4/4/2021
Questions for family business successors
General information
1. Your name: Jan Cibulka 2. Your age: 26
3. Company name: VINO CIBULKA- PORTZ INSEL S.R.O.
4. Industry: Wine 5. Location: Mikulov 6. Year of foundation: 2005 7. Age of the owner: 56, 48, 26 8. Number of employees: 15 Questions
1. Is your company going through succession within the next 10 years? Yes 2. Does your family business have a family council in place? Yes
• Are family council meetings conducted in a formal or informal manner?
• Family councils are informal and are ad hoc. No topics are off limits. There is a general discussion, if there are any topics that must be discussed generally there is a consensus-based decision, however if someone feels strongly enough about a given topic, there is a consensual rule of VETO. VETO may be overruled by a vote if all other members vote against the veto.
3. Has there been a selection of a clear successor in your business? There is a clear
succession to the business, however it is informally merit-based. The work results of the successor must be on par with expectations, otherwise theoretically there could be a decision to exit the business instead of passing it on.
• How much responsibility does the successor currently hold over daily operations?
(Please describe your functions and assign a percentage) Percentual responsibility for daily operations is currently decreasing due to growth of company and need for specialization. The overall succession strategy is to grow the company to the point where theoretically the entire family could leave the business and change their role into the role of investors with a managerial hierarchy in place.
Therefore, growth of the business is decreasing direct responsibility, which eventually will flip back to the successor. Currently I am responsible for marketing, sales, and strategic planning, to judge this in percentage is difficult, but as we are 4 family members, I would say I currently represent 25 percent.
• Are business strategy decisions made by the incumbent, successor or both?
Strategic decisions are mostly made by the successor with discussion from
incumbents and final approval of the family council. Tactical decisions are made by the successor independently.
• If such decisions are made by the incumbent and successor are business
perspectives aligned or differ? Perspectives tend to differ between incumbent and successor, as different things are being considered, however generally discussion will bring a consensus of opinion that is more leaning towards the successor.
• Will you make drastic changes to the business strategy after the transfer of
ownership has been completed? If so would you describe the strategy you plan on implementing to be more aggressive or conservative than the current one? No, I do not plan to make drastic changes to the business strategy, as currently we are, more or less, operating on my strategy. If everything goes according to plan, then I will take a combined strategy, diversifying part of the portfolio into conservative and venturing on more aggressive campaigns simultaneously. Actions cannot be too high-risk, as the pensions of the incumbents must be taken into consideration.
4. In your own words please describe what you believe contributes to the competitive advantage that family businesses hold over non- family business
In my opinion, it is ownership that allows a family business to make the correct business- oriented decisions, however only if goals are properly aligned. Non-family-owned business can get stuck in the wrong perspective, managers can follow hidden agendas, care for business success will always be second after personal success. In the case of family-owned businesses with aligned business-oriented goals, there should be no
discrepancy between personal success and the success of the business. Also, theoretically family-owned businesses should be leaner in their decision making and in execution, as there shouldn’t be a need for hierarchical oversight methods, and operations could be streamlined due to the personal responsibility of the given family member. Furthermore, I would say that family businesses have a great branding advantage over corporations in branding, family businesses are “the real deal” and “authentic”, which is becoming more and more valued in a globalized economy.
5. Are there criteria for hiring family members in your business? (education, experience) Immediate family members have de-facto right to be a member of the family business, however there are work expectations that must be fulfilled. If education or experience is necessary to ensure fulfilling this work expectation then it is expected, however there are no formal requirements.
6. Are stakeholders aware of your succession plan?
In a way. We present ourselves as a family business and as such there is logical continuity to the next generation. There is no need to inform on the details.
7. Is succession planning part of your businesses overall strategy or are they unrelated?
Succession is part of the current business strategy. Growth facilitating the building of core employee capabilities, and phasing out of incumbents.
8. Do you intend on keeping the business family owned/operated?
Not in the future, however it all depends on the position of the business in relation to the strategy. High-level management might be brought in to free up hands to focus on more higher-level strategy, or investors might be brought in to accelerate growth. Currently neither of these options are on the agenda, however they are not taboo.
9. How many years have you been active in your family business and how have your responsibilities evolved?
I have been part of this company since 2006. In the period between 2006 and 2012 I worked only during weekends and during summer holidays. From 2012 to 2019 I worked weekends, summers, plus part-time long-distance work. And from 2019 I work full time.
In the beginning I was responsible for small tasks such as cutting grass, cleaning tennis courts, etc.
Between 2010-2015 I was responsible for a summer restaurant as a cook/floor manager, furthermore, I drove the tractor all throughout the summers and was part of the crew responsible for green works in the vineyards.
2016-2019 I was responsible for the bottling line, which was the first function that was created in our new expansion, no other operations apart from wine production were currently existing.
2019- I am working full time, currently I am partially still responsible for the bottling line, as I have the greatest knowledge of the functioning and of maintenance of the machine, however currently this is being phased onto technicians and onto a new
production manager. However, 90 percent of my responsibilities are sales and marketing.
10. Are your main competitors family businesses or non-family businesses? Please briefly describe your competitive position in your industry.
The wine industry is very competitive, with many local and international players, and with many substitutes. Generally speaking, we compete on two wine markets:
supermarket, and restaurant/private clients. On the supermarket market, competition is generally non-family owned, as these companies are usually of massive size, and
frequently owned by multinational mother companies (Dr. Oetker and Bohemia Sekt). On the gastro/private market the same behemoths are present, however here the winners usually are smaller family owned businesses.
