With roots dating back to 1704, Wendel is one of Europe’s leading investment companies and a powerful example of family enterprise across generations. When Wendel first supported family enterprise education at INSEAD in 1997, the topic was still emerging in business schools. Nearly 30 years later, the Wendel International Centre for Family Enterprise has become a leading global resource for research, teaching and outreach on family business.
With a renewed €1.5 million gift, Wendel is strengthening this long-standing partnership and helping INSEAD expand the Centre’s work for future generations of students, families and business leaders.
For Priscilla de Moustier MBA’83J, this commitment is deeply meaningful. As Chair of the Board of Wendel-Participations, the family company and reference shareholder of Wendel, she understands first-hand the importance and complexity of family enterprise.
“Family business is not a niche topic,” Priscilla says. “Family-owned businesses account for two-thirds of global GDP and 60% of the workforce. Many INSEAD students come from business families themselves, and it is essential that they understand the dynamics between the family and the business.”
Priscilla has been closely involved with the Centre since its early days. Having completed an MBA at INSEAD, she was asked to help supervise the creation and development of what was then the Wendel International Large Family Enterprise Chair. In 2004, as Wendel celebrated its 300th anniversary, the Chair became the Wendel International Centre for Family Enterprise.
Today, the Centre supports students across INSEAD’s MBA, MIM and executive programmed, helping them explore the challenges and opportunities of family enterprises, from governance and succession to sustainability, long-term ownership and the integration of external executives.
For Priscilla, this education matters more than ever.
“Family businesses often think in generations, not just in quarters,” she explains. “That long-term perspective is very important today, especially when we think about climate risk, sustainability and the responsibility companies have towards people and society.”
She also sees family businesses evolving, with many professionalising governance, bringing in external executives and rethinking succession beyond traditional expectations.
“There has been real progress,” she says. “Leadership is no longer automatically going to the eldest son. In many families, daughters are proving to be the most capable leaders. I have seen inspiring examples, particularly in Asia, of women successfully leading family businesses.”
Wendel's renewed gift will sustain the Centre’s long-term mission to advance research, education and impact for families in business. It will also help expand outreach in Asia and the Middle East, foster new research and content initiatives, and strengthen collaboration with other INSEAD Centres of Excellence.
As Priscilla puts it, “You must run the family and the business. If the family has issues, the business will have issues. You cannot afford to forget one. You need to manage the family and the business in parallel.”
INSEAD is deeply grateful to Wendel for its generosity, trust and long-standing commitment. Thanks to this gift, students will continue to study a topic that is central to business today, and essential to understanding how families can lead with responsibility, resilience and impact across generations.
