V3 Group donates S$3m to SMU to establish professorship in family entrepreneurship

Singapore

LIFESTYLE and wellness products firm V3 Group, headed by OSIM founder Ron Sim, has committed S$3 million to setting up the V3 Professorship in Family Entrepreneurship at the Singapore Management University (SMU).

The inaugural professorship was set up in partnership with the university's Business Family Institute (BFI), of which Mr Sim has been a Founding Family member since 2013.

It will support research and programmes on best practices in family entrepreneurship.

These include areas such as the creation of shared family values and effective succession planning, resources to encourage innovations and entrepreneurship in families, as well as family wealth management and investments.

The professorship was launched at the BFI's fifth anniversary gala dinner celebrations on July 27.

It will be awarded to an outstanding SMU faculty member who will contribute to the development of family entrepreneurship through research, teaching and engagement with industry, said V3 in a press release on Tuesday.

"The family unit is the most vital and sustainable unit of society. In order for family continuation to exist, and longevity and legacy to be built, family entrepreneurship is key," said Mr Sim.

"I am confident that through this newly established V3 Group Professorship in Family Entrepreneurship, SMU will be able to generate more research insights and develop relevant programmes on family entrepreneurship, and make a positive and meaningful impact on business families across the region."

SMU president Arnoud De Meyer said that the university is looking forward to continuing its longstanding partnership with Mr Sim and the V3 Group.

"This gift will strengthen BFI's knowledge base and its research on issues pertinent to business families, thereby cementing BFI's position as South-east Asia's pioneer regional business family-centric institute focused on addressing the needs of business families in the region," he pointed out.

A commemorative book titled The 4Gs of Business Families was also launched by Grace Fu, Minister for Culture, Community and Youth, at the dinner. It features interviews with 34 business families from 10 countries across the Asia-Pacific, Europe and the United States.