More than 1,050 families have brought order here to succession, governance and conflict prevention

For families in business

Owners, family members who work or do not work in the company, next-generation members and highly trusted executives

From 26 May to 30 June 2027

6 one-day weekly modules · On campus in Seville and Malaga

Family Business Fundamentals Course (FEF)

Since 1995, we have worked alongside business families on what matters most when leading a company: making decisions under uncertainty, with purpose and with consequences.

Families trained since 2000

+ 0

Founding of the Family Business Chair

Professors on the faculty

Member companies of the Advisory Board

Program Profile

Training in family governance to secure your company's continuity

The classroom brings together owners, family members — whether or not they work in the company — next-generation members and highly trusted executives.

The owner who also manages

A founder or successor leading the business. The risk: confusing ownership with the ability to manage, and delaying succession.

→ Ownership and management in the same seat

→ Succession without a timetable or family protocol

→ No Board of Directors, or one without a clear role

The next generation

Sons and daughters who will inherit ownership and perhaps management responsibility. They need to understand that these are two different inheritances, and which one is right for them.

→ Generational handover on the horizon

→ The shareholder’s professional career still undefined

→ Needs legitimacy beyond the family name

Non-family executive or professional with management responsibilities

Their challenge is to manage professionally while respecting the identity and values of the business family, understanding how decisions are made and how ownership, governance and management relate to one another.

→ Understand the logic and culture of the business family

→ Integrate into management bodies while respecting the different roles of family, ownership and management

→ Bring professional perspective without losing sight of the company’s long-term continuity

The objective of FEF

Help family businesses address their distinctive challenges: succession, professionalization and conflicts of interest between family and company.

Succession stops being taboo

Inheriting ownership and handing over leadership.

Designing effective governance bodies

Family Council, Board of Directors and Executive Committee.

A Research Chair behind the program, not just a course

FEF is the gateway to the BBVA Family Business Chair, active since 1995. Member families have access to brief faculty consultations at no extra cost, annual research seminars (SEF), specialist materials, career guidance for younger family members and visits to other family businesses.

Methodology

The Case Method: practical, interactive, participative learning.

Highly current cases, written or selected around real family-business issues: the Case Method, role plays, workshops, round tables and interactive lectures with the real protagonists. The cases present situations you may already have faced, are facing now or are likely to face in the future.

«You debate another family business’s case and, very often, its protagonist is sitting next to you to tell you how it ended.»

The course treats the family as a whole: ownership, management and governance are structured together.

Complete the form to contact the Program team directly.

Identifying with the protagonist

Each participant identifies with the person at the centre of the case.

Working as a family and as a team

You test your diagnosis with other families facing the same issues: succession, professionalization and family-business conflict.

Classroom debate

The Case Method, role plays, round tables and interactive lectures. In many cases, with the real protagonists present.

Application to your own company

Every topic ends with the same question: how does this work in our own family? From there come the protocol, governance bodies and timetable.

Curriculum

Academic content focused on the real issues facing business families

The curriculum addresses the sometimes uncomfortable, but necessary, questions that affect family businesses.

See the problem before trying to solve it.

Cases with the real protagonist in the room

Many cases are discussed with the protagonists themselves in the room. The distance between theory and reality is zero.

Governance bodies and succession.

How should succession be prepared: inheriting ownership while transferring management and governance?
Is our Board of Directors useful and effective? What is the role of the Family Council?
The value of external professionals: selecting and retaining them
Family protocol: is it necessary and how should it begin?

Strengthen what keeps the family business together.

Do we have the most tax-efficient ownership and asset structure?
Investment and financing criteria in the family business
Prevention and mechanisms for resolving family conflicts
The professional careers of shareholders and the assessment of family executives

Who will teach you

Faculty with first-hand management experience.

A faculty of 48 professors with hands-on family-business experience, who also provide brief consultations to member families at no additional cost.

Testimonials from Alumni of the FEF Course

FEF

María José Navarro Gázquez

“Studying at San Telmo means living, through case studies, the real situations of family businesses — the same problems you face throughout your life.”

María José Navarro Gázquez

Deputy General Manager · Cial. Navarro Hermanos, S.A.

FEF

Bernardino Copano

“It is extremely useful, not only for the experiences you share with other family business owners, but also for the training and guidance of great professionals on the issues family businesses typically face.”

Bernardino Copano

CEO · Bernardino Abad, S.L.

The Advisory Board

Companies supporting the Family Business Chair.

Companies on the Advisory Board

Family business owners, representatives from BBVA and organizations linked to family business, together with San Telmo faculty and executives.

Founding of the Chair

Three decades of research into succession, governance and family-business conflict.

Professors on the faculty

Faculty of the Family Business Chair, according to “CEF at a glance”.

Families trained

+ 0

Families trained

Families who have taken part in the Chair’s programs since 2000.

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Frequently Asked Questions

Complete the form to contact the Program team directly.

Should we attend individually or as a family?

We recommend that several members of the business family attend, especially those who have or will have responsibilities as owners, board members or members of the company’s governance bodies. Sharing the program helps everyone speak the same language, better understand the challenges of the family business and make decisions with a shared vision. However, it is also possible to take part individually.

How long is the course and how much time does it require?

The Family Business Fundamentals Course is designed to be compatible with your professional activity. The time commitment is concentrated in the 6 on-campus sessions and does not require intensive work outside the classroom. Throughout the program you will work with the Case Method, workshops, role plays and round tables, making the most of the exchange of experience with other business families.

Are there special rates for companies that are members of the Family Business Chair?

Yes. Companies that are members of the BBVA Family Business Chair benefit from special financial conditions to take part in the Family Business Fundamentals Course, as well as other services such as advice, specialist documentation, seminars and the exchange of experience. If your company is already a member of the Chair, we will inform you of the applicable conditions when you register.