Business families’ secret to succession is when boss/dad/mum learns to let go

NICHOLAS Jacob was once approached by a 94-year-old Hong Kong client to plan for succession as the client’s sons – 69 and 71 at the time – could not agree on how the business should be run.

Jacob has few equals in Asia when it comes to succession planning. Specialising in catering to the lofty circles of ultra-high-net-worth families in Singapore and the region, London-based Jacob is described by his firm, Forsters, as “the godfather of Asian family governance work”. Yet even Jacob’s expertise was no match for the inevitability of time.

The client died before an external chief executive officer could be found to run the business for the antagonistic siblings. The business eventually split, and is now “worth a fraction”, Jacob says. The case boiled down to a man who toiled six days a week and built a successful business, which collapsed after he died.