Venice
Day 1
Heading straight from Munich, Claire and I took a flight to Venice to attend the Family Business Network’s International Summit. In full disclosure, this was our first FBN event. Paige had attended several of the events in the United States but never anything abroad so we were excited to see what the week in Venice would bring. After checking into the Hilton Molina Stuckey (where the conference was taking place), we unpacked and headed to dinner at a wonderful Italian restaurant overlooking the canal. I enjoyed a caprese salad, seafood pasta, and tiramisu. It was the perfect meal to start our trip in Italy.
Day 2
Before we arrived in Venice, we had to preselect what activities we wanted to attend on the first day of the Summit. We were able to choose from a selection of speakers and visits to local family businesses. I decided to attend the visit to the Rubelli Group. The Rubelli Group is a family-owned company that manufactures and sells its fabrics to wholesalers and retailers while also offering other furnishing products. Because my aunt and uncle own a fabric wholesale distribution company, I thought this would be the perfect opportunity to check out the competition. The Rubelli showroom in Venice is located on the first two floors of a palazzo that has been in the Rubelli family for many years. Rubelli family members occupy the third and fourth floors of the palazzo. The building was both impressive and spectacular highlighting Venetian elegance and architecture. Currently, the 6th and 7th generations (father and one son) are managing the family business. The duo were kind enough to explain the ins and outs of their family business and how they have been able to keep a successful business family-owned and operated over many decades. It was also interesting to hear them talk about how the European fabric market compares to the fabric market in the States. The tour ended with a fabulous catered lunch, a bellini, and a boat ride back to our hotel.
For the afternoon, Paige had set up a photo shoot for us (Paige, Claire, and I) to do in Venice. Because we were staying on a smaller island across the canal from San Marco, we had to take a private boat taxi across the water to meet up with the photographer. While I am certainly not comfortable in front of a camera, it was even worse having to pose in front of gobs of tourists. But we got it over with pretty quickly and I know that I will be grateful for the photos and memories.
After our photo shoot and a bit of shopping, we headed back to the hotel for a cocktail party hosted by FBN. We networked and overall had a nice evening meeting new people.
Day 3
The second day of the conference consisted of various small group sessions and speakers. I had the opportunity to hear the CEO of Fiat speak as well as attend a case study of the Lunelli Group – an Italian beverage company (produces prosecco, wines, grappa, etc.) One of the main topics during the case study of the Lunelli Group was their family rules about the next generation entering into the family business. I, and many others in the room, were shocked at how difficult they had made it for members of the next generation to work in the family business. For example, before entering into the family business, the family member had to have a bachelor’s degree in business, engineering, or some other degree that was relevant to the family business, they had to work outside the family business in a multi-national corporation and reach manager level, and they had to know at least three languages (Italian + 2 others). And this was just to name a few. In my opinion, I would think this would deter most family members from wanting to work for the family business but maybe that is the point.
Late in the afternoon, I decided to take a boat into San Marco to walk around and explore Venice. Because it was mid-October, I was expecting Venice to not be too crowded with tourists. I was wrong. The city was jam-packed with tourists, which made it a bit of pain to walk through the small cobblestone streets.
That evening, FBN put on a Venetian Gala dinner at the Grande Suola della Misericordia, which is a beautiful venue in the northern section of Venice. While the boat ride took 40 minutes to get there, which I will admit was too long, the venue and ambiance of the dinner was worth it. It was fun to see 500 people from all over the world dress up in Black Tie and mingle in a 16th century building. The party started out with glasses of prosecco and a cocktail hour and then guests enjoyed a seated 3-course meal. After dinner, we headed back to the hotel and enjoyed a couple drinks at the rooftop bar.
Day 4
On the third and final day of the conference I attended a Q&A session with a family member of the Mars family (think Mars bar & Wrigley gum) as well as a small group discussion on the power of paradoxical thinking. I had read about paradoxical thinking in Stephen Covey’s 7 Habits of Highly Effective People so I was excited to be able to discuss the concept in a small group setting and see the different ways it can be applied in the business world. In the afternoon, I attended a breakout session with the owners of La Doria, an Italian company that specializes in canned tomatoes.
The final evening’s festivities were really the highlight of the week. In preparation for the Carnival Ball, Paige had rented a 18th century Venetian ball gown to wear, while Claire and I wore black dresses with beautiful masks that we had purchased in Venice a couple days before. We arrived to the venue via boat and I feel like I cannot adequately put into words how beautiful the building was. The party was thrown at the Palazzo Pisani Moretta, a Venetian residence dating back to the 15th century and owned by the Pisani Family ever since. The Palazzo was located directly on a canal and had the most beautiful and ornate architectural details. The party was thrown on three different levels with the first level having a trumpet and greeter dressed in traditional 18th century Venetian attire, the second floor having a quartet and actors waltzing around the room, and the third floor just a place to drink and mingle. Eventually food was set out on floors two and three and let me say that this was some of the best food I have ever eaten. The various buffets included a seafood buffet, a cheese buffet, a pasta buffet, a salad buffet, and a dessert buffet. All of the food was of impeccable quality and I ate my little heart out. After drinks and dinner, a DJ was set up on the bottom floor and played music until 2:00 am. It was definitely one of the most magical parties I have ever attended.
