The Holleman Business Succession Forumsm Podcasts
All podcasts and podcast transcripts are copyrighted by Vernon Holleman III.
No unauthorized use is permitted without written permission by Vernon Holleman III.
Gilbert Melville GrosvenorChairman, National Geographic Education Foundation
From an early age, Gil Grosvenor met, with interest, the explorers who were visiting his father and grandfather in Washington D.C., in their work at the National Geographic Society. Although he was meeting interesting people and respected what his family was up to at the Geographic, it was not his early intent to follow in their footsteps, as they had in those of his great-grandfather, Alexander Graham Bell.
Michele V. HagansPresident, Fort Lincoln New Town Corporation
From a young age Michele Hagans worked for her father - her first job was working the switch board at the Dunbar Hotel in Washington D.C., at age twelve. Even then, it was not lost on Michele that her pay for that work was not in line with her co-workers or her brother who was mowing the hotel's grass.
Kathy KolbeChairman of the Board, Chief Creative Officer, Kolbe Corp
From an early age, Kathy Kolbe queried her father, E.F. Wonderlic, about the test he had created in the 1930's (commonly known to this day as "The Wonderlic", or formally as the Wonderlic Personnel Test, www.wonderlic.com). She didn't understand why certain "smart" people did not get much done, or why it mattered if her soccer teammates had a high IQ, if they were not good soccer players.
Austin H. Kiplinger (1918-2015)Editor emeritus of The Kiplinger Letter
Vernon Holleman III, CLU, sat down with Austin H. Kiplinger in the Kiplinger Building Museum (H Street, NW, DC) in front of the replica of his father's office at the Press Club, which includes W.M. Kiplinger's desk, typewriter, telephone, and photographs. This interview is a great window to both the success of a third generation firm and the emotion and friction that can be a part of such success.
Knight A. KiplingerEditor in Chief and President of Kiplinger Washington Editors Inc.
Picking up from Austin Kiplinger's suggestion (when asked about how the leadership transition from him to his son had gone), "you better ask Knight," Vernon Holleman, CLU sat down with Knight, in his home, to talk to the Editor in Chief of Kiplinger Washington Editors, Inc., to hear directly from the third generation Kiplinger to lead the organization.
Mallory WalkerChairman of Walker & Dunlop, LLC
Vernon Holleman III, CLU, sat down with Mallory, in his home, to discuss the history of Walker & Dunlop, his family's real estate financial services company, his experience following his father, his development of the business, what he learned about family business continuity during his career, and the eventual transition of the firm to one of his two sons, which looked anything but probable.
Cathy Merrill WilliamsPresident and Publisher Washingtonian Magazine
Surrounded by classic typewriters, Vernon Holleman III, CLU, sat down with Cathy, in her office at Washingtonian, which was her father's before her. Roughly four years prior, Cathy had been busy running operations for ACS Transportation Solutions and thinking very little of the publishing business.
Kemmons Wilson, Jr.Principal & Executive Vice President, Kemmons Wilson Companies
On a summer morning in 1951, Kem Wilson, Jr. and his four siblings, two brothers and two sisters, helped pack the car after spending the night in a motor court motel somewhere between Washington, D.C. and Memphis, TN. Little did they know, but at that moment the extra $2 they each cost their father for the privilege to sleep on the floor of their family's motel room, would launch an idea in Kemmon Wilson, Sr.'s entrepreneurial head.
Alan L. WurtzelFormer CEO, Circuit City
Alan Wurtzel had no interest or ambition to lead the family business. with $13,000 and one TV store in Richmond, VA. Alan eventually joined the company in 1966. He became CEO in 1973, and led Circuit City to become a "Good to Great" company (one of eleven companies that Jim Collins chose to feature in his 2001 book with the same title).