I am excited to be writing my first FBA e-news message. I am home and everyone is out, which these days actually means Ennio is out, as our children don’t live at home anymore! In fact, our daughter moved to Perth last year for work, which is often the case in South Australia for young people. We are lucky that our son works with us, leading the charge for the third generation in our business.

On this surprisingly quiet Saturday I have just read an article in the Weekend Australian by Jennifer Westcott (Chief Executive of the Business Council of Australia) putting forward the argument that one political party will lead the country to growth and prosperity and the other, well, it is just not so hopeful. In this fast paced time where we need to be very astute to find the real news, it is comforting to know that within our own worlds of Family Business we set the culture and the values and hopefully build a stronger future for those we employee and for future generations.

On the State front, we have just elected a Liberal majority Government so let’s hope they make some wise decisions that support the business environment and delivers job growth. We all know South Australia is the best place (dare I say it) in the world, to live and it is the home of many great family businesses.

Developing leadership in our own companies is something we need to foster and work towards over time, rather than just inflict it on the most likely candidate, something that is not best practice for family businesses. With this in mind I would like to draw your attention to the new Emerging Leaders Program that has been designed especially for FBA. The 2 main areas covered are Leadership of self, the team and the organisation as well as learning about strategic business planning. It involves immersing the participants in residential workshops and coaching through a work based project.

I do look forward to getting to know more members and advisers, we have some great events planned and I am sure Yvonne (our State Manager) will remind you of what is coming up.

Hope to see you soon.
Mary Mercuri