Ellie Frey

As the next generation of my family’s enterprise, the Frey Foundation, I have been training to be a trustee for more than 20 years. This year, I joined two of my cousins on the board.

If you are anything like me, you live and die by the yellow Post-It. These genius creations hold my ideas to be explored later and the “to do” lists that rule my existence. Without the yellow 3M sea, I just might be lost and rudderless. This may sound odd, but as the director of a rapidly growing nonprofit that helps family businesses succeed generation to generation, my board of directors and family business members expect me to keep the organization moving forward. Everyone has their own way of mastering tasks throughout their day, week, month and year.

In order to succeed in today's global economy, the family firm needs to plan for change. This was what presenter Nate Young, president of NewNorth Center for Design in Business, told the audience at a Family Business Alliance event on "Innovation in the Family Owned Business."

Recently, the Family Business Alliance hosted a dialog between two generations: the “Now Generation” — those currently running the family business — and the “Next Generation” — those who may one day take over from them. The questions posed to the Now Generation panel were derived ahead of time from an audience comprised of 50 men and woman of the Next Generation of their family’s business. 

Everyone is talking about the initiative to attract and retain the next generation. But what if "attracting" and "retaining" isn't enough? What if we have to add another element into that mix — an "educating" element?

Let me introduce myself: My name is Ellie Frey and I am the new director of the Family Business Alliance. The FBA's vision is that the members of every family business in West Michigan have the strategies, tools and techniques to succeed generation to generation.