The right search partner brings an external perspective, access to leaders beyond the active market and the judgement to challenge assumptions before an appointment is made.
It is wise to work with a search partner who understands your industry/business model and has a proven track record of partnering with family businesses.
In practice:
The more someone understands your business, the better the outcome. Because Paul knew Iceland so well, we could have honest conversations about the role, the challenges and the type of leader who would be successful – which meant we could be completely honest about what we needed. Those conversations led to much stronger appointments.
– Kristian Barratt, Chief Operating Officer, Iceland Foods
Family businesses have a stronger proposition than they often realise
Experienced leaders increasingly have more choice about where and how they want to work. Family businesses therefore need to be clear about what makes their opportunity distinctive, especially as many already offer the things senior executives are looking for.
Time and again, we’ve seen businesses underestimate the appeal of their own proposition: the opportunity to work closely with owners, influence the direction of the business and contribute to something built for the long term.
For many executives, those qualities only become fully apparent once they’ve joined. The opportunity for family businesses is to communicate them much earlier in the recruitment process.
Success isn’t about changing what makes a family business distinctive. It’s about communicating that opportunity clearly, appointing leaders who will strengthen the business and creating the conditions for them to succeed.
