Wharton Global Family Alliance Announces Research Partnerships with IESE Business School, Instituto de la Empressa Familiar and SDA Bocconi School of Management
Research relationships with European business schools will lead to enhanced learning opportunities for families worldwide

Philadelphia, May 10, 2006 -- The Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania announced that the Wharton Global Family Alliance (Wharton GFA) has joined in a research partnership with SDA Bocconi School of Management and IESE, two of the leading business schools in Europe, and Instituto de la Empressa Familiar (IEF), a not-for-profit family business association in Spain. The partnerships will lead to the development of high level research, thought leadership and a major curriculum of study related to family business governance, wealth management, and philanthropy.

With the signing of this agreement, Wharton GFA expands its relationships with innovative organizations focused on family business issues. Formed in partnership with CCC Alliance, the leading US family office consortium, the Wharton Global Family Alliance has also recently established ties with the Wealth and Giving Forum, a peer network of private philanthropists.

“These partnerships represent the joining of powerful research institutions dedicated to serious analysis of the most pressing issues facing family businesses in Spain, Europe and globally,” said Prof. Raphael (Raffi) Amit, Chairman of the Wharton GFA Executive Committee. “Combining our resources will create a formidable knowledge base that will prove beneficial not only to family firms but to the communities in which they are invested.”

Prof. Amit and his fellow Wharton GFA faculty research committee members are studying such topics as corporate governance, business succession, wealth management and societal wealth generation. By joining with Bocconi, IESE, IEF, and other research partners, Wharton GFA facilitates dialogue between academia and leading families throughout the world. These efforts have already resulted in scholarship—including working papers and case studies—that, in turn, spur new insights into family business.

“This cross-Atlantic relationship is a step forward in getting families to use the social wealth that their enterprises create to increase employment, productivity, national competitiveness and economic and social advancement, transcending the traditional boundaries of nationality, culture and geography,” said Professor Julia Prats, head of IESE’s department of entrepreneurship.

Bocconi will share its research capabilities as well as access to a deep network of leading families in Europe, such as AIdAF, an association of more than 180 Italian family businesses. “We look forward to collaborating with the Wharton Global Family Alliance in a rigorous research agenda since we are fundamentally interested in economic advancement and innovation” said Prof. Alberto Grando, Dean of the SDA Bocconi School of Management.

“The agreement is an opportunity to develop research and disseminate the findings jointly, and hence allow us to better manage family businesses in the USA and Europe. The cross-cultural exchange of experiences of experts from institutions will solid reputations in this field and from both sides of the Atlantic is an assurance of the kind of projects that will be carried out,“ said Fernando Casado of IEF.

The research partnerships are intended as a first step with the expectation among all parties that collaborative activities have great potential to deepen in the months and years ahead.

About the Wharton Global Family Alliance and the Wharton School
The Wharton Global Family Alliance ("Wharton GFA") is a private forum for global families that control substantial enterprises and resources to engage with leading faculty researchers at the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania. The mission of the Wharton Global Family Alliance is to enhance the marketplace advantage and social wealth creation contributions of global families through thought leadership, knowledge transfer, and the sharing of ideas and best practices. Wharton GFA focuses its research in key issues affecting family businesses research in the areas of wealth management, philanthropy, and family business governance, combining two highly credible and complementary sources of insight - practical expertise of highly successful global families and rigorous scholarly analysis from Wharton faculty.

The Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania — founded in 1881 as the first collegiate business school — is recognized globally for intellectual leadership and ongoing innovation across every major discipline of business education. The most comprehensive source of business knowledge in the world, Wharton bridges research and practice through its broad engagement with the global business community. The school has more than 4,600 undergraduate, MBA, executive MBA, and doctoral students; more than 8,000 annual participants in executive education programs; and an alumni network of more than 81,000 graduates.

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