Henokiens Activities

Congress 2019 Hénokiens in UK

The 2019 Henokiens annual Congress which took place from 25 September to 29 September in London, Stourhead and Bath, saw the following highlights:

• The 2019 Annual General Meeting of the Association : Key points :
  • Presentation of the new member Champagne Billecart-Salmon (1818)
  • Presentation of the event to be organized in 2020 by the Association and le Château du Clos Lucé to celebrate the 10th anniversary of the Leonardo da Vinci Prize
  • Presentation of the actions and projects developped by the Next Gen group of the Association
  • Updating of the « Compendium" project of the Association (writting and gathering of case studies on Henokiens members) : 17 studies published so far by the end of 2019 all in freely accessible on the Henokiens website
• Presentation of the Hoare family history since the foundation of the bank C.Hoare & Co. by Richard Hoare in 1672
• Visit of the Hoare family historic places in London (Fleet Street), Stourheard and Bath

9th Edition of the Leonardo da Vinci Prize

The Leonardo da Vinci Prize, co-founded by the Henokiens Association and Le Château du Clos Lucé, has been awarded this year to the British company DC Thomson, one of the leading media organizations in UK, still entirely family own business since five generations, employing over 1,800 people across its seven subsidiaries in 15 different locations across the UK and overseas and achieving a turnover of 294 millions euros.

The ceremony took place on 26 September 2019 in London in the prestigious Two Temple Place in the presence of Lord Wilson of Dinton who gave the Prize to Mr. Christopher Thomson, Deputy Chairman of DC Thomson, Mr. Tokuichi Okaya, President of the Henokiens Association, Willem van Eeghen, vice President of the Henokiens Association, François Saint Bris, President of le Château du Clos Lucé- Parc Leonardo da Vinci, Alexander Hoare and Rennie Hoare partners with C.Hoare & Co., the members of the Henokiens Association and their guests.

Experts from The Witten Institute for Family Business met Henokiens Japanese members in April 2019

A group composed of researches from the Witten Institute for Family Business (WIFU = Wittener Institut für Familienunternehmen) went to Japan in April 2019 to explore the differences and similarities between Japanese Family Businesses and German Family Businesses. For this, they interviewed local members of academic institutions as well as representatives of spiritual organizations (e. g. Buddhist monks, Zen Masters, Shinto priests etc.) and multi-generational business families among which six Henokiens company members : Gekkeikan, Nakagawa Maschashichi Shoten, Okaya, Toraya, Yamamotoyama and Yamasa.

The learning journey was intended to address three major topics in its specific cultural constellation in Japanese society: first, issues pertaining to succession; second, structures and strategies of family and business governance and, third, established routines of conflict prevention and resolution within business and the family taking into consideration that surveys on the longevity of firms reveal that many of the oldest family companies in the world are Japanese.

WIFU & M. Tokuichi Okaya
(OKAYA)

WIFU & M. Haruhiko Okura
(GEKKEIKAN)

WIFU & M. Michio Hamaguchi
(YAMASA)

The Witten Institute for Family Business (WIFU) is Germany's pioneer and guide for academic research and teaching of the specific features of family businesses. The foundations for the consistent interdisciplinary orientation of WIFU were laid when it was founded in 1998, with the installation of three professorships – business management, psychology/sociology, and law. This configuration of disciplines, the scientific mirror image of the very make-up of family businesses, has enabled WIFU to gather technical expertise that is unparalleled in the field of family enterprise. Since 2004, the Institute's sponsors – an exclusive group of 75 family businesses – have enabled WIFU to act with and on behalf of family businesses. WIFU makes use of these unique European-wide conditions to systematically advance research and teaching of this particular organizational form and to develop innovative approaches for solving related problems. With currently 18 professors, WIFU has been contributing significantly for the last 20 years to the trans-generational sustainability of family businesses.

WIFU & M. Kahichiro Yamamoto
(YAMAMOTOYAMA)

WIFU & M. Jun Nakagawa
(NAKAGAWA MASASHICHI SHOTEN)

WIFU & M. Mitshiro Kurokawa
(TORAYA)

The WIFU researching team who participated to this journey was composed of Prof. Dr. Rudolf Wimmer, Prof. Tom Rüsen, Prof. Dr. Heiko Kleve, Dr. Tobias Köllner and Dr. Sigrun Caspary.
More information of this research :
Witten Institut for Family Business (WIFU)
Alfred-Herrhausenstr. 50
D-58448 Witten (Allemagne)
E.mail : wifu@uni-wh.de
Tel: +49 2302 926-513

6-7 October 2018 : Henokiens Next Gen meeting in Bordeaux (France)

The last meeting of the Next Gen Association of the Henokiens was held on October 6 and 7, 2018 in Bordeaux, home city of the company member Catherineau (1750).

This meeting allowed the group to discover Catherineau led today by Anne-Sophie and Marie Catherineau, 8th generation of the founding family. It was also the opportunity to attend a presentation given by Mrs. Amélie Villeger (University Bordeaux ), to visit the city of Bordeaux and its famous vineyard and, above all, to allow participants to share their own experiences and challenges while linking personal connections thus preparing the future of the governance of the Association.

15 September 2018 : Henokiens - INSEAD "Family Enterprise Day"

« Adapt or Fail & Safeguarding Family Values and Traditions for the Next Generation »

Fontainebleau, September 15, 2018

The Henokiens Association and INSEAD organized their traditonnal « Family Enterprise Day », the occasion for MBA's and Alumini to discover the draft of the « Henokiens Super Case II » a new research developed by INSEAD on 15 Henokiens focussed on three central themes :

• How Family Assets, Values and Traditions Are Transformed into Long-Term Business Strategies,
• How Owner-Managers Have Professionalized the Management of Family Firms to Ensure Long-term Family Governance,
• How Business Families Adapt to a Changing Environment through Innovation and Digitalization.

During this "Family Enterprise Day" 3 Henokiens new Cases Stories were also presented :

• The Amarelli Case, written by Salvatore Tomaselli Professor of Business Policy and Family Business at the Università di Palermo.
• The Pollet Case, written by Eddy Laveren, Professor at the University of Antwerp and Vincent Molly, Professor at the Strategy Innovation Department at KU Leuven, Co-academic director of the Family Business Community at Antwerp Management School. The Case was presented with Mr. Jean-Nicolas D'Hondt, Administrator of Pollet SA.
• The Banque Hottinguer Case written by Rania Labaki, Associate Professor of Management at EDHEC Business School and Director of the EDHEC Family Business Centre. The Case was presented with Jean-Conrad Hottinguer, Vice-Chairman of the Supervisory Board of Banque Hottinguer.

11 September 2018 : participation of Willem van Eeghen at the 4th annual « Family TALK » in San José (Costa Rica)

Cuestamoras (www.cuestamoras.com) – Costa Rican multi-family owned company – organized on September 11, 2018 in San José its annual conference for families in business. Cuestamoras are pioneers in the region in terms of family governance and three years ago implemented a conference called "familyTALK" to which they invite families in business from Central America who are invited to participate in hearing best practices from content experts in three main topics: family business, new generations, and entrepreneurship.

Interested to learn best practices from the Henokiens Association, the 4th « Family Talk » invited Willem van Eeghen, vice President of the Association, to give a presentation on the goals and ambitions of the Henokiens, the principles necessary for long-term success, together with first hand experience on his own family company.

Other speakers of the conference were:

Mrs. Magda Uribe Sàenz, Director of the executive board of Cuestamorras, who participated to a panel on the following theme « New Generations and Entreprenership » along with Elena and Antonio Barnabo Uribe

Mr. Victor Messalles Cebria, vice President of "Grupo Empresarial de Supermercatos S.A. » participated to a panel on the following theme « Knowing the Patriarch» along with Monserrat and Victor Messales Vargas

Dr Daniel Papero from Browen Center- Georgetown University in Washington DC gave a lecture on « Process of intergenerational transfer of knowledge»

Cuestamoras is running in to its 3rd generation. Recently the company which sold its Central American supermarket chain stores to the world's largest supermarket concern Walmart, is now concentrating on (sustainable) Energy, Health, Forestry and Urban Development. The owners, Uribe-Sàenz, are a very innovative, enterprising and hospitable family.

Congress 2018 Henokiens in Munich

The Henokiens Association visiting the Planetarium of the Munich Deutsches Museum, a museum founded in 1903 by Oskar von Miller great grand fatther member of Martin Schoeller, member of the Henokiens Associaton and organizer of the 2018 Henokiens Congress.

Gathering of the Henokiens at the Schoeller family house at lake Stenberg

The 2018 Henokiens Annual Congress, which took place in Munich (Germany) from 27 June to 1st July 2018 saw the following highlights:

The Henokiens Association General Meeting

The key points:

• The President of the Henokiens, Tokuichi Okaya, welcomed the entry to the Association of a new Japanese member, the company Yamamotoyama (1690) and said that it has set itself the goal of welcoming a new member each year during his term. He also thanked the new board members for accompanying him in his mission (Willem van Eeghen- Bob de Kuyper / Vice Presidents, Giovanni Aldinio Colbachini / President of the Italian Section, Christophe Viellard / Treasurer, Julian von Möller / Next Gen Responsible and Anne-Sophie Catherineau / Next Gen Representative).
• The company Yamamotoyama made a presentation of its activities as well as another Japanese member, the company Nakagawa Masashichi Shoten (1716).
• The vice President of the Association, Willem van Eeghen, indicates to the Assembly that, seeing the growing number of membership applications likely to meet the membership criteria (still fairly lax), the board wishes to strengthen the rules for application by giving a priority to companies whose activities are representative of a specific and unique business, regardless its size and/or companies from countries where there are no member as yet.
• "Project Compendium" of the Association (writing and compilation of Henokiens member case studies): 12 studies have been achieved so far (Gekkeikan, Toraya, Yamasa, Hoshi, VMC, Van Eeghen, Friedr.Schwarze, Garbellotto, Hottinguer, Revol, Catherineau an d Mellerio) and 2 new cases are in preparation (Amarelli and Pollet). Simultaneously, INSEAD is finalizing the Super Case n°2 on the Henokiens, a research aiming to bring together a set of mini-cases of members on various topics pre-defined by INSEAD. In addition a booklet will be made giving a concise and compressed version of the case studies produced so far. This eventually may be ordered by our members for their own use as well as for free distribution to business partners, relatives and friends.
• The next Henokiens General Meeting will take place during the 2019 Henokiens Congress which will be organized in London by the member C.Hoare & Co.

Lectures given by Prof. Dr. Sabine Rau, Peter May Family Business Consulting, Dr. Wolfgang Heubisch, Former Minister for Education, Bavaria and Martin Zeil, former Minister for Econcomic Affairs, Bavaria.

• Sabine Rau
  Some quotes from her presentation under the theme « Tradition in Innovation »:
  1. The world is changing – and so are weTradition is not the worship of ashes, but the preservation of fire." Gustav Mahler
  2. Without innovation no survival… without survival no tradition
  3. What we know:
     
     • Innovation is main driver of growth
     • Longevity depends on innovationFBs invest less in innovation but are more efficient users of investment.
     • FBs receive fewer patents.

• Dr. Wolfgang Heubisch
  Some quotes from his presentation under the theme « Ludwig II, a visionary between fairy-tale and high-tech »:
  1. During the reign of King Ludwig II, Bavaria entered the era of industrialiation with its stronghold in future technologies such as electrical engineering and chemistry. Using state-of-the-art technology the fairytale-king created perfect illusions in his castles, experimented with countless gadgets and thus was – in many ways – a pioneer of progress.
  2. In his castles, he insisted that the latest technology be installed and the latest construction methods be used. Thus, instead of talking about fairytale castles we should rather call them "high-tech-castles". The king was an avid reader of the polytechnical newspaper and in 1867 even visited the world exhibition in Paris. He wanted the latest inventions to be integrated in his buildings and he needed them to realize his visionary ideas.

• Martin Zeil
  Some quotes from his presentation under the theme "From the Sky to Heaven on Earth – Welcome to Bavaria":
  1. Bavaria has a particularly great number of companies and enterprises which are still controlled by families.
  2. Family owners care for their employees far beyond the legal requirements and do everything to keep their staff even in times of economic decline or crisis.
  3. We always have to keep in mind that far more than 70% of all employees in Bavaria work for family-owned businesses.
  4. Family-owned businesses are extremely loyal to their place of business and their traditional environment. Even though many of them have been doing business in foreign countries before globalization has become a buzzword they do everything to keep employment at home.
  5. Family-owned companies are the best insurance against unfriendly takeovers, not always, but the mentality of families tends to resist to quickly giving up a company for the maximum proceeds.

8th Edition of the Léonardo da Vinci Prize

The Leonardo da Vinci Prize, co-founded by the Henokiens Association and Le Château du Clos Lucé, has been awarded this year to the German company Schwan-STABILO, a 100% family owned group with three independent divisions: "Writing instruments", "Cosmetics" and "Outdoor". The company, one of the most successful family firms in Germany today, achieves a turnover exceeding 700 millions euros with more than 7000 employees and 22 sites across the world.

Prof. Wolfgang Heckl - Tokuichi Okaya - Sebastian Schwanhaüßer
Dr.Markus Söder- François Saint Bris

The ceremony took place on 28 June 2018 in Munich in the Deutsches Museum in the presence of the Prime Minister of Bavaria, Dr. Markus Söder, who gave the trophy to Mr. Sebastian Schwanhäußer, Executive Board Member Schwan-STABILO, Mr. Tokuichi Okaya, President of the Henokiens Association, Willem van Eeghen, vice President of the Henokiens Association, François Saint Bris, President of the Château du Clos Lucé- Parc Leonardo da Vinci and Professor Dr. Wolfgang M. Heckl, Director General Deutsches Museum.

Congress 2017 Henokiens in Vienna

The 2017 Henokiens Annual Congress,
which took place in Vienna from 21 to 25 June in Vienna (Austria)
saw the following highlights:

Visit of 4 suppliers to the Imperial Court.: Lobmeyr (Cristal), Scheer (Footwear), Köchert (Jewelry) and Jungmann (Fabrics).

Lobmeyr

Scheer

Köchert

Jugmann

Lectures given by Professor Joseph Penninger, geno-and biotechnologist, Director of the Institute of Molecular Biotechnology on the theme of « Evolution of the traditions » and Dr. Michael Hirt, director of the « Austrian Institute for management innovation », author of the book « Management Revolution ».

Joseph Penninger

Michael Hirt

Henokiens panel best practices : « Breaking traditions in order to keep traditions » moderated by Michael Hirt with the participation of Peter von Möller (MöllerGroup), Willem & Jeroen van Eeghen (Van Eeghen & Co. BV) and Wolfgang Köchert (A.E. Köchert).

The 2017 Annual General Meeting :

• The meeting took place in the frame of the Henokiens Annual Congress organized this year by Wolfgang, Florian and Christoph Köchert which family company A.E. Köchert, member of the Henokiens Association, was founded in1814.

• The presentation of the new French member of the Association, the company H. Beligné & Fils (cutlery trade) founded in 1610 in which the 14th generation is now leading the company.

• A presentation by INSEAD of its academic works and the study they made in 2016 involving 24 members of the Henokiens Association developing themes such as Family Assets, Roadblocks, Succession and Innovation.
• The election for the next 2 years term (2018-2019) of the new Henokiens President, Mr. Tokuichi Okaya, who will become the first ever Japanese President of the Association since its creation 36 years ago.

• The announcement of the next General Assembly of the Association which will take place within the framework of the Henokiens 2018 Congress and will be organized in Munich by German member, the company Schoeller.

7th Edition of the Leonardo da Vinci Prize

The Leonardo da Vinci Prize, co-founded by the Henokiens Association and Le Château du Clos Lucé, has been awarded this year to the Austrian company Swarovski, a family company 100% owned by the Swarovski family, founded in 1895 (highest quality crystal and jewelry, long range optical products and grinding tools) achieving today a global revenue of 3, 37 billion Euros, employing approximately 32.000 people and selling its products in 170 countries.

The ceremony took place in Vienna in the Stadtpalais Liechtenstein. The trophy was presented by the former President of the Republic of Austria, Mr. Kark Heinz Fischer, to Mrs. Marisa Schiestl-Swarovski, Chairwoman of the Shareholders Meeting and 5th generation member of the family of the same name, in the presence of Willem van Eeghen, President of the Henokiens Association, François Saint Bris, President of the Château du Clos Lucé-Parc Leonardo da Vinci, of the Cardinal Christoph Schönborn, Archbishop of Vienna and of Mr. Georg Kapsch, President of the Austrian Federation of Industries (Industriellenvereinigung).

President van Eeghen conference in China

On 7 and 8 November 2016 the 3rd China Family Business Succession Forum dedicated to succession and sustainability took place in Beijing in presence of approximately 2000 people from 22 nationalities, 800 family companies and various research institutes.

According to a report of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, in the next 5-10 years, nearly 3 million private companies in China shall be facing the issue of power transition. Last century China experienced a long period of state controlled companies owing to the regime of the Cultural Revolution when every private company was nationalized. Later, during last century when government control gradually subsided, family companies started to appear again and now they are experiencing a period of a first transition of ownership to the 2nd generation.

This is taking place on an unprecedented scale and advice is sought from older family companies and institutions in the West and Japan.

From that perspective, the President van Eeghen was asked to share with the audience the unique « Henokiens experience » in the field of succession and sustainability. This formidable occasion to witness transition in progress has shown a great interest among this big group of participants.

President van Eeghen conference in Turkey

Istanbul, October 19, 2016 :

Willem van Eeghen, President of the Henokiens association, gave a speech on the story, missions and actions of the association in Istanbul during the « Startup Summit for Family owned Businesses » organized for the CEO Club by CAPITAL leading business magazine in Turkey.

95% of the Turkish economy is dominated by private enterprises!

The Henokiens at the INSEAD "Family Enterprise Day"

Fontainebleau, September 24, 2016 : the « Henokiens super case », an in depth research developed for the first time ever by INSEAD into the secrets of longevity of 25 company members of the association, was presented at the INSEAD « Family Enterprise Day ». During that one day event, MBA's and Alumini learned from the compeling stories of some of the 200 years old family run firms and listened to topics such as «How to value family assets in family businesses » « How to reduce or eliminate roadblocks in family businesses « How to balance long-term planning with succession » and « How to innovate ».The event was attended by approximately 100 participants.

2016 Congress in Rotterdam

The 2016 Henokiens Annual Congress, which took place in Rotterdam from 8 to 12 June, was organized by our Dutch member De Kuyper Royal Distillers.

The Congress saw the following highlights:

• Meetings and visits of 4 Dutch family companies:

HUISMAN, worldwide lifting & subsea solutions

LELY, innovator in agriculture

DAMEN SHIPYARD, international shipyard group

VAN OORD, specialist in dredging, marine engineering and off shore wind projects

• A lecture given by Prof. John Davis o fHavard Business School, "The Rise and Fall of Family Wealth"

• A visit of Royal DistillersDe Kuyper

• The 2016 Annual General Meeting
  The main points:

President Willem van Eeghen welcomed 4new members. Three Japanese: Nakagawa MasashichiShoten (1716), Yamasa Corporation (1645), Zaizo Lumber (1690) and one French: Catherineau (1750).

President Willem van Eeghen draws the attention of the assembly to the growing attractions of the the Henokiens Association which is seen and recognized today as a reference for family company matters. This interest forour association gives enhances substance to its missions (sharing of experiences, enhancement of family companies as a business model). It leads to key issues for the future regarding its capacity to follow up this trend in term of availability and organization.

TheHenokiens "Next Generation group" is now operational and ready to develop specific actions while being involved in the governance of the association.

The "Compendium" of the association (writing and gathering of case studies on Henokiens companies) includes today 7 cases (Hoshi, Toraya, VMC, Van Eeghen, Friedr. Schwarze, Garbellotto and Mellerio), a new one has been completed (Gekkeikan) and another one is in preparation. Furthermore, a Henokiens "Super Case", including all information already published on a great number of Henokiens companies, is currently underway by INSEAD (presentation of the Henokiens "Super Case" on September 24, 2016 during the Family Entreprise Day organized by INSEAD)

The next Henokiens General Meeting will take place during the 2017 Congress organized in Vienna between 21 and 25 June 2017 by its Austrian member A.E. Köchert.

6th Edition of the Leonardo da Vinci Prize

The Leonardo da Vinci Prize, co-founded by the Henokiens association and Le Château du Clos Lucé, has been awarded this year to Van Oord, a Dutch family company employing 5000 people and a leading specialist in dredging, marine engineering and offshore projects (oil, gas and wind).

The ceremony took place in the Rotterdam city hall. The trophy was presentedto Mr. Pieter von Oord, CEO of Van Oord, by the Mayor of Rotterdam, Ahmed Aboutaleb ,in the presence of the Henokiens President, Willem van Eeghen, François Saint Bris, the President of le Château du Clos Lucé-Parc Leonardo da Vinci, Professor Pursey Heugens of the Rotterdam Erasmus University and Mr. Hans de Boer, President of the Confederation of Netherlands Industry and Employers (VNO-NCW).

2015 Congress in Italy

The 2015 Henokiens Annual Congress which took place in Italy from 17 to 21 June was co-organized by 3 Italian members:
Cartiera Mantovana,
Stabilimento Colbachini
and Guerrieri Rizzardi.

The Congress saw the following highlights:

• Visit of the Cartiera Mantovana plant
• Visit of the Colbachini bell museum
• Visit of the Guerrieri Rizzardiwine cellar
• Annual General Meeting of the association

Main points of the 2015 annual General Meeting:

• The President Willem van Eeghen recalled that the creation of the Next Generation is crucial for the future of the associationas it is the time now to prepare the tomorrow Henokiens management. The new Henokiens generation will have at the same time to come up with its ideas on the size and the messages of the association, its own organization and actions for the coming years. It will probably take a few years for being operational but the process is now launched.
• Regarding the "Compendium", the President also recalled the goals of a project (writing and gathering of cases studies on Henokiens companies) which has been developed to promote the Henokiens messages to universities, business schools and, more generally, young entrepreneurs. The next event organized around this action will be the presentation of 4 new members' case studies (Mellerio, Hoshi, Friedr.Schwarze and Garbellotto) during the Henokiens/INSEAD day on September 5^th, 2015 at INSEAD
• The Assembly unanimously agreed to renew the mandate of the President van Eeghen and his board for the next 2 years (2016 & 2017)

5^th edition of the Leonardo da Vinci Prize

The Leonardo da Vinci Prize created by the Henokiens association and the Château du Clos Lucé, has been awarded this year to Bracco Group an Italian company employing 3300 people in three major industries: Imaging, Pharma and Health services.

With a worldwide presence, this company 100% owned by the founding family where the 4^th generation is already working, has always dedicated with the whole family its energy and passion to human health ensuring that technological innovation will always bring a better quality of life. The Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) is a part of Bracco's system of founding values. It has always been sustained and pursued in the company approach and enterprising policy. The Bracco foundation is part of this family and company vision. Major initiatives of the CSR are promoting welfare and solidarity schemes, supporting employees with health prevention, building relationships with the land to create social innovation and sustainability, working closely with associations, local authorities and NGOs, circulating expression of culture, science and art. The Leonardo da Vinci Prize has been awarded to Mr. Fulvio Renoldi Bracco, Head of the Global Business Unit Imaging of Bracco Imaging S.p.A,by Mrs. Emma Marcegaglia, Vice President of Marcegaglia SpA and President of Business Europe.

2014 Congress in Tokyo

The 2014 Henokiens Annual Congress
which took place in Tokyo
from 23 to 27 October was organized by company member Toraya.

The Congress saw the following highlights:

• Visit to the Toraya Koko, one of the places where Toraya makes its pastries in a natural environment.

• Annual General Meeting of the association.

On the occasion of this meeting, the President Willem van Eeghen has reiterated that the association and its members should be resolutely turned towards the future because if, in his view, the histories of the Henokiens are their "ear mark" and their difference, history must not be considered as an end to itself. In this perspective, he drew two directions in which the association was primarily to take action:
- Encouraging tomorrow's managers to enter into family businesses
That is the purpose of the "Compendium" project launched by the Henokiens for communicating on members issues, in a educational perspective.
- Acting as a role-model in and for tomorrow's economy
When one knows that a great majority of young family companies do not survive beyond the 3rd generation, the President believes that the Henokiens association has the legitimacy to encourage younger family companies to establish activities with a long term perspective. This is the purpose of the "Leonardo da Vinci Prize" which simultaneously aims to highlight transmission and continuity in family businesses
At the meeting, the President also presented the new logo of the Henokiens to the members and announced the launch of the new website of the association.

• 4th edition of the Leonard da Vinci Prize

The Leonardo da Vinci Prize created by the Henokiens association and the Château du Clos Lucé, has been awarded this year to the Japanese company Kai Corporation. This centenary family company manufactures more than 10,000 different kinds of cutlery and cutting tools, ranging from kitchen utensils to cosmetic accessories and surgical implements.
With a worldwide presence, the company, 100% owned by the founding family and in which the 4th generation is already represented, has since its inception, remained faithful to the "3 thanks": "Thanks to its predecessors", "Thanks to its customers and partners" and "Thanks to its family and former and present employees" and to the basis of its philosophy: "humanity over productivity". For the Henokiens and Le Château du Clos Lucé, Kai showed that it had all the qualities to continue its industrial adventure while continuing to pass on its values and expertise to future generations.
The Leonardo da Vinci Prize has been awarded to Mr. Koji Endo, President of Kai Corporation, by Princess Imperial Akiko de Mikasa in the presence of Mr. Hirofumi Nakasone, MP and Japanese former Minister of Education and Foreign affairs.

• Princess Akiko de Mikasa conference

Princess Akiko of Mikasa gave a conference to the Henokiens members and prestigious guests on the theme of preservation and transmission of traditions in a country increasingly attracted by modernity.

She particularly emphasized in her lecture on the importance of the transmission of the traditional Japanese know how to children and the preservation of the natural environment, especially in large cities, as the historical and religious monuments that are the soul of her country.

• Organization by Toraya of a Henokiens exhibition in Tokyo

Toraya brought together objects and images representing the history and activities of the 44 Henokiens members for a 15 days' ephemeral exhibition in its Roppongi shop in midtown Tokyo.

"Family Enterprise Day" Henokiens-Insead
"Re-inventing the Business across generations"

On June 14, 2014 the INSEAD -Wendel International Centre for Family Enterprise- organized together with the Henokiens Association its "Family Enterprise Day" on the theme "Re-inventing the Business across generations".

During this working session, lead by Professor Morten Bennedsen, Academic Director of the Wendel International Centre for Family Enterprise, co-chair of the Hoffmann research, the following questions were raised: Does every generation need to reinvent itself and the business? What are possible strategies for the family and the business in a transitional phase? How can families recruit and welcome new generations to the family business?

Along with some Henokiens members, professors from different universities and business schools such as INSEAD, IMD, Pepperdine University, ICN Business school, University of Palermo, Rotterdam School of Management, presented Henokiens case studies of 4 different Henokiens company members (Viellard Migeon & Cie, De Kuyper Royal Distillers, Van Eeghen Group and Toraya). The cases provided practical expertise on cultural values of family businesses offering competitive advantage as well as values derived from the legacy of family businesses developed through centuries of family ownership.

The end of the "Family Enterprise Day" offered the opportunity to Randel Carlock, Senior Affiliate Professor of Entrepreneurship and Family Enterprise at INSEAD, to lead a round table discussion with a panel of Henokiens Next Generation members and MBA students on next generation perspectives.

The session was attended by INSEAD MBA students and Family Business Alumni, members of family owning businesses and those personally concerned with the role they might eventually play. It was a great success as many of the participants, especially from the Next Generation, had the opportunity to find answers to their questions, discuss best practices and finally share their thoughts and feelings with others experiencing similar dilemmas or challenges. The Henokiens hope to continue organizing similar meetings in the future with academic institutions on actual themes of interest to young and mature family companies and in particular to the young next generations league