Cornell University's Smith Family Business Initiative and University of St. Thomas Family Business Center: A conversation with Dann Van Der Vliet and Jon Keimig. | The Family Biz Show Ep. 134

Where can family business owners turn when the hardest challenges aren't just about running the company—but navigating the family behind it?

You don't have to figure out the complexities of family business alone.

"Who can we talk to about the issues we can't discuss anywhere else?"

"How do we start conversations about succession before it becomes urgent?"

"How do we prepare the next generation without pushing them into the business?"

"How can we make better decisions together as our family and business grow more complex?"

"Everything is going well. Why should we start preparing now?"

This conversation shows you where to start.

In this episode of The Family Biz Show, Michael Palumbos sits down with Dann Van Der Vliet of Cornell University's Smith Family Business Initiative and Jon Keimig of the University of St. Thomas Family Business Center for an inside look at how university-based family business programs educate, connect, and support business families.

While their programs operate differently, Dann and Jon share a common mission: helping family businesses navigate challenges that extend far beyond day-to-day operations.

From educational programs and peer groups to research, community events, and opportunities for next-generation leaders, family business centers can give families something that is often difficult to find elsewhere—a trusted environment to ask questions, learn from other families, and have conversations they may have been avoiding.

Dann Van Der Vliet has spent more than two decades working in family business education. At Cornell, he has helped build an ecosystem connecting students, alumni, family business owners, researchers, practitioners, and family office executives through education, outreach, and research.