Insights/Family Business/Curated
What succession research says about handing over a family business
Four transition archetypes and eleven factors that separate the handovers that create value from the ones that quietly destroy it.
McKinsey & Company· 28 Feb 2026· 4 min
What the report says
- The research identifies four archetypes of CEO transition at family-owned businesses.
- Eleven factors are found to distinguish successful handovers from value-destroying ones.
- Preparation years ahead of the transition, not the announcement itself, does most of the work.
The CGK take
The Enjoyful Family Business Forum in February landed on the same point from the other side: estate planning read as a growth strategy rather than a will. Governance a family accepts before it is forced to is the cheapest capital it will ever raise.
Reported by McKinsey & Company · 03 Feb 2026. Summarised and annotated by CGK; the full text remains the publisher's.
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