Advising With Impact Certification
Advising in a Changing World
Family enterprises don’t exist in a vacuum. They are embedded in society, the economy and our environment. In today’s world, how a business addresses these emerging issues can have a significant impact on their short and long term success; while ignoring them can have negative repercussions for both the family and the business.
That’s why we developed the Advising With Impact certification for designated Family Enterprise Advisors, family business leaders and their advisors.
Our World is Rapidly Changing
Emerging issues are creating challenges and opportunities for all enterprises, including family enterprises where leaders are heads down focusing on the day-to-day. And these issues have the potential to impact an enterprise’s business, family and ownership systems today and into the future.
The Advising With Impact certification provides family enterprise leaders and advisors with a strategic framework to assess:
- WHY change is needed
- WHAT needs to change
- HOW to navigate the change
and tools and frameworks to approach:
- Global Trends, Social Impact
- Impact Entrepreneurship and Innovation
- People, Planet and Profit
You will learn how to guide your clients – or your family – through the challenges, recognizing opportunities, mitigating risks and helping them to figure out the next steps. In short, this certification will help you help them get it right.
Family businesses are embedded within society – their actions shape society and society shapes them. Family business advisors need to stay attuned to these dynamics and the changing environment in which all firms (including their own!) operate. This certification will equip advisors with the tools to think holistically and systemically about change in a complex landscape and incorporate practices that will have an impact for people, planet and profit with their clients.
Course overview from co-developer, Wendy Sage-Hayward
It gives the advisor the opportunity, the language, to talk to families about these big global conversations.
How will you benefit from taking the Advising With Impact program?
- Family businesses are increasingly being affected by today’s complex environmental, economic and sociocultural issues.
- More and more business families are looking to and relying on their trusted advisors and family leaders for help with these new challenges.
- Inevitable changes to the family, business and/or ownership systems require proper guidance to maximize impact and mitigate disruption.
Added benefits for certified Family Enterprise Advisors
- This specialized training pushes Family Enterprise Advisors (FEAs) to the front of the line as the best resource to support the journey.
- FEAs who complete this certification will receive a Certificate of Completion and seven (7) Continuing Education (CE) credits.
- We are proud to offer you a world class certification in a cutting edge area of your practice.
There’s no other certification of this caliber that is focused on advising business families who are navigating the pressing issues of today.
With world class experts to lead the way
Gaia Marchisio
Ambra Mazzelli
Robert Nason
Pramodita Sharma
Gaia is a family-enterprise researcher, consultant, educator, speaker and writer with over 25 years of impact across global family enterprises, academic institutions, corporations, public-sector organizations and others. She not only advises on and researches family enterprise, but is a fourth-generation successor in her own family business.
Gaia holds a Bachelor’s in Business Management from Bocconi University, and a Ph.D. in General Management from Università Degli Studi di Pavia (both based in Italy). Originally from Italy, she is a naturalized US citizen who speaks fluent English, Italian and Spanish.
Currently, Gaia is Adjunct Associate Professor at Columbia Business School. Until recently, she was Executive Director of the Cox Family Enterprise Center, the US’s first family business center, and the Aronoff Professor of Family Business at Kennesaw State University. Gaia has been a visiting scholar at educational institutions worldwide, including large Family Business Centers in Latin America, the Caribbean, Asia, Europe and the Pacific.
Ambra Mazzelli is an Associate Professor of Strategy and Organizations at SKEMA Business School. Originally from Italy, Ambra lived and worked in Kuala Lumpur (Malaysia), Boston (USA), Montreal (Canada) and Lancaster (UK). Before joining SKEMA Business School, she was an Assistant Professor at the Asia School of Business and an International Faculty Fellow and Research Affiliate at MIT Sloan.
Ambra’s research investigates the psychological underpinnings of firms’ strategic decisions. She is also interested in the role of entrepreneurship in society. Her work has appeared in numerous top journals, including Academy of Management Review, Journal of Management Studies, Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice and Long Range Planning.
Besides her research, she has actively and enthusiastically advised on more than fifty projects in large international firms and conglomerates, at both strategic and operational levels, and continues to consult for managers and executives at publicly listed companies and large private firms in Asia and Europe.
Robert Nason is a William Dawson Scholar and associate professor of Strategy and Organization at the Desautels Faculty of Management at McGill University. Robert’s research focuses on the role of entrepreneurship in society covering areas of family business, behavioral strategy, growth and the informal economy. His current research initiatives are particularly focused on entrepreneurship and economic inequality – examining entrepreneurial activity in contexts of poverty and wealth. Robert has received awards for research, including the Academy of Management Entrepreneurship Division’s Emerging Scholar Award in 2020 and teaching, including Poets & Quants Best 40 Under 40 MBA Professors (2022) and the Desautels Core Strategy MBA Teaching Award (2022).
Robert’s research has been funded by the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada (SSHRC) and the Fonds Québécois de la Recherche sur la Société et la Culture (FRQ-SC). His work has been published in leading academic outlets such as Academy of Management Review, Strategic Management Journal, Journal of Management, Journal of Business Venturing and Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice. In his commitment to research with practical relevance, Robert is actively collaborating in his research and its dissemination with non-governmental organizations, including the Family Enterprise Foundation in Canada and the Sustainable Livelihood Foundation in South Africa.
Dita is the Schlesinger-Grossman Chair of Family Business at the Grossman School of Business, University of Vermont. She is a visiting scholar at the Family Business Centers at Kellogg School of Management, USA and Indian School of Business, India, and is an advisory board member of the Jönköping International Business School (JIBS), Sweden.
Dita served as the editor of Family Business Review from 2008-2017. Her research on succession, governance, innovation, next generation commitment, entrepreneurial leadership and sustainability in/by family enterprises is published in over fifty articles and ten books. Since 2015, she has published Entrepreneurs in Every Generation & Patient Capital: The Role of Family Firms in Sustainable Business, and ten articles in journals like ET&P, FBR, JBE, JBR & JFBS. Pioneering Business Families of Sustainable Development is her most recent book. She is the co-founder of the Schlesinger Global Family Enterprise Case Competition (SG-FECC).
Gaia Marchisio
Ambra Mazzelli
Gaia is a family-enterprise researcher, consultant, educator, speaker and writer with over 25 years of impact across global family enterprises, academic institutions, corporations, public-sector organizations and others. She not only advises on and researches family enterprise, but is a fourth-generation successor in her own family business.
Gaia holds a Bachelor’s in Business Management from Bocconi University, and a Ph.D. in General Management from Università Degli Studi di Pavia (both based in Italy). Originally from Italy, she is a naturalized US citizen who speaks fluent English, Italian and Spanish.
Currently, Gaia is Adjunct Associate Professor at Columbia Business School. Until recently, she was Executive Director of the Cox Family Enterprise Center, the US’s first family business center, and the Aronoff Professor of Family Business at Kennesaw State University. Gaia has been a visiting scholar at educational institutions worldwide, including large Family Business Centers in Latin America, the Caribbean, Asia, Europe and the Pacific.
Ambra Mazzelli is an Associate Professor of Strategy and Organizations at SKEMA Business School. Originally from Italy, Ambra lived and worked in Kuala Lumpur (Malaysia), Boston (USA), Montreal (Canada) and Lancaster (UK). Before joining SKEMA Business School, she was an Assistant Professor at the Asia School of Business and an International Faculty Fellow and Research Affiliate at MIT Sloan.
Ambra’s research investigates the psychological underpinnings of firms’ strategic decisions. She is also interested in the role of entrepreneurship in society. Her work has appeared in numerous top journals, including Academy of Management Review, Journal of Management Studies, Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice and Long Range Planning.
Besides her research, she has actively and enthusiastically advised on more than fifty projects in large international firms and conglomerates, at both strategic and operational levels, and continues to consult for managers and executives at publicly listed companies and large private firms in Asia and Europe.
Robert Nason
Pramodita Sharma
Robert Nason is a William Dawson Scholar and associate professor of Strategy and Organization at the Desautels Faculty of Management at McGill University. Robert’s research focuses on the role of entrepreneurship in society covering areas of family business, behavioral strategy, growth and the informal economy. His current research initiatives are particularly focused on entrepreneurship and economic inequality – examining entrepreneurial activity in contexts of poverty and wealth. Robert has received awards for research, including the Academy of Management Entrepreneurship Division’s Emerging Scholar Award in 2020 and teaching, including Poets & Quants Best 40 Under 40 MBA Professors (2022) and the Desautels Core Strategy MBA Teaching Award (2022).
Robert’s research has been funded by the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada (SSHRC) and the Fonds Québécois de la Recherche sur la Société et la Culture (FRQ-SC). His work has been published in leading academic outlets such as Academy of Management Review, Strategic Management Journal, Journal of Management, Journal of Business Venturing and Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice. In his commitment to research with practical relevance, Robert is actively collaborating in his research and its dissemination with non-governmental organizations, including the Family Enterprise Foundation in Canada and the Sustainable Livelihood Foundation in South Africa.
Dita is the Schlesinger-Grossman Chair of Family Business at the Grossman School of Business, University of Vermont. She is a visiting scholar at the Family Business Centers at Kellogg School of Management, USA and Indian School of Business, India, and is an advisory board member of the Jönköping International Business School (JIBS), Sweden.
Dita served as the editor of Family Business Review from 2008-2017. Her research on succession, governance, innovation, next generation commitment, entrepreneurial leadership and sustainability in/by family enterprises is published in over fifty articles and ten books. Since 2015, she has published Entrepreneurs in Every Generation & Patient Capital: The Role of Family Firms in Sustainable Business, and ten articles in journals like ET&P, FBR, JBE, JBR & JFBS. Pioneering Business Families of Sustainable Development is her most recent book. She is the co-founder of the Schlesinger Global Family Enterprise Case Competition (SG-FECC).
Gaia Marchisio
Ambra Mazzelli
Robert Nason
Gaia is a family-enterprise researcher, consultant, educator, speaker and writer with over 25 years of impact across global family enterprises, academic institutions, corporations, public-sector organizations and others. She not only advises on and researches family enterprise, but is a fourth-generation successor in her own family business.
Gaia holds a Bachelor’s in Business Management from Bocconi University, and a Ph.D. in General Management from Università Degli Studi di Pavia (both based in Italy). Originally from Italy, she is a naturalized US citizen who speaks fluent English, Italian and Spanish.
Currently, Gaia is Adjunct Associate Professor at Columbia Business School. Until recently, she was Executive Director of the Cox Family Enterprise Center, the US’s first family business center, and the Aronoff Professor of Family Business at Kennesaw State University. Gaia has been a visiting scholar at educational institutions worldwide, including large Family Business Centers in Latin America, the Caribbean, Asia, Europe and the Pacific.
Ambra Mazzelli is an Associate Professor of Strategy and Organizations at SKEMA Business School. Originally from Italy, Ambra lived and worked in Kuala Lumpur (Malaysia), Boston (USA), Montreal (Canada) and Lancaster (UK). Before joining SKEMA Business School, she was an Assistant Professor at the Asia School of Business and an International Faculty Fellow and Research Affiliate at MIT Sloan.
Ambra’s research investigates the psychological underpinnings of firms’ strategic decisions. She is also interested in the role of entrepreneurship in society. Her work has appeared in numerous top journals, including Academy of Management Review, Journal of Management Studies, Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice and Long Range Planning.
Besides her research, she has actively and enthusiastically advised on more than fifty projects in large international firms and conglomerates, at both strategic and operational levels, and continues to consult for managers and executives at publicly listed companies and large private firms in Asia and Europe.
Robert Nason is a William Dawson Scholar and associate professor of Strategy and Organization at the Desautels Faculty of Management at McGill University. Robert’s research focuses on the role of entrepreneurship in society covering areas of family business, behavioral strategy, growth and the informal economy. His current research initiatives are particularly focused on entrepreneurship and economic inequality – examining entrepreneurial activity in contexts of poverty and wealth. Robert has received awards for research, including the Academy of Management Entrepreneurship Division’s Emerging Scholar Award in 2020 and teaching, including Poets & Quants Best 40 Under 40 MBA Professors (2022) and the Desautels Core Strategy MBA Teaching Award (2022).
Robert’s research has been funded by the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada (SSHRC) and the Fonds Québécois de la Recherche sur la Société et la Culture (FRQ-SC). His work has been published in leading academic outlets such as Academy of Management Review, Strategic Management Journal, Journal of Management, Journal of Business Venturing and Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice. In his commitment to research with practical relevance, Robert is actively collaborating in his research and its dissemination with non-governmental organizations, including the Family Enterprise Foundation in Canada and the Sustainable Livelihood Foundation in South Africa.
Pramodita Sharma
Dita is the Schlesinger-Grossman Chair of Family Business at the Grossman School of Business, University of Vermont. She is a visiting scholar at the Family Business Centers at Kellogg School of Management, USA and Indian School of Business, India, and is an advisory board member of the Jönköping International Business School (JIBS), Sweden.
Dita served as the editor of Family Business Review from 2008-2017. Her research on succession, governance, innovation, next generation commitment, entrepreneurial leadership and sustainability in/by family enterprises is published in over fifty articles and ten books. Since 2015, she has published Entrepreneurs in Every Generation & Patient Capital: The Role of Family Firms in Sustainable Business, and ten articles in journals like ET&P, FBR, JBE, JBR & JFBS. Pioneering Business Families of Sustainable Development is her most recent book. She is the co-founder of the Schlesinger Global Family Enterprise Case Competition (SG-FECC).
What you will learn
Designed by thought leaders in the field of Impact Advising, this multi-day certification was developed originally as continuing education for Family Enterprise Advisors but – due to its relevance to so many who advise, guide and lead family businesses – we have opened up registration.
This brand new certification will provide you with leading edge tools and knowledge aimed at assessing and responding to today’s most pressing generational, social, environmental and economic issues.
You will learn how to guide your family or family enterprise clients through their decision-making process and to support them as they evolve towards balancing value and profits.
Key learning outcomes include:
- Learning how to recognize current global trends and how they may impact the strategic and operational aspects of the family business.
- Exploring the pain points and key opportunities for family enterprises that shift entrepreneurial objectives towards solving socio-environmental challenges in addition to wealth creation.
- Discovering what and where changes may need to occur in a family business system that will help drive innovation on sustainability, value creation, diversity, equity and inclusion.
When and where is the course available?
The Advising With Impact certification is currently being offered in person only.
In Person
The in person offering of this course will take place over three full days and provides the opportunity to connect directly with instructors and other advisors.
February 28 to March 1, 2024 in Toronto: Apply now →
Refunds and Cancellations — Please read our Advising With Impact Refund and Cancellation Policy.
Registration, Price and Details
Member Discount
We offer preferred pricing for members of our community.
A Commitment to Learning
7 CE Credits will be granted to designated FEAs upon completion.
Preferred member pricing.
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Non-member pricing.