Family Business Club - Kick-Off Networking Event

Cristina Cruz

Professor of Family Business

IE University

Born into a family business environment, Cristina Cruz has dedicated five years to research into management teams in this type of companies. In her own words: “ I’m interested in knowing the difference it makes if managers are members of the family or not”. Having interviewed 122 Managing directors, Professor Cruz has concluded that “When a team comprises exclusively professional managers or family-member managers, there is enormous trust. The problems arise when you mix these two profiles.”

Now Professor Cruz is focussing her efforts on injecting the entrepreneurial spirit into new generations. “The founder of a family business is a born entrepreneur, but it does not necessarily follow that subsequent generations will be”- she argues. This underlying philosophy and the conclusion of her research is the base of IE’s elective course on family venturing. Cristina´s work was published in prestigious journals such as The Academy of Management Journal and presented in conferences such as the Babson-College Entrepreneurship Research Conferences and the Academy of Management Annual Meetings.

Since 2004, she is a member of the research team of the Global Entrepreneurship Monitor, the largest single study of entrepreneurial activity in the world. Recently, she has also being appointed Director of the IE University Young Entrepreneurship Chair, funded by Bancaja.

Cristina Cruz holds a degree in economics from the University of Murcia, a degree in international economy from Manchester University, and a doctorate in corporate economy and quantitative methods from Carlos III University in Madrid, having also completed an executive development program in family business at IE. She combines her teaching with consulting services for family businesses.