Family businesses start by creating something that nurtures culture, as the Yurman family has done. They then wrap the economics around that creation, allowing the art — and the values behind it — to endure across generations. CMG Partner Marty McConnell shares: “Business families that thrive across generations share a common trait: they know their ‘why’…”
While many family enterprises operate behind closed doors, the Stillers built their brand on stage and screen. Their personal history wasn’t hidden — it was refined, shaped, and retold in ways that created trust with their audience. Over time, that trust became their brand. This is the quiet power of storytelling in a family enterprise…
Across Canada, business families don’t just build companies — they build communities. They give generously to causes close to their hearts, and their philanthropy is multifaceted. But more than its breadth, what defines their giving is its character — sustained, personal, and woven into the family itself. And the numbers prove it…
Creativity Inc. is really about one simple core idea: that great companies are built less on brilliant ideas and more on environments where people can improve imperfect ideas together through the Braintrust model. This model works because the best leaders aren’t the ones with all the answers — they’re the ones who create environments where the truth surfaces quickly…
The growing rift between the Castel family and the founder-established governance structures highlights a premise that CMG sometimes sees in the family dynamics: A support system is worth investing in, and a family’s skills, capabilities, and communication need to evolve to adapt and support the family’s future…
Sharing a last name doesn’t automatically create shared purpose. In advising Canadian business families, CMG Principal, Quillan Quarrington, finds that owning a business alongside your family requires additional effort to find trust and alignment…
At a time when scale and speed are often seen as primary measures of success, Another Way by Dave Whorton and Bo Burlingham offers a thoughtful alternative — one that resonates with business owners, family enterprise leaders, and their advisors. Within the pages of Another Way, leaders of family businesses will find themselves in good company and be reminded to take pride in what only a few can do…
Creaghan McConnell Gould recently came across an incredible interview with the ever-entertaining David Rubenstein and the seldom-interviewed Abigail Johnson, the third-generation Chairwoman and CEO behind Fidelity Investments. Fidelity has been privately held and family-controlled since Johnson’s grandfather, Edward C. Johnson II, founded the business in 1946…
Less than one week after the launch of the 50th anniversary celebration for his revolutionary fashion house, Giorgio Armani passed away on September 24, 2025. He was 91. Known as “Re Giorgio” (“King Giorgio”) for his reign in the fashion industry, the illustrious Italian designer was the sole owner of his iconic company…
Like many family businesses, the Milstein family behind Burlington Coat Factory built their business the old-fashioned way — through hard work, grit, and passion. Creaghan McConnell Gould celebrates and commends these families for their dedication to their family business and the communities they serve…