Family Business Forum LATAM 2026 to bring together business families from four countries in Monterrey
INSTITUTIONAL COMMUNICATIONS | EGADE BUSINESS SCHOOL
Business families from Australia, France, Colombia and Mexico will share experiences on growth, succession and governance at the Family Business Forum LATAM 2026, to be held on October 8 and 9 in Monterrey.
Under the theme Growth & Governance, the 11th edition of the forum will examine how family businesses can grow without compromising continuity or the legacy built across generations. The event is organized by the Institute for Enterprising Families for Mexico and Latin America (IFEM) at Tecnológico de Monterrey, one of the Centers of Excellence of EGADE Business School.
The program will bring together members of the Dennis, Mulliez, Carvajal, and Clariond families, along with representatives of Grupo BeFra, to share decisions related to business expansion, the involvement of new generations, and the continuity of their enterprises.
Growing without losing continuity
Among the international cases is the Dennis family, whose business legacy began in Australia in 1960 with a small civil engineering consultancy and today includes one of the country’s leading privately owned residential property development companies.
Representatives of the French Mulliez family will also participate. The family is associated with one of Europe’s largest family-owned retail and distribution groups, which includes brands such as Auchan, Decathlon and Leroy Merlin.
From Colombia, Cristina Carvajal will share the experience of an organization with more than 120 years of history, six generations of continuity and a presence in 12 countries.
Mexico’s participation will include a panel featuring the Clariond family, as well as a session with Luis G. Campos, founder of Grupo BeFra, which comprises companies such as Betterware de México, Jafra Cosmetics, and Tupperware LATAM.
“We believe that successful business families, as they work toward continuity, draw on the past to act in the present and respond to society’s challenges with an eye to the future. This is especially relevant under current conditions: there are challenges, but also opportunities to continue generating progress,” said María Fonseca, director of IFEM.
Governance as a tool for growth
The forum will also address the role of governance, understood as the structures and rules through which a business family organizes decision-making, defines responsibilities and prepares for continuity across generations.
The opening keynote will be delivered by Claudia Binz-Astrachan, an affiliated researcher at Jönköping University in Sweden and co-author of Money & Generations: A Guide for Enterprising Families and Their Advisors.
In addition, Cristina Cruz, director of the IE Center for Families in Business in Spain and associate editor of Family Business Review, will deliver a keynote address.
The program will also include panels, workshops and networking activities, as well as visits to Cuprum, Frisa, Merco and Trayecto (GTM-Larmex) to learn firsthand about growth, operating and innovation models used by family businesses in the region.
Over its first ten editions, the Family Business Forum LATAM has brought together more than 900 families from 16 countries and 25 Mexican states. The event is designed for members of business families, shareholders, executives, board members, next-generation leaders and professionals involved in the continuity and development of family enterprises.
The full program and registration are available at familyforum.tec.mx.
