Amanée Mousavi as President
Family Business Association Atlantic elected Amanée Mousavi as President at its Annual General Meeting held in Dartmouth on October 17. Amanée works in Sales and Marketing for Cresco, a family company established in 1989 by Hossein Mousavi and later, with his long-time partner, Taleb Abidali. She is second generation and understands that her family is lucky to have achieved this as 70 per cent of family business don’t survive the transition to the next generation. In addition to belonging to the Cresco family, Amanée works with Royal LePage Atlantic and has been a realtor since 2010 and a strong advocate of Family Business Atlantic for the past decade.
She takes over as President from John Abbass, Econo Colour, and has served on several of the Association’s committees, including its signature fundraiser, the Peter Wilson Dinner. Amanée is a proud member of a Peer-to-Peer group, a core offering of membership within Family Business Atlantic, and says, “These groups provide me with a confidential forum where I can discuss issues that affect so many facets of my life.”
Amanée has provided leadership to many other organizations including Nova Scotia Iranian Cultural Society and currently sits as incoming president for the Real Estate Institute of Canada’s NS Chapter. She is well positioned to help Family Business Atlantic execute its three-year strategic priorities which will provide businesses with programs and the mentorship they need to grow and prosper.
Recent research conducted by the Association and Narrative Research has shown that entrepreneurs require this kind of support and that this is important to our regional economy. Findings indicate that over 80 per cent of all new jobs created each year are from family businesses and 70 per cent of businesses in Atlantic Canada identify as a family business. Furthermore, four in 10 family businesses believe it’s likely that the next generation of employees will include at least one family member of the owner.
Yet, family entrepreneurs continue to start succession plans late in their business life cycle. Amanée notes that, “Business owners can begin the process by implementing some simple governance practices.” She adds, “Our family has secured a family business advisor, but a Board of Advisors/Directors or Family councils can facilitate a smoother transition to the next generation and increase your business profitability.”
“It’s an exciting time for Family Business Atlantic. I’m honored to lead a dedicated group of individuals for the next two years to help bring entrepreneurs together to assist them to grow their business and ensure, that when the time is right, succession is going to be an option.”
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