Family Enterprise Foundation: Round Peg Podcast

Thinking on his feet and reaching new peaks is no challenge for Thierry Malleret. Join Ali Borhani in conversation with Thierry, Joint Founder and Managing Partner at Monthly Barometer and Summit of Minds, as they discuss the world beyond the pandemic and the beginning of the "great reset." 

Founding Partner at Renewal Funds Joel Solomon is looking to invest in more reparational behaviours and supports governments and leaders who think this way. In our latest Round Peg Podcast, Joel discusses how much capitalism is enough and what we should do when we have an excess amount. 

Engineer, philanthropist and businesswoman, Gina Cody recounts her life trajectory as an Iranian immigrant to becoming one of Canada’s most influential women. Listen now!

Gina Parvaneh Cody takes more than a keen interest in lofty concepts of gender diversity, social inclusion, philanthropy and affordable education. As Concordia University’s first woman to earn a Ph.D. in building engineering, her story is a remarkable tale of generosity and influence. When Cody is not espousing the benefits of “smart cities” or actively encouraging young women to pursue the “wonderful” world of engineering, she reminds Canadians not to be complacent about their enviable status on the global stage. As for family enterprises, Cody believes they have a twin role to play as economic engines and caretakers of our communities. It’s a recipe for opportunity, which includes a key ingredient: giving back. In 2018, Dr. Cody made a historic $15 million gift to her alma mater’s Faculty of Engineering and Computer Science. In honour of her generosity, the faculty was renamed the Gina Cody School of Engineering and Computer Science. It is the first engineering faculty in Canada named after a woman. Cody, who immigrated to Canada from Iran in 1979, holds a master’s degree and a doctorate in building engineering from Concordia. She has more than 30 years of professional practice in the private sector as an engineer, corporate executive and principal shareholder of an engineering firm. She has provided engineering services to some of Canada’s largest Real Estate Investment Trusts, financial institutions, builders and developers.

Humanitarian and global health activist Rachel Kiddell-Monroe delivers a post-pandemic message to family enterprises: “It’s no longer about just making money, it’s about contributions.” Listen now! 

For as long as she can remember, Rachel Kiddell-Monroe has always been interested in fairness and justice. When she was a teen growing up in the UK, she considered training to be a nurse. Instead, she became a lawyer and activist who now specializes in humanitarian assistance, global health, governance, and bioethics. As for the role of family enterprises in such matters, Rachel believes the depth of values and principles within family firms can have a meaningful and practical impact on marginalized members of our communities, cities, and the wider world – especially now in our post-pandemic economy. This year could be a “turning point in the world” for us all, she asserts, in which capitalism will be “turned on its head” for the better. Family enterprises are well-positioned to start rethinking and reviewing how they do business and find more purpose. “It’s no longer about just making money, it’s about contributions.” As for Canada, there is an enormous role for family enterprises to bridge the gap that divides the haves and the have-nots. 

 

A professor of practice at the Institute for the Study of International Development at McGill University, Rachel Kiddell-Monroe is also executive director of SeeChange Initiative, which helps marginalized communities find empowering solutions to their healthcare needs. She is a member of Médecins Sans Frontières’ (MSF) international board of directors. Formerly president of the board of directors of Universities Allied for Essential Medicines from 2007 to 2013, Rachel now serves as a senior policy advisor. She was recently appointed to the McGill University Health Centres Clinical Ethics Committee. During her time with MSF, she led humanitarian missions in Djibouti, Democratic Republic of Congo, and Rwanda. After becoming the program director of MSF Canada, she was appointed regional humanitarian affairs advisor for Latin America based in Costa Rica.  

Renowned family business expert Dennis Jaffe compares and contrasts early, middle, and late generations as he uncovers the secrets of success of highly functioning family enterprises. Listen now!

Dennis Jaffe is an emeritus professor of Organizational Systems and Psychology at Saybrook University in San Francisco. Over his 40-year career, he has helped families overcome personal, organizational, and governance challenges that hinder the smooth generational transfer of their businesses, wealth, values, and legacies. A faculty advisor to the Cornell Johnson College of Business, Jaffe is one of the original architects of the emerging field of family enterprise consulting. As a founding member of the Family Firm Institute, he has served on their board, written frequently for Family Business Review, and was awarded the Richard Beckhard and International Awards for his contributions. Jaffe is author Borrowed from Your Grandchildren: The Evolution of 100-Year Family Enterprises, Cross-Cultures: How Global Families Negotiate Change Across Generations, and Stewardship of Your Family Enterprise: Developing Responsible Leadership Across Generations. In 1984, he founded Changeworks Global, a consulting firm in San Francisco, which works with organizations for long-term change to build competitive advantage by unleashing the power of employees.

In a retrospective glimpse and look to the future, social entrepreneur and WE Charity co-founder Craig Kielburger weighs in on effective methods to eradicate child poverty and measure social impact. Listen now!

Craig Kielburger is a Canadian human rights activist, entrepreneur, and co-founder of WE, an international network of social impact charities. He is a syndicated columnist and author of more than ten books, including the international bestseller WEconomy and the New York Times bestseller Me to We: Finding Meaning in a Material World. A Member of the Order of Canada, Craig holds 16 honorary doctorates. His work has been featured on 60 Minutes, the Oprah Winfrey Show, as well as in Time Magazine, National Geographic, and The Economist. He currently serves on the advisory board of Canada’s Leaders’ Debates Commission, an independent government agency charged with organizing debates between leaders of political parties during federal elections.

Former British diplomat and active business consultant Sir Graham Boyce dispenses his wisdom on the future of leadership and managing global challenges in a world beset with crises. Listen now!

Senior Advisor at Bank of America, Air Products, and DLA Piper, Sir Graham Boyce is a consultant to businesses with operations in the Middle East and North Africa. A retired British diplomat, Sir Graham served in the Diplomatic Service between 1968 and 2003 as Consul-General to Sweden, Ambassador, and Consul-General to Qatar, Ambassador to Kuwait, and Ambassador to Egypt. He is a member of the International Advisory Council, Kuwait Investment Office, a Global Ambassador for SOAS, a member of the Court of Patrons Thrombosis Research Institute, and a Trustee of the Dakhleh Oasis Trust (Egypt).