Family Business Center ~ Triad forum to address economy

The executive of the Federal Reserve Bank of Richmond is among the speakers Wake Forest University Babcock Graduate School of Management’s Family Business Center ~ Triad has lined up for its second quarterly forum of the year.
The forum entitled ‰ÛÏTapping the Economic Pulse‰Û will be presented by Jeffrey Kane, senior vice president and Charlotte branch manager for the Federal Reserve Bank of Richmond. It is scheduled for Thursday, Dec. 4.
Also speaking will be Wake Forest University‰Ûªs Dan Fogel and Modern Automotive Network‰Ûªs Omnia Fowler.
Fogel is Babcock‰Ûªs Associate Dean for Working Professional Programs and Executive Professor of Strategy. His published research includes work on behavioral studies, education, health care, psychology, sociology and economics, and he has written three books on managing in emerging market economies. His new book is on innovation processes in large companies. He has had teaching, research, consulting and academic administration assignments in the United States, Asia, South America and Eastern Europe. He also held managerial positions with oil and gas companies and a large hospital system. Fogel specializes in strategic management, especially innovation processes in firms, including those located in emerging and transition economies and in emerging industries.
Fowler will present the story of Modern Automotive Network. Beginning with the purchase of a struggling Chevrolet dealership in 1933, Modern survived both the Great Depression and the halt of automobile production in World War II. Today Modern Automotive employs more than 650 people and sells more than 12,000 new and used automobiles per year, while always striving to maintain a family atmosphere for both their customers and employees.
‰ÛÏWe are delighted with the variety and quality of the forum speakers we have to offer our members and we hope that they will take advantage of this opportunity,‰Û said Family Business Center Director Kathy Baker.
The forum will be held at Wake Forest‰Ûªs Bridger Field House from 8 a.m. to 1 p.m. A continental breakfast is available from 8 – 8:30 a.m.; the program starts at 8:45 a.m.; lunch is served at 11:30 a.m.
Family Business Center forums are only open to Family Business Center members, sponsors and their guests. For information on FBC membership and guest policies, please contact Baker at 336.757.1250.
The Family Business Center, established in 1999 under the Angell Center for Entrepreneurship at Wake Forest’s Babcock School, addresses issues faced by closely held and family firms. The member-based organization uses the capabilities and educational resources at Wake Forest, in the community and beyond to provide closely held and family firms the assistance they need to grow and succeed from generation to generation.
Member dues and corporate sponsors BB&T, RSM McGladrey and Womble Carlyle Sandridge & Rice fund the Family Business Center ~ Triad.