Editor’s note

We set out to significantly raise awareness of, and respect for, family entrepreneurship around the world. Barbara Murray passes the editorial baton to Suzy Bibko, and reviews the progress Families in Business has made since its launch

It's been 18 months, since Families in Business was launched – the product of a strategic alliance between Campden Publishing and the Family Business Network. I was excited – if not a little daunted – about the challenge ahead, and I felt privileged to be the founding Editor-in-Chief of the magazine. My job was to launch the magazine and to set the highest standards for the content and the quality of articles in the magazine. Having accomplished that, I'm now passing the baton to Suzy Bibko at Campden Publishing, so I wanted to take some time to reflect on what we have achieved since the magazine was launched.

Together we set out to create an indispensable resource for families in business - providing accessible, informative articles written about the unique issues family businesses face – from their own, unique vantage point. We wanted families in business to read about the lessons learnt by other families and their businesses over the generations, the success factors they found, the challenges they faced and how they were overcome.

We also wanted readers from the wider business world (educators, policy makers and governments) as well as family ­businesses to hear about the latest res­earch results, and to drive home the significance of their conclusions: family bus­in­­esses often report and demonstrate relatively superior growth, performance and governance practices in comparative studies in Europe and beyond.

We set out to significantly raise awareness of, and respect for, family entrepreneurship around the world. We were especially pleased to report the ­success achieved by the various lobbying associations around Europe in their efforts to alleviate tax and other ­succession burdens during generational ­transitions.

Eight issues later, we now have over 6,000 readers and we have covered family business stories and histories from dozens of countries, featuring families and businesses of all types, with a heavy emphasis on the larger, more complex multigenerational family enterprises. We have also drawn upon the considerable body of expertise contained within the professional advisory community, making their know-how available to families and businesses who use their ­services.

It is with a great sense of pride that I am now passing the editorial baton to my successor, Suzy Bibko. Suzy and I have been working together for over a year, developing the content of the magazine so that it reflects the sheer diversity that is encompassed in family business matters. I'll continue to help Suzy's team as a consultant editor in the future. I would like to take this opportunity to thank everyone at Campden Publishing and at the Family Business Network for their support and teamwork. I have really enjoyed working with everyone involved. My special thanks go to the many authors and families I have met and worked with. Sharing ideas and sharing learning is my addiction!

I would also like to throw out a challenge to families in business who are reading this: if there are experiences that your family and business has had throughout your history with lessons that you feel others could benefit from learning, do please get in touch with Suzy Bibko. We know that our readers appreciate reading about others' real stories and experiences most of all.