What happens when the next generation doesn't want to run the business?

Bringing in an outside, professional CEO while the family retains ownership is an increasingly common path, allowing the business to be run by someone genuinely suited to and motivated by the role, while the family's financial interest in the business continues.

A hybrid model, family involved in governance and ownership decisions while day-to-day leadership sits with a professional operator, can preserve what the family built without requiring a reluctant family member to carry a role they don't want.

The owners who navigate this best tend to ask their children directly, and early, rather than assuming interest that was never actually there, which leaves far more time to build the right alternative structure before it's urgently needed.