The Bertarelli Institute for Family Entrepreneurship is a learning hub which extends Babson’s founding mission, amplifying the capacity of enterprising families around the world to create economic value and social impact built upon the foundation of stronger family relationships. Part of the Arthur M. Blank School for Entrepreneurial Leadership at Babson College, which is grounded in values-based leadership and enhances Babson’s entrepreneurial mindset beyond the classroom, equipping learners to grow as entrepreneurial leaders across industries and stages of life.
The Arthur M. Blank School Summer Program offers 50+ courses for rising high school juniors and seniors to explore academic interests through a flexible, pre-college summer experience. With on-campus and online options, students engage in applied learning, collaborate with peers, and gain clarity about their path to college through one or two-week courses.
The Institute is made possible by a generous gift from Ernesto Bertarelli, founder of the Bertarelli Foundation, and family. The Institute resides under the Arthur M. Blank School for Entrepreneurial Leadership at Babson College.
Ernesto Bertarelli, a Swiss entrepreneur active in the field of business, finance, sports, and philanthropy who graduated from Babson College in 1989, studied business throughout his lifetime, realizing much later in his career how important the actual foundation of family values and beliefs was to his family’s success. He is also the recipient of the prestigious Babson-Camus Global Family Entrepreneurship Award, an annual award to recognize highly distinguished and uniquely impactful business families that have created significant economic and social value across generations while exemplifying Babson College values.
How entrepreneurial families function and work together is a focus of the Bertarelli Institute. As it celebrates its fifth anniversary, the institute is looking to expand its reach by creating the Global Family Entrepreneurship Network.
In recognition of his family’s many contributions to the global business and entrepreneurship community, Babson College has awarded Bertarelli the inaugural Babson-Camus Global Family Entrepreneurship Award.
In our latest report, we showcase the institute’s unique approach to family entrepreneurship as well as the impact and reach of the Bertarelli Institute, including key initiatives, programs, and events.
Bertarelli returned to Babson’s Wellesley campus Tuesday for a ribbon-cutting ceremony in the Ralph Z. and Charlotte R. Sorenson Atrium at Babson Commons to formally dedicate the Bertarelli Institute for Family Entrepreneurship and to celebrate his and his family’s generous commitment and support of Babson.
Venezuelan businessman Gustavo Cisneros ’68, H’19 and his family received the Babson-Camus Global Family Entrepreneurship Award this week at a Miami event that was as much about celebrating Cisneros’ commitment to the future as it was about the family’s successful history.
By Maura McAdam, Eric Clinton, William B. Gartner & Eleanor Hamilton (Taylor & Francis Online, 2024)
Our findings reveal how practices are transferred across generations to family and non-family members, redefining how we view ‘family business’ based on shared practices.
Gustavo Cisneros, who led the family company for 45 years, managed to globalize CISNEROS, strengthen its media and telecommunications reach and branch out into real estate while creating the philanthropic Fundación Cisneros, which aims to improve education in Venezuela and throughout Latin America.
By Radu-Lebebvre, Miruna, Davis, James A., and William B. Gartner (Family Business Review, 2024)
This article maps and integrates research on legacy in family business using a sample of 140 articles.
Through the Bertarelli Institute for Family Entrepreneurship, both Dr. Lauri Union, EDD/MBA and Ernesto Bertarelli ’89 say they are committed to helping students with family business backgrounds realize their own strengths when it comes to family entrepreneurship.
The father/daughter duo Gustavo ’68, H’19 and Adriana Cisneros joined Dr. Lauri Union, EDD/MBA, executive director at Babson’s Institute for Family Entrepreneurship, for a conversation about succession in family businesses during Babson’s recent Centennial Celebration.
