Penn State Behrend Family Business Conference

The Center for Family Business at Penn State Behrend will host its annual Family Business Conference Oct. 8 and 9 at the Metzgar Center and the Erie Bayfront Convention Center.

For a full schedule, or to register, visit the Center for Family Business website.

The topic of this year’s conference is “The Succession.” Much of the programming will focus on how family-owned businesses navigate the transition between generations.

“We want to cause family businesses to ask questions and have conversations before they need to,” said Christopher Harben, the Toudy Chair of Entrepreneurship and Family Business and the academic director for the center. “Too often, you see family businesses get to a trigger point where they have to do something, but they’ve never thought about it before that point.”

Speakers at the conference will include:

• Joseph Lucot, the CEO of Guttman Holdings and a longtime executive at Giant Eagle and Alcoa.

• Bradley Franc, CEO of The Succession Solution and an author, attorney and certified public accountant.

• Sherry Garner Brumbaugh, president and CEO of Garner Trucking.

• Mike Malley, chief strategy officer at Malley’s Chocolates.

Jacob Jones, the center’s director, will provide a year-in-review update and a legislative update with state Sen. Dan Laughlin and state Rep. Jake Banta.

The Center for Family Business is an outreach unit of Behrend’s Black School of Business. The center’s programming and peer-support network leverage the expertise of Black School faculty to help members navigate issues related to succession planning, family dynamics, financing and other topics. Learn more at the Center for Family Business website.