A round of succession: Thementalk on business succession on 10 February

Joint project Gründergeist #Youngstarts Münsterland discusses with family-internal successors

It often seems as if succession within the family is already in the child's cradle - but this is by no means the case in all entrepreneurial families. On 10 February (Thursday), the joint project Gründergeist #Youngstarts Münsterland will discuss with five successors their very own path to the top of the family business. Under the title "Between tradition and modernity", the project invites you to a digital roundtable discussion starting at 5.30 pm. Interested parties can participate digitally and free of charge. The event will be streamed live from the Döpik company in Stadtlohn.

The guests will talk about their careers, the challenges of taking over a business and the special features, advantages and disadvantages of a family business. Tobias Picker, Managing Director of Döpik Energietechnik GmbH (Stadtlohn), is one of them. Actually, Tobias Picker never wanted to follow in his father's footsteps, but then his professional career developed differently than planned. After his training as an industrial clerk and other external positions, he finally came back to Stadtlohn in 2005 and joined the management, since 2010 as sole managing director.

Lukas Kremer, master baker at Bäckerei Kremer & Sohn (Velen), will also be taking part in the discussion. Lukas Kremer began his apprenticeship as a baker at the age of 16, then completed his master craftsman apprenticeship and, on top of that, his business administration degree. In 2013, he returned to his parents' business, first as production manager, but now a new chapter is about to begin: Self-employment and taking over the business.

Isa-Marie Damschke, managing director of Fragemanns Reisekutsche (Velen), will also report on her experiences as a successor. Isa-Marie Damschke has been active as the third generation in the family-run bus and taxi company founded in 1947 since 2019. She never consciously planned the step and initially completed an external apprenticeship as an industrial clerk as well as a dual study programme. But then chance brought her back to the company in Velen.

Hermann and Lukas Knemeyer, managing directors of Knemeyer GmbH & Co KG (Ostbevern), will be sitting on the podium with these exciting personalities. 56-year-old Hermann Knemeyer has been managing the Knemeyer company in Ostbevern since 1997, when he took it over from his uncle. His son Lukas Knemeyer, now 29, has also been on board since 2015. Since 2015 as an employed master craftsman, and since 2021 as co-managing director together with his father. Father and son Knemeyer are therefore experts when it comes to a family-internal company succession.

More information and registration options are available at www.youngstarts-muensterland.com. You can not only follow the event digitally that evening, but also participate live in the discussion - easily and anonymously via the interactive online tool TEDME.

Behind the event is the joint project Gründergeist #Youngstarts Münsterland, which strengthens the start-up intensity in Münsterland and opens up new start-up potential and target groups with target group-specific offers. The project is funded by the European Union and the Ministry of Economics of North Rhine-Westphalia within the framework of the ERDF call "Regio.NRW".

Münsterland e.V. is implementing it as lead partner together with the following partners: Wirtschaftsförderung Kreis Coesfeld GmbH (wfc), Wirtschaftsförderung im Kreis Warendorf (gfw), Technologieförderung Münster GmbH, TAFH Münster GmbH, Wirtschaftsförderungs- und Entwicklungsgesellschaft Steinfurt mbH (WESt) and Wirtschaftsförderungsgesellschaft für den Kreis Borken mbH (WFG). Further supporters are the North Westphalia Chamber of Industry and Commerce and the Münster Chamber of Crafts.