India’s family businesses are entering a defining phase. Built on entrepreneurial conviction, resilience and long-term commitment, they have shaped industries, created employment and contributed significantly to the country’s economic growth. As India’s economy expands, these enterprises are likely to play an even larger role in driving growth and value creation. Family-owned businesses are projected to contribute as much as 85% of India’s GDP by 2047.
The challenge facing the next generation is different from the one that confronted the founders. Founders built businesses through deep market understanding, entrepreneurial instinct and the ability to act quickly on opportunities. Successors inherit greater scale, more stakeholders, changing customer expectations and the need for stronger governance and institutional thinking.
The Post Graduate Programme in Management for Family Business (PGP MFAB) at the Indian School of Business (ISB) is designed for this transition. The 15-month modular programme enables next-generation family business leaders to remain involved in their enterprises while building capabilities in strategy, governance, finance, innovation and leadership.
The new reality for next-generation family business leaders
Family businesses are built around continuity, trust and long-term relationships. Those strengths remain valuable, but the environment around them is becoming more complex. Digital transformation is changing customer behaviour. New technologies are reshaping business models. Competition is becoming more global, while expectations around governance are increasing.
For Tanvi Kakarla, Executive Director, KEELINE Appliances Pvt Ltd (PGP MFAB Co ’26), this transition is closely linked to professionalising the enterprise while retaining its character.
“PGP MFAB gives me the opportunity to stay connected to the business while building structured management knowledge. My aspiration is to help our business evolve from being largely family-oriented to becoming more professionally managed. The programme is helping me approach that journey with greater structure, clarity and confidence.”
For the next generation, leadership requires balance: preserving what gives the business its identity while changing what may limit its growth.
Learning to lead the enterprise: what the program covers
Next-generation leaders often begin learning long before they enter a classroom. Many grow up around the business, work across functions and gradually take on greater responsibility. Structured management learning creates space to step back from daily demands and examine the enterprise as a whole.
PGP MFAB is organised around four broad areas: Family Business Ecosystems; Financial and Wealth Management; Business Strategy, Growth and Innovation; and Governance and Leadership for Family Enterprises.
For Varun Reddy, Group CEO, Sneha Farms Pvt Ltd (PGP MFAB Co ’17), that wider perspective became particularly valuable as the business expanded.
“In a fast-growing family business, you learn a great deal on the job. But as the business expands, you cannot always afford to learn everything through experience alone. PGP MFAB helped me structure that learning across functions such as finance, marketing and HR, so I could understand the business more holistically.”
The emphasis is on understanding how decisions interact. A growth strategy affects capital allocation. A governance decision can influence succession. A technology investment may reshape customer experience, operations and organisational culture.
Learning through real business challenges
Family businesses are deeply contextual. What works for one enterprise may not work for another, even within the same industry.
PGP MFAB combines case studies, simulations, industry insights and applied learning. Through the Managing Growth Practicum, participants examine their own family businesses across strategic, operational, financial and marketing dimensions. Action Week places them in unfamiliar family-run enterprises where they work on live business challenges.
For Sirisha Limkar, Managing Director, Limkar Group (PGP MFAB Co ’18), applying a broader management perspective led to measurable change.
“PGP MFAB changed the way I looked at the enterprise as a whole. Despite my background in finance and accounting, the programme helped me connect different functions and see how decisions across the business influence one another. I began applying that perspective to one of our stores, introducing clearer KPIs, greater accountability and a more structured approach to change. Within nine months, the store grew its revenues by 69%.”
Peer learning among next-generation family business leaders
Some of the most important family business questions cut across industries.
How should responsibility be divided across generations? When should professional managers be brought in? How should ownership and operating roles be separated?
PGP MFAB cohorts bring together next-generation leaders from diverse sectors, creating a peer environment where participants can compare experiences around governance, succession, growth and continuity.
For Tanishq Surana, Director, Drogheria Sellers Pvt Ltd (PGP MFAB Co ’26), the diversity of the cohort has widened how he looks at his own enterprise.
“We come from different industries and backgrounds, but many of us face similar business challenges. That gives us the opportunity to learn from one another, exchange solutions and look at our own businesses with a broader perspective.”
Building institutions that outlast individuals
Succession is often treated as the defining challenge of a family business. Continuity depends on what each generation builds after the transition. Stronger governance, clearer systems, disciplined capital allocation and innovation all contribute to a more resilient institution. The future of India’s family businesses will depend on how effectively each generation strengthens what it inherits.
Applications for the Class of 2027-28 are now open. Whether you’re preparing to take on more responsibility, introducing systems and governance, or scaling your family business into new markets, PGP MFAB offers a strategic foundation to help you lead with intention and impact.
Learn More about the programme here
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