Caitlin reflects on her experience on a panel at the 2026 Family Business UK Conference
It was a privilege to join a panel at the recent FBUK conference to discuss the future of family business leadership.
The conference theme, “legacy meets leadership”, captured a challenge that many family businesses understand well. We have a responsibility to respect what previous generations have built while recognising that the business environment, the workforce and expectations of leaders continue to change.
As part of the next generation in a fourth-generation family business, I am very conscious that leadership will look different for me than it did for those who came before.
One issue I raised during the panel was the changing relationship between people and their employers. Previous generations often expected to spend much of their career with one organisation. Millennials and Generation Z have generally received different advice. Moving between roles is frequently presented as the best route to experience, progression and better pay.
This can bring fresh thinking into a business. People arrive with wider experience, different perspectives and ideas formed elsewhere. At the same time, it creates a challenge for businesses that depend on trusted relationships and knowledge built over many years.
Our discussion also touched on communication; meritocracy and the different routes people take into family business leadership. For me, the value of discussions like this lies in hearing how others are approaching the same questions.
Every family business has its own history and circumstances, but we can learn so much from one another as we work out what responsible leadership should look like for the next generation.
