Olivier de Richoufftz
Secretary & President, Family Enterprise Foundation
Olivier has been secretary general of Families Enterprise Foundation (FEF) since 2020, prior to that President of Business Families Foundation since 2013. The foundation, with its head office in Canada, provides multi-media education, compelling research and is the voice of Entrepreneurial Families in Canada.
For the decade prior to leading BFF, Olivier was the CEO of the Family Business Network International and was responsible for launching thirty family business owners’ associations, serving more than 7,000 family businesses worldwide.
As part of this effort, Olivier has developed the Family Summit of Minds seen as the "leading event for business families”. Forward-thinker, Olivier has a deep passion for ESG, geopolitics and the contributions of family-owned businesses to the economy at large. In this vein, he speaks regularly at international conferences on the importance of Entrepreneurial Families responsibilities to the global economy.
Olivier avidly supports the creation of initiatives that allow for the development of new economic models, helping families adapt for the betterment of their communities, businesses, and families. The most recent venture, the Intrapreneurial Initiative, an innovative program bridging the gap between two generations of family business members so that the knowledge, expertise, and value generated may be preserved in a way that responds to the specific needs and desires of each generation.
Before his work with family businesses, Olivier spent 20 years in the tourism industry, in both public and private sectors. His experience includes developing and implementing international tourism strategies for entities including Euro Disney Resort and France Tourism.
In addition to his career achievements, de Richoufftz has participated in an EU economic development mission in Crimea and humanitarian missions to Lebanon, Iraq, Laos, Ethiopia and Armenia.
He sits on various family companies board of directors and is a board member of Mission Enfance, an NGO based in Monaco and Universite dans la Nature, a Canadian not for profit.
Olivier, is Swiss and French, holds his MBA from HEC in Paris, and is married with 4 children.
Session
Ascending the Steepest Mountains
Case Study
What empowers pioneering women to overcome adversity and shift the trajectories of their enterprising families for the better? The power of never giving up, tough love, and full transparency.