Richardson family to receive the EY Family Business Award of Excellence

Succession planning is key to successful family business

WINNIPEG, Aug. 13, 2015 /CNW/ - When James Richardson founded a one-man grain merchandising business in 1857 – 10 years before Confederation – he may not have imagined that his entrepreneurial legacy would carry on for over 150 years. Today, James Richardson & Sons, Limited is an international corporation headquartered in Winnipeg with operations in multiple industries. At the EY Prairies Entrepreneur Of The Year gala in October, the Richardson family will be awarded the EY Family Business Award of Excellence.

Throughout the past century and a half, the Richardsons' focus on growth and diversification not only fuelled their firm's expansion into the worldwide grain trade, but also led it into successful ventures in agri-foods, energy, real estate, financial services and investments.

"It's an enormous pleasure for EY to honour the Richardson family with this well-deserved award," says Rob Jolley, EY's Prairies Entrepreneur Of The Year program director. "Family businesses are the backbone of the Canadian economy. James Richardson & Sons, Limited is a testament to the undeniable economic and societal value of entrepreneurial families."

"Our organization is constantly evolving, exploring new ideas and seeking new opportunities," says Hartley T. Richardson, President & Chief Executive Officer of James Richardson & Sons, Limited. "We are continually thinking of what's next and how we can ensure that our family business, along with our personnel and our communities will continue to prosper."

The company's mandate of giving back to the communities where it operates is conducted through the Richardson Foundation, which supports registered Canadian charitable organizations in the visual and performing arts, youth initiatives, education and environmental issues.

"Successive generations of the Richardson family have built a diverse and iconic international corporation, maintaining proud Winnipeg roots that weave through all facets of our community.  The family is at the forefront of the Prairies' business, cultural and philanthropic landscape," says Joe Healey, EY Office Managing Partner for Winnipeg.

Looking forward and planning ahead is what the family does well. Building on the success of previous generations, each family leader has created new opportunities; every generation has kept the entrepreneurial spirit alive. In fact, James Richardson & Sons, Limited was recognized by EY's Family Business Yearbook as one of the longest-running family businesses among the top 120 in North America.

Strategic succession planning is one of the key factors that leads to success in a family business, according to EY and Kennesaw State University's Cox Family Enterprise Center's recent Family Business Survey. The survey also revealed that the world's largest family businesses have a positive record of succession by doing three things differently:

• Viewing succession as a long-term process
• Clearly defining who has the responsibility for succession
• Working steadily to prepare the next generation for leadership

Carolyn (Richardson) Hursh, Chairman of James Richardson & Sons, Limited, will accept the Family Business Award of Excellence at the EY Prairies Entrepreneur Of The Year gala on 15 October 2015.

For more information about the awards gala and to buy tickets, please contact Louise Hyland at 403 206 5372 or [email protected]. 

For event updates, visit us at ey.com/ca/eoy or follow us on Twitter @EYCanada and use #EOY to join the conversation.

About EY Entrepreneur Of The Year™
EY Entrepreneur Of The Year is the world's most prestigious business award for entrepreneurs. The unique award makes a difference through the way it encourages entrepreneurial activity among those with potential, and recognizes the contribution of people who inspire others with their vision, leadership and achievement. As the first and only truly global award of its kind, EY Entrepreneur Of The Year celebrates those who are building and leading successful, growing and dynamic businesses, recognizing them through regional, national and global awards programs in more than 140 cities in 50 countries.

This year's program sponsors are National Post, TEC Canada, La Presse, RDI, TMX, Merrill DataSite, Kira Talent, Air Canada, The Printing House Limited, Business in Edmonton and Business in Calgary magazines.

About the Family Business Award of Excellence
The award recognizes leaders of outstanding entrepreneurial families, whose companies exist in at least the 3^rd generation. It honours companies that have a tradition of successfully balancing business and family issues, growing the business through innovation, and contributing through philanthropic or social engagement. The selected families support these traditions with sustainable, long-term strategies that include effective and transparent corporate governance.

About EY
EY is a global leader in assurance, tax, transaction and advisory services. For more than 150 years in Canada, we've delivered the insights and quality services that help build trust and confidence in capital markets here and in economies the world over. We develop outstanding leaders who team to deliver on our promises to all of our stakeholders. In so doing, we play a critical role in building a better working world for our people, for our clients and for our communities.

For more information about the program, FAQs and key dates, please visit ey.com/ca/EOY.

Follow us on Twitter @EYCanada, #EOY

EY refers to the global organization and may refer to one or more of the member firms of Ernst & Young Global Limited, each of which is a separate legal entity. Ernst & Young Global Limited, a UK company limited by guarantee, does not provide services to clients. For more information about our organization, please visit ey.com.

About the Family Business Survey

This report is based on survey data gathered from a database of 2,400 of the world's largest family businesses. This database comprises the largest family businesses from the top 21 global markets — Australia, Belgium, Brazil, Canada, China, France, Germany, the Gulf Cooperation Countries (Qatar, Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates), India, Indonesia, Italy, Japan, Mexico, the Netherlands, Russia, South Korea, Spain, Switzerland, Turkey, the UK and the US. Valid Research, an independent research institute in Germany, used a questionnaire and conducted 1,000 phone interviews in the specific country language with senior ranking family business leaders. Based on the number of companies contacted to achieve our desired sample size, we achieved a 42% response rate. This report takes into account the responses of the 25 largest family-owned businesses in each of the markets.

A hard copy of the EY Family Business Yearbook can be requested here.

SOURCE ERNST & YOUNG

Erika Bennett, [email protected], 403 206 5157; Julie Fournier, [email protected], 514 874 4308 ; Sasha Anopina, [email protected], 416 943 2637