2024 Signature Event: Clearing the Path for Outside Leadership

Some successful family business owners attribute their company's success and family harmony to their willingness to trust "outsiders." In this session, understand the motivation and humility of three siblings who cleared the path to welcome a non-family CEO and independent board of directors to secure their family business for future generations.   
 
Keynote Speaker:
 


Matt Nielsen, Vice President Strategic Initiatives, Nielsen-Massey Vanillas Inc. 
 
Matt Nielsen is a third-generation owner and executive for Nielsen-Massey Vanillas Inc., Managing Director of Nielsen-Massey Vanillas International LLC and Managing Director of Nielsen Real Estate BV. The company’s headquarters is in Waukegan, Illinois with manufacturing facilities in Waukegan, Illinois and Leeuwarden, The Netherlands.
 
Matt is a graduate of Gettysburg College and holds a Certificate of Professional Achievement in Family Business Leadership and Governance from Northwestern University’s Kellogg School of Management, Evanston, Illinois.
 
He is currently Vice President – Treasurer and Director of the Nielsen-Massey Foundation; Treasurer and Director of the Specialty Food Foundation; Director of The French Pastry School’s Curriculum Advisory Board; and a member of the Loyola University Family Business Center.
 
Matt lives in Lake Bluff, Illinois with his wife, Amy, and their son, Tyler. In his free time, Matt enjoys spending time with his family, golfing, riding his motorcycle and cooking, particularly authentic, competition BBQ.
 
About the Moderator: DWH