Family SMEs: support with generational handover with Luiss Business School

Intesa Sanpaolo supports the delicate phase of the generational handover in family businesses, also through the course in Family Business Management organised by Luiss Business School.

The programme sees the participation of the children of client entrepreneurs with the aim of training them to take on roles of increasing importance and responsibility, so as not to dissipate the value built up over time by the previous generations.

The generational handover is of strategic importance for the preservation and future of Italy's industrial heritage: a complex challenge that could jeopardise entire production chains made up of countless family-run SMEs and jeopardise our country's industrial vocation.

On the other hand, the generational handover can constitute a real opportunity, if properly planned and if there are periods of shadowing between generations: indeed, companies with at least one under 40-year-old on the board grew more than the others (24% vs 19%) in terms of turnover between 2019 and 2022 and:

• are more inclined to introduce strategies to increase competitiveness
• certify their quality more frequently
• more often have brands in their portfolio
• obtain more environmental certifications
• are more innovative (and prove it by patenting more)
• play a more active role
• are more involved in inward and outward foreign direct investment.

In Italy, almost 3 out of every 4 businesses are family-run, i.e. with a significant involvement of family members in management: less than 1% of family businesses are run by external managers.

Intesa Sanpaolo has long paid close attention to the generational handover, supporting SMEs through consultancy, training initiatives and collaborations with prestigious partners, such as Luiss Business School, with which it has been collaborating since 2018 for the course in Family Business Management.