The succession is the process by which a family business (FB) chooses the new leader in order to assure the business continuity.According to a recent survey by Bank of Italy (2008), 80,000 of Italian FBs manage a succession every year and in many cases this succession causes a severe decrease in profitability or the business failure at the worst: the last available statistics (2007) point out that only 50% of Italian FBs outlived the first succession and that this percentage turns down to 15% with regards to the second succession.

However, the scientific literature on cases of successful succession demonstrates that the succession is a chance for business growth and business internationalization through shake-up when succession has been accurately planned. In particular, what is strongly planned in those successful cases is:

• The personal development of the potential successor, that is to say the set of activities aimed at supporting the successor's professional growth, supposed the requirements for taking the leadership that the FB has identified. For example, one of these activities is to fix career paths that include specific work experiences to be completed in different industries and the in different functions within the FB in order to enforce the successor's managerial and entrepreneurial skills;
• The selection of the best successor among the potential ones, that is to say the set of activities aimed at understanding who is the best leader for the FB supposed the external and the internal scenario. For example, one of these activities is to build up a selection process that is integrated to the one for personal development of potential successors, during which a recruitment team¹ evaluates periodically the potential successors' profile in perspective, according to objective criteria;
• The predecessor's way-out, that is to say the set of activities aimed at assuring the effective handing over from the predecessor to the selected successor. For example,  one of these activities is to fix a career path for the predecessor that starts from the selection of the successor and that is complementary to the path for the selected successor, from the direct training on the job to the honorary chairmanship;
• The relationship management within the family, that is to say the set of activities aimed at preventing and mitigating the conflicts with the active relatives. For example, one of these activities is to work out a plan for managing both the family private property and the shares-inheriting in order to guarantee the business continuity in case of conflict either with potential successors left out of the succession or with dissident shareholders. In fact, liquidating the above-mentioned successors and shareholders would have sure impacts on the FB balance sheet if the plan is not in place;  
• The management of the relationship with the external², that is to say the set of activities aimed at preventing and mitigating the conflicts with the external shareholders and with the external managers. For example, one of these activities is to work out a communication plan whose target is the main stakeholders of the FB, in order to create awareness on the succession and detect potential resistances to the succession in advance.

Despite of these different needs for planning, the Italian players interested in offering value-adding services to FBs are focusing on families' private patrimony management. The main players in this field are the private banking divisions of banking groups located in Italy and the family offices: the first are developing new consulting and patrimonial services in order to play the role of families' personal advisors and the role of pivot in the consulting teams³ that are usually involved in the succession management; the second⁴ provide integrated services for accounting and reporting optimization, real estate management, tax planning, suppliers selection, concierge.

The experts' opinion is that the FBs' demand for services is so complex and ever-evolving that it can not be met by traditional players from the banking or the management consulting field: a FB needs pools of dynamic players able to support both the family and the business in time.  

[1] Typically made by: the predecessor, external consultants, managers with whom the potential successor has collaborated 

[2] Whoever is not a relative of the predecessor

[3] For example: management, legal and tax consultants

[4] In Italy, a family office can be: banking family office, if founded by ex-private banker; private family office, if founded by a family business and focused on the captive demand for services;  professional family office, if founded by professional accountants or lawyers