45-819 Family Business
6 units, Carnegie Mellon University
Accounting for 80% of all businesses in the global economy, there is no more significant structure of enterprise worldwide than the family business. Studies show that family firms, on average, outperform and outlast non-family businesses. The family business also represents a uniquely complex enterprise to manage. This course is geared to students who are involved with management of a family business, whether their own or someone else's. The course will also be useful to those interested in family firms as prospective targets/participants in mergers and acquisitions, as well as students interested in a career supporting family enterprises via succession planning, estate planning, or through management consulting. Through a rich diversity of media including pop culture films and tv shows, readings, podcasts, and lectures and by exploring students' and guest speakers' own experiences, we will consider family systems, questions around ownership, sources of conflict and effective resolution, attracting and retaining family and non-family talent, estate planning and financing private enterprises.
Prerequisites: none listed
Offered: Fall 2026, Fall 2025
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