May 2019
The Kellogg School of Management and the Center for Family Enterprises are pleased to announce the appointment of Jennifer Pendergast as the inaugural John L. Ward Clinical Professor of Family Enterprise and Executive Director of the Kellogg Center for Family Enterprises, effective April 1, 2019.

"I am honored to join the Kellogg faculty and to have the opportunity to build on KCFE's legacy as a leader in family business education and research," Pendergast said.

Pendergast has spent almost two decades working with multigenerational family-owned enterprises and has worked closely with John Ward, clinical professor emeritus of family enterprise and former co-director of the KCFE. Pendergast has helped family enterprises create professional governance structures, develop leadership succession plans and identify and prepare effective family and non-family leaders. She joins Kellogg from Egon Zehnder, where she led the U.S. Family Business Advisory, and has also served at the Family Business Consulting Group and McKinsey & Company. She has taught at schools including Emory University's Goizueta Business School, the College of Management of the Georgia Institute of Technology and the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania, where she also earned her PhD.

With John Ward and Stephanie Brun de Pontet, Pendergast co-authored the book, Building a Successful Family Business Board (2011). She is also the author, with Kelly Lecouvie, of Family Business Succession: Your Roadmap to Continuity (2014).

Reflecting on the future and potential of the center that he led for almost two decades, Ward said, "I am thrilled Jennifer will lead the future of the KCFE. She will be an invaluable resource for our students and alumni. She will bring innovation and thought leadership to our renowned family business executive education programs. Moreover, she fully appreciates and embraces the special challenges and opportunities for enterprising families."

Now retired, Ward was instrumental in establishing the school's robust family enterprises curricular and programmatic offerings. The establishment of the chair in Ward's honor reflects Kellogg's commitment to maintaining the school's position of strength in this area and the center's tradition of impact.