(MENAFN- Khaleej Times)

Family enterprises are the backbone of the UAE economy. They account for around 90% of private companies, employ more than 70% of the private-sector workforce, and contribute about 40% of national GDP-a scale that makes smooth leadership transitions a public-interest issue, not just a private family affair.

A quiet succession wave is building. Many Dubai-based family firms-founded in the 1950s and 1960s-are approaching generational handovers, with a majority expected to transition in the next five to ten years. That creates a risk and an opportunity: mishandled succession erodes confidence, talent, and value; managed well, it professionalizes governance and unlocks growth. In the GCC, that means hundreds of billions in family-controlled assets will quietly change hands while regional and global investors watch.

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The UAE has strengthened the governance context for listed companies-through the UAE Securities and Commodities Authority (SCA) Resolution 3/R.M of 2020 and subsequent 2024 amendments-and exchanges have issued practical disclosure guidance, including on ESG. But in private family groups, the decisive work still happens inside the boardroom. Here are pragmatic moves boards can take to turn legacy into advantage.

1) Write the“Owner's Doctrine”: Before titles change, codify the founder's non-negotiables in two pages: purpose, risk appetite (e.g., leverage limits, related-party guardrails), and long-term bets the family intends to back. This keeps values intact without turning nostalgia into a veto on needed change.

2) Name a Transition Chair (or empower the Lead Independent Director): Transitions stall when everyone is“involved” but no one is accountable for pace. The Transition Chair runs a dated plan-decision-rights mapping, handover milestones, board checkpoints-and has license to escalate when boundaries blur.

3) Separate role from relationship in performance: Agree on a one-page performance contract for the successor before day one: three financial outcomes, three operational outcomes, two culture indicators. Be explicit about what is reviewed at the board (role) and what remains private to the family (relationship). This protects the successor and the enterprise.

4) Use independents to referee pace and scope: Independent directors can cool emotions with one simple tool: reversible vs. irreversible decisions. If reversible, encourage fast experiments with guardrails; if irreversible (a divestment or major JV), require pre-mortems and explicit owner consent. Independence doesn't dilute family influence; it channels it.

5) Design a shadow-to-own path with dates, not vibes:“Shadow me for a year” is not a plan. Better is a dated arc:

0–90 days: The successor runs weekly sense-making briefs-what they're learning, where the model breaks, decisions coming due.

90–270 days: Co-lead with a published decision-rights map (a simple grid that shows who proposes, who decides, and who must be consulted) across capital, product, and people. Own at least two enterprise-critical decisions by month six.

270–365 days: The successor owns the P&L. The founder shifts to investor relations, partnerships, and mentoring.

6) Modernize the board itself: Many regional family boards remain family-only, older, and from a single industry background-factors that slow adaptation. A modest refresh-one sector-expert independent, one next-gen voice, one outsider with scale-up or digital experience-can materially improve decisions without crowding out the family.

7) Communicate on three fronts: Succession is judged as much by story as by structure. Prepare:

. A market letter from the Chair setting expectations and continuity points.

. A regulator brief that shows controls, especially on related-party transactions.

. An inside narrative that explains why this successor, what will feel the same, what will change, and how leaders will be supported.

These moves aren't theoretical. In recent GCC transitions I've advised or observed, two patterns stand out. In the first, the founder moved to Executive Chair, a Transition Chair enforced a 12-month plan with a small number of non-negotiable decisions the successor had to own, and independents ran regular pre-mortems on the riskiest bets. The result was faster decisions, stable senior talent, and fewer last-minute“interventions” from the founder because clarity replaced anxiety.

In the second, a rushed handover after a high-profile deal triggered departures and over-promising. Only when the board created an Owners' Council to separate family matters from board work, added independents with relevant sector expertise, and re-sequenced strategy-fix operating cadence first, scale second-did attrition slow and credibility recover. The lesson is simple: structure and sequencing matter as much as the successor's CV.

What to measure

Boards that treat succession as strategy, not ceremony, also track its impact. If you can't measure it, you can't steward it:

. Time to decision on top three priorities (presentation to approval).

. Forward-agenda ratio (how much of each board meeting is spent on future bets vs. retrospective reporting).

. A-player retention (your top performers) across the top two layers for 12 months post-handover.

Why the timing is right - now

Policy momentum supports professionalization. The SCA's governance framework for listed public joint-stock companies has been updated, while ADX has issued ESG guidance that nudges better disclosure and board discipline. Locally, Dubai Chambers' Centre for Family Businesses has launched practical toolkits and leadership programs-and notes most Dubai-based family firms are nearing a generational transition. Boards that act now can move from ceremony to system and turn succession into a growth catalyst.

The bottom line: honor the founder, upgrade the operating system. With clear decision rights, dated milestones, independent voices, and a credible narrative, succession becomes a moment to earn investor, regulator, and employee confidence-not a risk event to be managed behind closed doors. In a country where family enterprise is central to prosperity, that is leadership in the national interest.

The writer is Founder of Ribott Partners, a board and leadership adviser and CEO coach

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