The report identifies six key findings that are expected to influence the future of family-owned enterprises worldwide. Family businesses continue to demonstrate strong strategic confidence, with 83 percent reporting a clear growth strategy and 79 percent indicating strong leadership alignment. At the same time, nearly six in ten respondents believe achieving and sustaining growth will become more challenging over the coming decade.
The research also points to a significant structural shift in how family businesses expect to operate in the future. Respondents anticipate a move away from traditional family-run models, with the proportion of businesses identifying as family-run projected to decline from 49 percent today to approximately 12 percent by 2035.
Technology continues to be a major driver of transformation. While 64 percent of respondents report actively deploying artificial intelligence, more than one-third acknowledge having no formal governance framework to oversee its use, highlighting a growing gap between AI adoption and AI governance.
At the same time, attracting high-quality external talent has become the number one people challenge facing family businesses, while AI and digital capabilities are increasingly viewed as critical skills required to remain competitive in the years ahead.
The report also highlights concerns around risk preparedness. Despite growing exposure to cyber threats, regulatory change, economic uncertainty and technological disruption, only one-third of surveyed organizations report having a comprehensive enterprise risk management framework in place. The findings suggest that risk management readiness is not keeping pace with the intensity and complexity of emerging threats facing family enterprises.
The report concludes that family businesses most likely to thrive through 2035 will be those that successfully combine the traditional strengths of family ownership with the discipline to evolve.
It recommends that organizations strengthen governance frameworks, establish robust AI oversight, redesign their talent strategies, treat succession as a long-term program rather than a one-time event, build more mature enterprise risk management capabilities and use the transition toward professional management as an opportunity to embed family values more deeply within institutional structures and decision-making processes.
Together, these actions can help family enterprises navigate disruption while preserving long-term growth, continuity and competitiveness.
