The Family Business Governance Center (FBGC) hosted an exciting and instructive lecture by Ghassan Nuqul, vice chairman of Nuqul Group, one of the largest Arab conglomerates, bringing together 5,100 employees and exporting its products to over 45 countries worldwide.
Nuqul Group currently embodies two major holding entities; FINE Hygienic Holding (FHH) being the umbrella for paper mills, FINE hygienic paper companies and supporting industries; while The Promise Holding includes diverse investments in different sectors and modes.
Entitled “Corporate Governance and Institutionalization- The Case of Nuqul Group” was held at Talal Abu-Ghazaleh Knowledge Forum; Nuqul tackled the challenges of having to build a family business and guaranteeing its continuity.
“It is always a challenge to separate management from ownership, separate business finances from family finances and clarify duties, responsibilities and authorities of family members in addition to defining a clear strategy for future investments,” he said.
According to Nuqul, owners have an active role in leading the businesses through their vision and strategic guidance. “Owners do have the biggest responsibility especially in the field of leadership through their vision and their support to the management,” he said.
Separation of ownership and management, according to Nuqul, is a key issue because family members get too emotionally attached and relationships get involved and the decision to recruit better people comes in mind. According to latest statistics, 30% of family businesses survive the second generation.
“Only 20% make it to the third generation and 3% survive to the fourth generation and beyond,” Nuqul said. “90% of businesses in North America are family owned and nearly 35% of Fortune 500 companies are family firms.”
Nuqul gave a briefing on the Elia Nuqul Foundation which was established in 2008 as the Nuqul Family’s philanthropic arm with a mission to make a meaningful difference in the lives of Jordanians by providing them with enriching opportunities and skills to lead safe, healthy and productive lives.
