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Case Study

Carvajal: Building a holistic family enterprise

By Peter Vogel and Anouk Lavoie Orlick

7 pages

May 2024

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Reference: IMD-7-2438

The Carvajal case is based on interviews with four family members and executives of Carvajal S.A., one of Latin America’s leading family businesses. The case focuses on how, over the span of 120 years, the Carvajal family built a holistic family enterprise to govern both its business and its family ownership structure. The system includes the typical governance attributes of a large family enterprise – including a family council, shareholders’ assembly and family constitution – and in addition, it puts special emphasis on entrepreneurship and social and economic welfare. Yet, with the family expanding in size and scattering geographically, the Carvajal family must continue to innovate and adapt their family enterprise model. The case explores the particular challenges related to family governance, ownership and CEO succession. It details how Carvajal established NextGen programs and fostered entrepreneurship as a “glue” to bind the family together. It also shows how Carvajal achieved collective impact by aligning the purpose of the business with the purpose of the family foundation, the family council and the wider family enterprise. From a broader perspective, the case illustrates how to manage family governance issues in a multi-generational family enterprise by understanding and applying the mechanisms that are available, and by maintaining a healthy balance between family leadership and independent governance.

Learning Objective

To explore how to solve complex family governance issues in multi-generational family businesses and master the structural tools that are available to help maintain coherence and unity.
To find a “glue” that will bind family members together and keep them interested in the family enterprise.
To discern how to achieve a healthy balance between family leadership and independent governance.
To observe how a purpose-led family enterprise focused on social and economic development can be built.
To analyze how mature family enterprises continue to grow and evolve.

Keywords

Family Business, Governance, Ownership, Family Office, Family Council, Family Constitution, Succession, Chief Executive Officer Selection, Board, Development, Education, Philanthropy, Entrepreneurship, Next Generation, Conflict Resolution, Decision Making, Environmental Social and Governance, Sustainability, Corporate Social Responsibility, Responsible Production

Settings

South America, Colombia
Carvajal, Manufacturing, Paper and Pulp Products, Manufacturing, Packaging and Containers, Consumer Goods, Furniture, Information Technology
120 years

Type

Field Research

Available Languages

English

Related material

Teaching note, Video

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Case reference: IMD-2656 ©2025

Summary

The Handtmann case examines the co-CEO leadership model in the context of family business. Based on interviews with three key executives – the co-CEOs and the President of the Advisory Board – the case focuses on how Handtmann handled the leadership transition to the next generation. In Case B of "Co-CEOs at Handtmann: Can the Family Business be led in Tandem?" the focus shifts to the next generation. Markus Handtmann and Valentin Ulrich, cousins from the fifth generation of the founding family, have been appointed as co-CEOs. They must now learn to work together in tandem. The president of the advisory board, who is the father and uncle of the new CEOs, respectively, has stepped down from leading the company and now embraces a supporting role. Case B explores strategies for designing effective co-leadership partnerships. It also highlights the importance of complementarity in successful tandems. Lastly, the case presents the foundational elements that enable co-CEOs to succeed in family firms.

Reference IMD-2656

Organization Handtmann Group

Industry Construction and Engineering, Industrial Engineering;Manufacturing, Machinery

Available Languages English

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