The American University of Beirut – Mediterraneo (AUB Mediterraneo) will host “The Development of Family Businesses”, a public conference bringing together academic expertise and business experience to examine how family firms grow and the challenges they face along the way.
According to a 2025 KPMG Cyprus analysis, only 30 per cent of family businesses successfully transition to the second generation, and just 10-12 per cent reach the third, which makes succession and professionalisation central to how these firms develop.
The conference will take place on Friday, November 6, 2026, from 10 am to 2 pm in the AUB Mediterraneo Auditorium in Paphos, with registration opening at 9.45 am.
The programme will open with a welcome by Dr Alain Daou, Dean of the Faculty of Business at AUB Mediterraneo. Professor Panikkos Poutziouris, Visiting Faculty and Professor of Entrepreneurial Management at the European Institute of Management and Finance (EIMF), will then deliver a presentation titled: “How Do Owner-Managed Family Businesses Develop—or Derail?”.
The conference will also feature three business leaders, each speaking from a different position within the family firm: Lisa Nemitsa Petevi, Founder-President of L. Nemitsas Ltd, will offer the founder perspective; Thanos Michaelides, CEO of Thanos Hotels & Resorts, the next-generation perspective; and Bilal Zein, Head of Single-Family Office, Averda group, the view of the non-family professional.
A panel and open discussion chaired by Dr Daou will give participants the chance to put questions to the speakers and exchange experiences. The programme will conclude with a light lunch and networking.
Free and open to the public, the conference welcomes family business owners, next-generation leaders, professionals working in family firms, students and anyone interested in the development of family businesses.
The event will be conducted in English. Participants are requested to register by November 2, 2026 through the online registration form.
About the American University of Beirut – Mediterraneo
The American University of Beirut – Mediterraneo (AUB Mediterraneo) in Pafos, Cyprus, is approved by the Middle States Commission on Higher Education (MSCHE) as a branch campus of the American University of Beirut (AUB) in Beirut, Lebanon, and operates under a charter granted by the New York State Education Department (NYSED) which registers the university’s degree programs. All departments and programs at AUB Mediterraneo are accredited in Europe and Cyprus through the Cyprus Agency of Quality Assurance and Accreditation of Higher Education (CYQAA) and recognised globally. The Faculty of Business at AUB Mediterraneo is the first business education institution in Cyprus to earn EQUIS accreditation from EFMD, a globally-recognised mark of excellence in business and management education. For more information, please visit: www.aubmed.ac.cy
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