Board of directors

Board of directors

The Board oversees the general business and strategy of FBN. It is composed of up to 14 FBN members and the CEO, who is Secretary to the Board.

Alfonso Libano

COBEGA, SPAIN | FBN CHAIRMAN

Alfonso has been involved in FBN Spanish chapter IEF - Instituto de la Empresa Familiar since 1991 as a founding member & served on the Board of Directors.

Alfonso was Chairman of European Family Businesses (EFB). He has been involved with FBN for decades as a member of the Board, treasurer, chair of the nomination committee, chair of the Impact community, and co-chair of our FBSD initiative with UN Trade and Development (UNCTAD).

As a member, he comes from a family with a long history: he is currently the Vice President of the Board of COBEGA, S.A. and holds a number of company directorships within the Coca-Cola system.

Aleksi Arpiainen

TT GASKETS, FINLAND | FBN VICE CHAIR
Nordics and Central Europe

Aleksi Arpiainen (M.Sc. Business law) is a third generation owner and, since 2018, the CEO of TT Gaskets in Tampere, Finland. The company specializes in industrial sealing solutions for customers primarily in the Nordic countries and Central Europe, but also in Asia and North and South America.

Aleksi has been a valued Member of the Board of the Finnish Family Firms Association since 2016. Beyond his board membership, his roles in our association include his chairmanship of our NxG Team 2016-18, of our Ethos task group 2017 and of our Education task group since 2018. Aleksi’s role in chairing the Ethos task group was pivotal. Without him the group’s report on how our association and its members need to think about their ‘raison-d’être’ and their relationships with stakeholders would not have been as clear, powerful and concise as the final product turned out to be.

Monica Gomez Jaramillo

COLOMBIA | FBN VICE CHAIR

Americas

A Colombian national born in 1958, Mrs. Gómez is a Business Manager graduated from the University of EAFIT in Medellín, Colombia, with an MBA in International Business from the University of San Francisco, California. Titled in Advanced Management Program from the Universidad de La Sabana in Bogotá, also took courses in Philosophy from the Universidad Javeriana in Bogotá. 

Mrs. Gómez is an experienced Board Member and Senior Executive of both publicly traded and privately held companies in Colombia. She has a strong entrepreneurial spirit having founded more than ten companies that have traded services and goods in Colombia and has built a few family holding companies for her family of origin and her own. 

Mónica María Gómez is a people driven director, who engages in skill development and accompanies their inner growth. Experienced in establishing strategy and corporate responsibility, she is committed with economic performance and corporate governance. She promotes changes, tackles complex situations, and fosters out of the box thinking.

Her core competences are Company Governance (Leadership, Board of Directors, Board Committees) Family Governance, Sales of Consumer Products and Multinational Management.

Mary Ann Tsao 

ASIA | FBN VICE CHAIR

Mary Ann Tsao is currently the Chairwoman of the Tsao Family Office and a fourthgenerationsteward of a group of companies that started in shipping and led to theformation of the IMC Group. She is also a member of the FBN Asia board, joining her brother,Frederick Chavalit, in establishing the regional, non-profit association of family businessescommitted to business practices that serve as a model of sustainability. A Director from2008 to 2019, she recently rejoined the board in November 2022. She also chaired FBNA’sSingapore country committee during her previous term and is again its chair. Mary Annplayed an instrumental role in building FBNA, especially the Singapore community. Alignedto FBNI’s charter, the Tsao Family and its family office aim to deploy all the family’s assetsfor the public good through how they invest, operate its businesses and conducts itsphilanthropy. She is currently also the Vice Chair for the newly established Tsao familyfoundation.

Mary Ann has received numerous awards andaccolades, including the Public Service Medal,Public Service Star, and Public Service Star (Bar) from the government of Singapore. InSeptember 2022, she was also named by the UN as one of the first 50 Global Healthy Ageingpioneers, who worked to make the world a better place for older people.

Alexis du Roy de Blicquy

CEO, FBN, BELGIUM / SWITZERLAND

Alexis is the CEO of The Family Business Network (FBN), the world’s leading network bringing together over 4,500 business owning families, 20,000 individual membersin 33 chapters covering 65 countries.  

Prior to FBN, Alexis held senior positions, at Lhoist, Verlinvest, Armonea and IFC (World Bank Group). For 6 years, he was Chairman of ToolBox, supporting NGOs by offering professional consultancy. 

He is member of the Board of Trusted Family, the leading governance platform for business families, the Advisory Council of Octave Institute (Singapore) and of various organizations. 

He has been recognized as one of the Top 10 Family Advisors worldwide by a leading magazine. 

A Belgian-Swiss citizen, Alexis holds a Master in Management Science (Solvay Business School), is an INSEAD IEP and IMD HPL Graduate. He is married, with 2 children and live in the Lausanne area. 

Email: alexis.duroydeblicquy@fbn-i.org

Karien van Oord

G4, VAN OORD FAMILY, NETHERLANDS

Karien is a 4th generation member of a Dutch multigenerational and large family, involved in business as an International Marine contractor with over 155 years of experience.

Her family company VAN OORD has been a founding member of FBN Netherlands (FBNed), and is very active in FBNed for more than 25 years. 
 
Karien (MSc Social Sciences) has a Human Resources background and worked outside the family company for global companies such as NCR and Unilever. She is an active shareholder with over 35 years of experience in different family business committees. She has served for the past 10 years on the board of the Family Holding MerweOord as a non-executive member and as the Chairwoman of the Family Council. Besides that she is an experienced supervisory board member of various independent companies.
 
Karien has been involved in FBN International for a long time, and visited the global and regional events for more than 25 years. She is member of the FBN Large Family community.

R. Dinesh

TVS SUPPLY CHAIN SOLUTIONS, KI MOBILITY SOLUTIONS, INDIA

R. Dinesh is the Chairman of TVS Supply Chain Solutions, and the Director of TVS Mobility, a US$3bn group that had created India’s largest Mobility ecosystem. He is also the Director of Ki Mobility Solutions (which operates the myTVS brand across India) and as the fourth generation of the TVS family, continues to build innovative and reputed businesses to embellish the TVS brand. 

Dinesh started TVS Supply Chain Solutions (earlier known as TVS Logistics) in 1995, and the company has grown multi-fold to become a billion-dollar company. Under his leadership, TVS SCS went public in 2023 and was successfully listed on both NSE and BSE. The companies under his management employ more than 25,000 people globally. His strategic leadership has been instrumental in expanding the companies’ operations into international markets, including Sri Lanka, the United Kingdom, Spain, Germany, Thailand, the United States, Singapore, China, and Australia. 

Dinesh served as the FBN India Chair from 2021 to 2024. He was also at the helm of the Confederation of Indian Industries (CII), a leading industry association in India that works towards the growth of industry and commerce through policy advocacy and partnerships, as President in the fiscal year 2023-24. Through his efforts at CII, he played a pivotal role in securing ‘infrastructure status’ for the logistics sector in India. He continues to play a significant role in CII through various councils. 

Mehrad Jaberansari

SEPAHAN INDUSTRIAL GROUP, G3, IRAN. NXG LEADERSHIP TEAM PRESIDENT

Mehrad is a 3rd generation member of an Iranian enterprising family.

Born in Vancouver, raised in Tehran, and having lived in London, Hong Kong, Dubai and Madrid over the past 17 years, Mehrad is a global citizen with a strong belief in the family institution.

Before founding his own social enterprise in the pet industry, Mehrad worked as a Project Manager at Julius Baer in Hong Kong & London, where he was involved in the international acquisition of Merrill Lynch IWM, and later as Business Development Manager for ACC Aviation in Dubai.

Mehrad is an avid snowboarder, and enjoys maintaining a balanced lifestyle via fitness, nutrition, meditation and an active social life. Most notably, he is an ardent dog-lover who enjoys parenting his 2-year old pup Meeko. In his free time, he organises dog-friendly events to raise money for dog rescue & rehoming charities.

He holds a BA (Hons) in Development Studies with Economics from the University of Westminster, an MSc in Development Studies from the London School of Economics (LSE) and an International MBA from IE Business School in Madrid.

Roles within FBN-I:               

  • Member, Board of Directors
  • President, NxG Leadership Team
  • Ambassador & Former Chair, Entrepreneurs Community
  • Member, Polaris Committee

 
Key Topics of interest:

  • Social entrepreneurship
  • The environment & sustainability
  • Dogs & Innovations in the pet industry

Günseli Ünlütürk

SUN TEKSTIL, TURKEY, G1

Günseli Ünlütürk is Chairman of the Board of Directors of Sun Tekstil's retail brand Jimmy Key; she is also serving on the Board of Directors of Sun Textile and Ekoten at Sun Group. As one of the founders of Sun Textile and Ekoten; she has served in different positions in the family business and played an active role in Sun Tekstil's growth journey since establishment in 1987.

Role within FBN-I

  • SUN TEKSTIL, TURKEY, G1
  • Founder members of TAIDER Family Business Association, member association of FBN-I. 
  • Board member of TAIDER for 2017-2019 period and leader of Sustainability and Social Responsibility Committee.

Jacek Ptaszek

JMP FLOWERS, POLAND, G2

Jacek Ptaszek is a Member of the Management Board at JMP Flowers and a representative of the second generation in the family business, though his family’s entrepreneurial roots go back five generations. Throughout his career, he has been responsible for production, finance, and sales, and has also led the development of the company’s international subsidiaries.
 
Jacek has been involved with FBN Poland for over 10 years, serving on its Management Board for six years. He currently holds the position of Chairman of the Supervisory Board and was for many years responsible for the organization’s national internship program.
 
He holds a Master’s degree in Economics from the Warsaw School of Economics, a Master of Law from the Faculty of Law and Administration, and an LL.M. from the London School of Economics. Two of his master’s theses focused on family business topics, reflecting his deep interest in academic research on family enterprises

Francisca Nacht

BRAZIL - DENMARK

Francisca has more than a decade of FBN membership in FBN Brazil (family) and FBN Denmark (individual) and 5 years of active engagement in my local Danish FBN chapter board, lately as co-chairperson.

She is currently the only family member active in the family business, as the co-Chairman of the Board, and leads a control group comprised of two families and a PE fund. She is also Chair of the Family Owners Council, the most active organ in the family governance structure. And she is the co-Chairperson of the Danish FBN chapter. She is purpose-driven - be it within the business, in finding ways to move individuals and families forward, or in putting money at the service of the greater good - impact investing is also a big interest of hers.

Klara Vitkova

CZECH REPUBLIC

2G, NWT Holding. Klára is a second-generation member of the NWT Holding which operates across many fieldsand industries ranging from renewable energy and agriculture to electric cars and realestate. Klára is an active member of both global and local FBN charter.Former NxGPresident for her local chapter. She has been part of the NxG International Leadership Teamfor over three years now.Experienced Consultant with a demonstrated history of working in the informationtechnology and services industry. Skilled in Journalism, Non-profit Volunteering,Management, Child Development, Working With Children, and Leadership.She has done herBachelor's degree focused in Business/Managerial Economics from King's College London.She has lived in the UK, Germany and Czech whilestudying and working and soon moving toCanada to finish her Master’s in Entrepreneurial Studies.

Sach Chandaria

CANADA

Sach is a 5th generation member of a multi-generational family, with interests in leading global businesses, which began from modest origins in East Africa over a hundred years ago. The family‘s core focus has been on nurturing entrepreneurial talent. It seeks to identify a very specific breed of entrepreneur or entrepreneurial team and create the best environment for their entrepreneurial fire to flourish, by providing very patient capital, active strategic inputs, and broad operating latitude. In response to what he sees as a fundamental global pivot, Sach is working on a new initiative, Prasino Concepts, with other likeminded partners that seeks to create a new kind of platform to invest in this new world. Sach has also just co-founded a crypto art business, which by connecting real time human emotions to digital art, seeks to catalyze a major evolution in the crypto art world.

Sach also serves on the boards of the Harvard Club of Switzerland and the advisory boards of Katalysen & Partners, The Raba Partnership, Musha Ventures and Marcena Capital. A core part of the family’s philosophy is to deploy the majority of its wealth towards philanthropic and social causes. Its principal focus areas are education and healthcare in Africa.
Sach is actively working with other family members on institutionalizing the existing philanthropic initiatives to enable philanthropic and social endeavors as career paths for future generations of family members. Sach is a founding member of the Casa Laxmi Foundation (which is seeking to build a revolutionary new kind of boarding school), and currently sits on the boards of ERFIP, a spin out from the Rothschilds Foundation, the Family Enterprise Foundation, and Internews Europe.

Tommaso Fossati

GRUPPO SELLA, +G9, ITALY,
VICE PRESIDENT NXG

Tommaso is part of one of the oldest family involved in business activities in Italy, having established their very first company back in the 16th century, now, since 1886, the family has mainly been involved in the financial sector.

Born in Milan in 1994 and raised in Biella, he holds both italian and swiss citizenship. He graduated in law from Università Cattolica - Milano, in January 2020.

He has been involved in the italian chapter of FBN (AIdAF) since 2015, having an official role within the local NextGen Committee since 2017.

In 2016, he spent six months in the United States, studying law at the University of Iowa College of Law. Tommaso has also been involved in the family no-profit foundation (Fondazione Sella ONLUS) since 2015.