Meet: Rania Labaki

As a passionate advocate for family businesses, I developed a unique mix of academic and practical knowledge internationally through extensive experience with the leading organizations dedicated to family businesses. My main research, educational, and advising interests revolve around the interplay between family dynamics and family business behavior, including succession, entrepreneurial, social and financial decisions.

Currently, I am an Associate Professor at EDHEC Business School, Director of the EDHEC Family Business Centre and Family BusinessAcademic Scholar at Cornell University. I am also actively involved in several organizations, including my role as board member ofIFERA, advisor at Lansberg Gersick & Associates, head of the academic committee at FBN France, a fellow at FFI, and editor of Entrepreneurship Research Journal.

I was Director of the Financial and Wealth Management MasterProgram at the University of Bordeaux and Director of the family business Global EMBA at EDHEC Business School. I served for7 years as academic expert of FBN International-Next GenerationCommittee, providing strategic guidance and support on research, education, and entrepreneurship including content development and facilitation of conferences and training programs.

My experience spreads in more than 40 countries across continents through lectures, speeches and presentations, quantitative and qualitative research projects including in-depth interviews with over 250 family business members, and academic advising to organizations such as FBN (Colombia, France, Germany, India, Levant, North America, Pacific Asia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, UK), Scone Project UK, NYCFEC USA, and BFF Canada.

Along with a Ph.D. in Management Sciences from the University of Bordeaux, I hold the FFI Advanced Certificates in Family Business and Family Wealth Advising. Author of nearly 80 academic and professional publications, I feel honored by the international awards, grants and distinctions supporting and recognizing my humble contributions to the family business field.