Lawyer, Gärde Wesslau Advokatbyrå, Sweden

Sessions: Day 2, Track A Tax and law issues in ownership transfer: European experiences from a business law perspective

Gunnar Hjertquist has been working as a business lawyer in private practice since the mid-1970s, and has developed many international client relationships. He has in this connection also been active as a director on the boards of Swedish subsidiaries of overseas parent companies. Gunnar Hjertquist has also been working as a receiver for five years in the early 1990s.

, State Secretary, Ministry of Enterprise, Energy and Communications, Sweden
Photo: Pawel Flato

Sessions: Day 1, Plenary 2 Influence of taxes on ownership transfers, ”The Swedish view”

Deputy Prime Minister, Minister for Enterprise and Energy and party leader of the Centre Party.

Areas of Responsibility: Business development
Issues relating to business development, small and medium-sized companies, supply of capital, entrepreneurship, simplification of rules, issues relating to patents and innovation, cooperative enterprise and general conditions for enterprise growth.

Chairman, Kinnarps Holding AB, Sweden

Sessions: Day 2, Track B Critical issues in transfer processes: Ownership and governance changes, A pratical tool to improve the leadership transfer

Partowner of Kinnarps Holding AB and member of the Jarlssons’ Family. Daughter of founders.
Executive MBA, Stockholm School of Economics 2004-2006.
Overall responsible of Kinnarps’ Corporate Culture and Corporate Governance.

Kinnarps is a family driven Swedish company offering workspace interior solutions, with some 200 showrooms all over Europe. Kinnarps has full control over the complete chain from sourcing of raw materials, production, logistics, delivery to installation and after-service.

Dr, Executive Director, FBN Sweden, Sweden

Sessions: Day 1, Track D Consequences of ownership transfer for the business firm: Financial perspectives
Day 2, Track C Next generation and ownership transfer: Competence development for new owners/managers, ”Owner´s Education”

Dr. Annelie Karlsson is the Executive Director of FBN Sweden, a network of owner families. She teaches in leading family business education program in Europe and at leading business schools in the USA, Europe and in the Baltic Countries. Over the years, she has also been invited by prominent business owning families in Asia, Europe and the USA. Her facilitation work within these family businesses have included establishing effective ownership and governance structures for private and listed family businesses. She has also contributed to the establishment of education programs for young owners and facilitated succession processes in small and large families.

Annelie earned her doctorate at Stockholm School of Economics (SSE) and has held a position as professor in Family business and management at IMD, Switzerland. Today, her academic home is the Centre for Advanced Studies of Leadership at SSE where her teaching and research interest are in family enterprising, ownership and governance. Through a socio-anthropological perspective she develops a framework for understanding how owner families – building on their history, wealth and family values – are dominant actors in creating value for society (not only themselves) – through their different enterprising activities.

Prof. Dr. Chair for Family Business, WHU Otto Beisheim School of Management, Germany

Sessions: Day 2, Track B Critical issues in transfer processes: Ownership and governance changes, ”Managing the changes of complexity when transferring the family firm: An application of the complexity theorem of corporate governance in family businesses”.

Prof. Dr. Sabine B. Klein, born in 1962, holds a chair at the INTES-Institute for Family Business at WHU, Otto Beisheim School of Management in Vallendar, Germany. Dr. Klein, a third generation family business member, worked several years in her own family’s firm before she started her academic career. After having taught at the university at Trier, she was visiting research fellow at INSEAD, France. Later she went to EBS in Wiesbaden, Germany, were she led the newly founded European Family Business Center, before she joined WHU in January 2010.

Dr. Klein’s academic interest is especially to look at the interface of the family and the firm. Topics like corporate governance as well as family governance on one hand, and leadership and strategy on the other are of foremost interest for her. Dr. Klein wrote the first textbook on family businesses, now in the third edition. Apart from that she published in various journals, such as Family Business Review, Entrepreneurship Theory & Practice, Entrepreneurship & Regional Development, Small Business Economics, and Journal of Business Research. Dr. Klein teaches at bachelor, master and MBA level, both family business and non-family business topics. Dr. Klein is a founding member of ifera (international family enterprise research academy) and ifera’s past-president. She serves on several boards as reviewer.
Dr. Klein is married and mother of three nearly adult children.

Chairman, SME-committee, Confederation of Swedish Enterprise, Sweden

Sessions: Day 1, Planery 1 Welcome and opening of the conference

Mr Magnus Larsson is an entrepreneur and has started several companies and served in different positions within the IT sector since early 1980.

Mr Larsson has a University degree in Economics specialized in Accounting .

Today Mr Larsson runs Expander Wireless Nordic AB as its managing director. He is also chairman of the board in Partner Development Center Sweden AB.

Mr Larsson is a board member of Confederation of Swedish Enterprise and chairman of the SME Committee in the Confederation.

Mr Larsson is vice chairman of Connect Sweden and board member of Almega, IT & Telecom

Professor, University of Antwerpen, Belgium

Sessions: Day 2, Track D Consequences of ownership transfer for the business firm: Growth implications, ”Transfer of family businesses and its impact on firm’s debt and growth rate”

Eddy Laveren is Professor of Financial Management and Entrepreneurship at the University of Antwerp (Belgium) and Executive Professor at the University of Antwerp Management School. He’s a member of the scientific steering committee of the Belgian Knowledge Centre for SME Financing (BeCeFi). He teaches several entrepreneurial financial management courses. His research can be situated in the field of financial management and performance of SMEs and family firms.

Attorney, Eubelius, Belgium

Sessions: Day 2, Track B Critical issues in transfer processes: Ownership and governance changes

Jozef Lievens has been a family business consultant in Belgium since 1976. He is an associate professor at the HU Brussels and a co-founder and managing director of the Belgian Institute for the Family Business and the Belgian FBN chapter. Jozef is also a Fellow of the American Family Firm Institute.

Lawyer and partner, Ros Petit, Spain

Sessions: Day 2, Track A Tax and law issues in ownership transfer: European experiences from a business law perspective

Xavier Martorell is a lawyer with extensive knowledge in family-owned business, since the majority of his clients are family-owned or privately held companies. He specializes in corporate counselling and business transactions, acting in the areas of business and corporate law as well as real estate law for a significant number of the aforementioned companies, several of which are large multinationals. He has ample experience in cross-border assignments and has provided advice to many Spanish entities investing abroad as well as non-resident companies wishing to set up a business in Spain.

He holds a degree in Law from the University of Salamanca and is a member of the Barcelona Bar Association. He also holds a postgraduate degree in Business Management and Administration from IESE Business School. Xavier joined Ros Petit after having expanded his experience in a number of other law firms. He lived for some time in Paris and London. He speaks English, French, Spanish and Catalan.

He has taken part as a speaker/visiting lecturer in many seminars and business schools courses.

Professor, Managing Director, Dutch Centre for Family Businesses, Netherlands

Sessions: Day 1, Track B Critical issues in transfer processes: Succession as role transitions

Ilse Matser is managing director of the Dutch Centre for Family Businesses since 2007. She is also professor of Family Business Management at Windesheim University of Applied Sciences. Her research can be situated in the field of strategic management and governance of family firms and SME’s.