UNC Asheville’s Family Business Forum will launch its inaugural program with Gerald D. Bell at 10:30 a.m. Thursday, May 24, at the Inn on Biltmore Estate. The program is open to forum members, their guests and family business owners interested in joining the forum.

Based on more than 35 years of working with family businesses, Bell will present a keynote address on the Basic Principles for Managing Family Business Effectively. Bell is an award-winning professor at UNC Chapel Hill’s Kenan Flagler Business School. Rated by Forbes Magazine as a "Don’t Miss," Bell has presented program to more than 500,000 professionals in 30 countries. He is currently completing his latest book, "The Personality of the Achiever: Developing the Six Key Core Competencies of Effective Leaders."

UNCA’s Family Business Forum, the first program of its kind in the region, was developed to enhance the continued viability of family-owned businesses in the Asheville area. R. James Henderson, the interim executive director of UNCA's Family Business Forum, said the family firms must often confront difficult, complicated issues.

"Family businesses face complex issues of tax and estate planning, succession and organizational structure, power and compensation, family dynamics, and strategic planning,"

said Henderson. "The Family Business Forum will bring to Asheville respected national authorities to lead workshops, seminars and other sessions on issues critical to our membership. As part of UNC Asheville, the Forum will be able to draw on the expertise of faculty from UNCA and other University of North Carolina institutions. Our goal is to enhance company leadership and operations, and bring our members a clearer understanding of family dynamics and interpersonal relations."

Membership in the forum is open to firms that have a family member with controlling interest in the business and at least one family member currently employed in the business. In addition to seminars and workshops, members will receive current research and articles on family business issues, a quarterly newsletter, and the opportunity to network with other family-owned business members who face similar challenges of perpetuating a family business.

Registration is required. For more information or to register, call Jim Henderson at 828/251-6797, voice box 8003.