Events

Through the Director Development Initiative at the UNC School of Law learn about the special considerations involved in serving on the board of a family-owned company, along with the unique rewards of that service. Family Enterprise Center Professor of the Practice Amy Renkert-Thomas will moderate the conversation with Anne Eiting Klamar, chair of the Board of Midmark Corporation (family member owner and former CEO), with Erin Hoeflinger, independent board member at Midmark. Erin also serves on the board of Enhabit Home Health & Hospice (NYSE: EHAB).

A 90-minute interactive session for family business leaders led by Michael Christian, Bell Distinguished Scholar Professor of Organizational Behavior and area chair of Organizational Behavior at UNC Kenan-Flagler Business School. Family business leaders are uniquely committed to their enterprises, their families and their legacies. Yet that long-term orientation often comes with invisible energy drains: blurred boundaries, emotional labor, multigenerational expectations and the pressure to “hold it together” for others. Energy Crafting for Resilient Leaders introduces a science-based approach to high performance that moves beyond grit, endurance and willpower. Rather than asking leaders to push harder, this session reframes effectiveness around how energy is generated, allocated and renewed over time physically, cognitively and emotionally. Grounded in organizational and psychological research, the session is practical and highly interactive. Participants will identify hidden energy leaks common in family enterprises, examine how roles and relationships shape energy demands and experiment with small but powerful shifts in daily work habits. The focus is not self-care as an add-on, but leadership capacity as a system that can be intentionally designed. The core message is simple and countercultural: sustainable leadership is not about enduring more; it is about crafting energy more deliberately. Participants leave with a clear framework for understanding and managing leadership energy over time, practical tools to redesign work patterns without sacrificing performance or commitment and increased resilience to lead through complexity, continuity and change. This session equips family business leaders to sustain their effort, presence and impact not just for the next quarter, but for the long arc of leadership and legacy.

The two-day event will bring together professionals in business, government and academia from across the Southeast and around the world for discussion, workshops, mentoring and networking to foster leadership and growth in the Southeast’s cleantech economy. The Summit convenes more than 1,000 attendees and is the largest event of its kind by a university in the United States. Co-hosted by the UNC Institute for the Environment and the Ackerman Center for Excellence in Sustainability at UNC Kenan-Flagler Business School.

Family enterprises succeed because families learn how to work well across generations, roles, and ownership responsibilities. This two-session virtual program introduces Family Enterprise Fundamentals, a practical and proven foundation for leading at the intersection of family, ownership, and business. Across two highly interactive virtual 90-minute sessions, led by Family Enterprise Center co-founders Cooper Biersach and Steve Miller, participants explore the essential frameworks and conversations that help family firms align, make better decisions, and sustain both business performance and family relationships over time.