R. Alexander Singh Grewal is Vice President of the Greran Family Office. As next generational leader, Singh Grewal was interested in a program to help map out both his career and his vision for the portfolio of investments within the family office specialties of Aviation, Energy and Real Estate. After his father Randeep Singh Grewal's experience at Family Office Wealth Management, he knew he could find what he was looking for at Harvard Business School in the Rising Generation in the Family Enterprise program.
Why did you choose to attend this program?
I chose to attend this program because I wanted to absorb as much content as I could related to family business, but specifically for someone in my position who is next in line to lead the family business. This program did exactly that, but also had the added benefit of putting me in a room with several people in similar situations as me. This allowed me to build a network of people who I can talk to and get advice on how they approached several factors of running a family business that I deal with today.
How would you describe the program's value to someone considering it?
I believe the program's value lies in two different aspects: educating rising generation members through case studies of real-life family businesses and the issues they dealt with, and introducing those same rising members to people in their same situation. Given the wide variety of backgrounds and industries that exist in both aspects, I think anyone from any family business who is part of the next generation will gain immense value from the program.
How did the faculty contribute to your learning experience?
The faculty's main contribution was explaining the case studies and facilitating healthy conversation about the mistakes made in the cases and guiding us towards what the best solution would be, including sharing the current status of these family business and even using their network to bring some of the people in from the case to share their firsthand opinion. They also offered a comprehensive action plan to ensure the longevity of your family business. All of this combined with their passion and knowledge on the subject made for an entirely unique and incredibly engaging, interesting course.
What impact has this program had on you since you attended?
This program has had a massive impact on me as I have brought the strategies recommended in the program into our current family business practices. In fact, we have incorporated the program into our family trust as mandatory attendance for future rising generation family business members. Additionally, I am still in contact with several of the other participants in the program to this day.
What surprised you most about the experience?
The most surprising part of my experience was finding that whether you operate in Asia, Europe, America, or Africa, and whether your industry was energy or restaurants, every family business runs into the same core issues. These issues are imperative to address sooner than later to secure the future of the family business.
Is there anything else you’d like to share about your experience?
I would like to encourage anyone in a similar situation to apply to the program as it is an expedited way to learn exactly what to do and not to do when running a family business. This program can help you develop longstanding healthy habits for your family business, preventing any consequential issues long before they have a chance to exist.