![]() ![]() Working with McClure, they decided to form a family council, as well. They already had established a family assembly-a gathering open to the entire family. That was when the families turned to family business consultant Steve McClure. "There was a bit of a disconnect about what was appropriate to discuss and what wasn't." "Communication was kind of on a need-to-know basis." He says there weren't many in the fourth generation who were deemed worthy of being told what was going on. "We were having some communications problems with the third generation, which was running the company and held the board seats," Waggoner recalls. "We came to a point where there was a need to get the fourth generation more involved," explains Greg Waggoner, 52, senior manufacturing manager and great-grandson of founder Leupold. The creation of the family council in 2001 was a turning point. How do the 42 family shareholders-members of the Leupold and Stevens families-maintain influence? Largely through an active, outspoken family council that vigorously interacts with the board of directors. ![]() On the nine-member board of directors (including the CEO), only four seats are occupied by family members. The company is currently searching for a new CEO, its fourth non-family leader since 1983. ![]() Norbert Leupold Jr., grandson of the founder, was the last family member to hold a senior management position-and he retired as vice president of marketing more than 15 years ago. It's been that way for quite some time, too. While fifth-generation descendants of the company founder Frederick Leupold are becoming active, the company is run by non-family management and governed by a board in which family members are in the minority. Although the company doesn't release sales figures, company CFO Howard Werth was quoted in the Portland Business Journal last year as saying sales are "north of $200 million." It's grown to 700 employees working in manufacturing and distribution centers with more than four acres under roof. The 107-year-old company also makes binoculars, spotting scopes, rangefinders and other precision optical instruments for outdoor recreation markets. Leupold & Stevens, based in Beaverton, Ore., manufactures market-leading optics, particularly riflescopes used by hunters, competitive shooters and U.S. The families who own Leupold & Stevens have spent more than a decade creating a governance structure that gives them the best of both worlds-a company with non-family management that more than holds its own in a competitive marketplace while reflecting and preserving the values of its family shareholders. ![]()
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