David Karofsky is a principal consultant with The Family Business Consulting Group, specializing in advising family businesses around the challenges and opportunities inherent to the family business. 

Prior to working with The Family Business Consulting Group, David worked in his own family business consulting practice with his father for eight years. The father-son team are the authors of So You’re in the Family Business: A Guide to Sustainability. In addition, David was vice president of marketing for a software start-up where he helped launch the company and raise over $10 million in funding. David also served at EMC Corporation for eight years, holding various corporate roles, including managing operations for worldwide marketing. 

The recipient of multiple achievement awards, David has been a guest speaker internationally and is a mentor to current and former MBA students at Northeastern University’s Graduate School of Business and serves on the Marketing Career Track Advisory Board. He is a founding member and former chair of the Boston chapter of the Young Presidents’ Organization’s Young Adult Forum, member of the Family Firm Institute, where he holds certificates in Family Wealth and Advanced Family Business Advising with Fellow status, member of the Board of Directors of the Rogers Foam Corporation, and a former member of the Executive Board of Directors for the Men’s Associates at Hebrew Senior Life. 

 

What You’ll Learn 

• Why communication is vital as a foundation. 

• What governance looks like in a family business. 

• How to handle increasing complexity in ownership transitions. 

• How to create a roadmap for successful transitions. 

• The benefits of building a board. 

 

Timestamps 

• [04:02] A bit about David. 

• [06:16] Advising family businesses as a family business. 

• [07:12] Communication is key. 

• [11:12] Governance in family business. 

• [15:09] Ownership transitions. 

• [17:53] Fair and equal. 

• [22:07] Creating the transition roadmap. 

• [27:51] Building a board. 

• [36:54] Overcoming the fear of the board. 

• [39:37] ROI of the board. 

 

Memorable Quotes 

• “Conflict is inevitable.” – David Karofsky [06:53] 

• “Assumption is the mother of all evil.” – David Karofsky [10:30] 

• “In family, fair sometimes is equal.” – David Karofsky [18:33] 

• “You’ve got to be able to listen to other people.” – David Karofsky [36:22] 

 

 

Social Media 

David Karofsky. 

 

Websites 

The Family Business Consulting Group.