MODELS OF SUCCESS
Smart Growth

By Barbara Spector

Earlier this year, Tyson Foods, a family-controlled, publicly traded company known for its chicken, pork and beef products, announced it would explore the sale of its Sara Lee frozen bakery business and other "non-protein" brands. Tyson also said it would acquire AdvancePierre Foods, a supplier of packaged meat sandwiches.

At about the same time, JAB Holding Co., which invests for Germany's Reimann family, announced that it planned to sell high-end shoe companies Jimmy Choo and Bally International. A few weeks prior, JAB had acquired Panera Bread Co.; it also owns Krispy Kreme Doughnuts and other food companies. The Reimanns decided that selling pricey shoes among all that food was a misstep.

Both these family enterprises rethought their holdings and concluded they needed to get on a smarter growth track. They both understood that while diversification is a good idea, a company must diversify in a way that leverages its strengths.

BEST PRACTICES

Uber Lessons on Ethics

By Eve Tahmincioglu

The latest developments in the Uber saga, including a legal complaint against the former CEO and shareholder feuding, are just another sign of how the car-sharing company could have benefited from strong ethics guidelines.

And to be effective those guidelines would have to have strong board oversight, maintains Patricia Harned, Chief Executive Officer of the Ethics & Compliance Initiative (ECI).

“Uber is very quickly becoming the poster child for what happens,” she adds, when companies don’t make investments in and commitments to ethics and compliance programs. And that’s the case for public or private companies.

BRANDING

TIKI Distances Itself From Protestors

By April Hall

When images of white supremacists carrying TIKI Brand torches during their Aug. 12 protest in Charlottesville, Va., hit the news, the family-owned business that makes the torches took to social media.

The torches were used by hundreds of young white men, who descended upon Charlottesville for the “Unite the Right” political rally that included members of the Ku Klux Klan, neo-Nazis and the “alt-right.”

The day of the protest, the company posted the following statement on its Facebook page:

“TIKI Brand is not associated in any way with the events that took place in Charlottesville and are deeply saddened and disappointed. We do not support their message or the use of our products in this way. Our products are designed to enhance backyard gatherings and to help family and friends connect with each other at home in their yard.”