Breaking up is painful – even for the company

Miriam Bird, Professor for Entrepreneurship and Family Enterprise at TUM Campus Heilbronn, recently answered these interesting questions in an interview with the renowned “Harvard Business manager”, providing exciting insights into her current research. Her key finding: CEO divorces have a negative impact on company performance – especially if both ex-partners remain with the company after the divorce. Her conclusion: After the personal relationship ends, the ex-partners should also go their separate ways in business.

Does this mean that entrepreneurial couples are generally a risk for the company? Not exactly, Bird specifies: As long as the relationship at the top remains stable, the company also benefits. Couples bring a strong shared identity to the table and often pursue common goals; they feel committed to each other, support each other, and engage in intensive dialogue. Especially in the start-up phase, a company can benefit enormously from this – even more so than when siblings are in the top job.

The complete interview can be read at this link.