SDSU Business Forum Director Named President-Elect of Family Firm Institute

Contact: Randy Carmical, Director of Communications
(619) 594-0206 Randy.Carmical@sdsu.edu

SAN DIEGO, Monday, October 30, 2006 – San Diego State University’s College of Business Administration announced today that Carmen Bianchi, director of its Entrepreneurial Management Center (EMC) Business Forum, has been chosen as president-elect of the Family Firm Institute (FFI).  The announcement was made at the FFI’s annual conference October 25-28 in San Francisco.  The FFI is the premier organization in the U.S. for professionals specializing in family business.

Bianchi has been a family business consultant since 1991.  Her expertise lies in family systems and the relationship between family, business ownership and the professional roles within a family firm.  She teaches in the graduate business program on Family Business Management and also is the principal of Carmal & Associates, a consulting firm.

“As president, I would like to be the institute’s ‘servant leader,’ to open the doors internationally and take the organization global,” said Bianchi.  Her term will consist of one year as president-elect, two years as president, and one year as ex-officio. 

Bianchi is a fellow of the FFI and has been a member for 17 years.  Throughout her time with the organization, she has held many positions: she served on the Board of Directors for three years, was chairman of the International Committee and the Awards Committee, was a member of the Networking Committee and a mentor for the Certificate Program.

Bianchi has been a presenter at most of FFI’s annual conferences and has written proceedings for the conferences.  At this year’s conference, Bianchi presented on family business education, university-based family business centers and the success of family councils.  Gail Naughton, dean of SDSU College of Business Administration, was also a guest speaker at the conference, as well as SDSU Center for International Business Education and Research Managing Director Mark Ballam.

Throughout her career as a family business consultant, Bianchi has been invited by numerous national and international organizations to speak on family business issues.  She has worked in Lebanon, Finland, Canada, Italy, Australia and South Africa; has served as a facilitator for family business retreats and conflict resolution; and has been an advisor on a variety of strategic business issues.  Earlier this month, Bianchi and SDSU College of Business Dean Gail Naughton traveled to Hong Kong to conduct a Family Business Forum in partnership between SDSU and Chinese University of Hong Kong.

Bianchi and Naughton were both recently honored as “Women Who Mean Business” by the San Diego Business Journal.

About the Family Firm Institute
The Family Firm Institute was founded in 1986 by a group of professionals and family business executives who recognized the need for interdisciplinary collaboration in the family business field.  FFI is now an international professional association of nearly 1,400 individuals and organizations from across the globe.  These pioneers in the field originally envisioned FFI as a “three-legged stool” focused on serving a membership encompassing consultants, educators and family business owners.

About the EMC Business Forum
The EMC Business Forum at SDSU was conceived to meet unique needs of local family and closely held firms. This demographic seeks comprehensive resources to address issues such as transgenerational entrepreneurship; family relationships; traditions and values; power, control and compensation; roles and responsibilities; and legal, financial and other planning issues around leadership succession and ownership transfer.

About the College of Business Administration - Leadership for the Global Marketplace.
With over 5,500 students, the SDSU College of Business is one of the largest business schools in the U.S. Its programs in international business and graduate entrepreneurship are ranked among the top programs in the country by U.S. News and World Report. For more information, visit www.sdsu.edu/business.  

About SDSU
San Diego State University is the oldest and largest higher education institution in the San Diego region. Since it was founded in 1897, the university has grown to offer bachelor’s degrees in 81 areas, master’s degree in 72 areas and doctorates in 16 areas. SDSU’s more than 34,000 students participate in an academic curriculum distinguished by direct contact with faculty and an increasing international emphasis that prepares them for a global future. For more information, visit www.sdsu.edu.