This year, we hosted NRB Bearings, one of India’s top engineering firms. Speaker Harshbeena Zaveri is a second-generation of NRB, and has grown the company her father founded in 1965. Today, NRB manufactures components used in 90 percent of vehicles on India’s roads, and is a global supplier to companies like Audi, Honda, Volvo, General Motors, Daimler, and more.

Zaveri led NRB through the economic challenges of the ’90s. Under her management, sales have increased a total of 43 percent since 2011. Passionate about quality engineering, she established a government-recognized innovation center in 1999. A Wellesley graduate and former teacher, she is deeply interested in education and mentoring young leaders and women.

Speaker

Harshbeena Zaveri, president of NRB Bearings

This year, we invited Lena Jungell, the granddaughter of Fazer Group founder Karl Jungell. Lena serves as board member of Fazer Amica, Fazer Group’s catering division. Starting as a small cafe in Helsinki, Fazer has now become Finland’s largest bakery and confectionary company, as well as expanding internationally.

Fazer is a family-owned company whose mission is to create taste sensations. Lena spoke about the developmental stages of the business from its founding in 1891 and the evolution of the business over successive generations.

Speaker

Lena Jungell, third-generation member of the Fazer Group

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In 2014, we invited Ana Urea, one of the owners of The Privax Group, as a speaker. The Privax Group is a conglomerate of predominantly fashion-related family businesses leading the industry throughout Canada and Latin America. Urea spoke of the challenges of managing a trans-generational family business, succeeding in the ever-changing fashion industry, and how the family has leveraged its Latin American roots as a unique selling point.

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In 2013, we had the pleasure of welcoming The Strauss Group, Israel’s largest food and beverage company and multinational family business. Second-generation of The Strauss Group, Raya Strauss Ben-Dror, and her daughter, Nava Michael-Tsabari, shared key learning points from their successful family business with business students, entrepreneurs, and members  of the general public.

With $1.7 billion in sales and operations in 15 countries, The Strauss Group is ranked #1 in coffee sales in Central and Eastern Europe and #1 for Mediterranean salads in North America. Over the past decade, Strauss Coffee B.V. has become one of the fastest-growing branded coffee companies in the world. Strauss Group manages a portfolio of five companies including Strauss Israel, Strauss Water, PepsiCo-Strauss Fresh Dips & Spreads International, and Max Brenner. Its brands in North America include Sabra (hummus and dips) and Max Brenner Chocolate Bar restaurants.