Why Me?

Is it possible to speak openly about wealth? That is the challenge that this book modestly attempts to meet, using all the accoutrements--knowledge, wisdom and even humor--that such a topic requires. It is our greatest wish and highest ambition that today's wealth--whether long-held or recently acquired--be wealth for the future, not just an end for today. Wealth is a means of building tomorrow's world. Thierry Lombard Lombard Odier Darier Hentsch & Cie This book is by eminent family enterprise consultants Dr. Denise Kenyon-Rouvinez and Dr. John L. Ward who bring their vast knowledge to this subject. With the wisdom of Buddhist monk, Matthieu Ricard and the humor of French cartoonist Gabs, this book is a must for all family members dealing with the issue of wealth.

Swiss-American expert in the field of family business, Denise Kenyon-Rouvinez is a senior associate of the Family Business Consulting Group, Inc. (FBCG). She is co-author of the book Who, Me? (Family Enterprise Publishers), Family Business Key Issues, 2005 (Palgrave Macmillan) as well as the project leader and principal author of Sharing Wisdom, Building Values Letters From Family Business Owners To Their Successors, 2002 (Family Enterprise Publishers). In recent years she has also published articles on governance issues and on serial business families. Matthieu Ricard has lived in the Himalayan region for the last thirty-five years. After completing his doctoral thesis in 1972, he decided to forsake his scientific career and concentrate on Tibetan Buddhist contemplative practice. Since then, he has lived in India, Bhutan and Nepal with the greatest living teachers of that tradition and became the disciple and attendant of Dilgo Khyentse Rinpoche (one of the most eminent Tibetan masters of our times). Matthieu is a Buddhist monk and, since 1989, he has acted as the French interpreter for His Holiness the Dalai Lama. He is the author of several best selling books including Animal Migrations (Hill and Wang, 1969), The Monk and the Philosopher (Schocken, 1999), The Quantum and the Lotus (Crown, 2002) Happiness, A guide to Developing Life s Most Important Skill (Little, Brown and Co, New York; Atlantic Press, London). John L. Ward is the co-founder and principal of the Family Business Consulting Group, Inc. and clinical professor at Kellogg School of Management (Chicago, USA). He is the author of several leading texts on family business, Keeping the Family Business Healthy, Creating Effective Boards for Private Enterprises, Strategic Planning for the Family Business, Perpetuating the Family Business, Unconventional Wisdom and Family Business: Key Issues (with Denise Kenyon-Rouvinez.) He is also an author of a collection of booklets, The Family Business Leadership Series, each focusing on specific issues family businesses face. Gabs is a cartoonist and the author of a number of books. His work appears in magazines, books, and a variety of business publications. His cheeky cartoons speak from themselves. Thierry Lombard is from the sixth generation of a family business established in 1796 in Geneva (Lombard Odier Darier Hentsch & Cie, private bankers). He has a passion for family businesses, and has initiated five books on the subject. A member of the board of the FBN, Managing Partner of the bank since 1982, and Senior Partner since 1995, he sits on a number of boards of directors. He is also active in many humanitarian, medical, and environmental foundations.