From Wall Street to Running the Family Business
Listen to the full episode of “From Wall Street to Running the Family Business” with special guest Ken Natori.
My guest in this episode of The Secret Thoughts of CEOs is Ken Natori, president of the Natori Company. I met Ken several years ago at a conference where we were both speaking. I immediately liked his vibe and started following him on social media. Ken’s mother founded the business in 1977.
Ken was raised as an only child by a trailblazing mother and father. He talks about the story of pursuing his own path before joining the family business to now working today at his mother’s side. We talk about the core values of Ken and his family and how he navigates running the family business with that and mind, and how the company integrated him into the business. This is a great conversation on a family that really respects one another’s differences of opinions, strengths, and desires.
What you’ll learn in this episode:
- How one family ran a business by respecting their individual desires
- Why children should explore other careers before joining the family business
- What being a part of a family business means for your relationship
- Why identifying and communicating core values is crucial when being part of a family business
- Tips for smoothly integrating a new family member into the business
- How to handle differences of opinions between leaders in the family businesses
- A practice that many companies use that actually encourages unhealthy artificial harmony
Resources:
Website: www.natori.com
Company Instagram: www.instagram.com/natoricompany
Personal Instagram: www.instagram.com/ken.natori
Ken’s Bio:
Ken Natori is the President of The Natori Company, a designer fashion brand with collections ranging from ready-to-wear, lingerie, and sleepwear, to home textiles, fine jewelry, accessories, bath, legwear, and fine jewelry. Before becoming President, he ran the company’s e-commerce and licensing businesses, and also helped oversee the finance, public relations and marketing departments.
Prior to Natori, Ken worked as both a TV and Radio Reporter for Bloomberg and in International Equities at Lehman Brothers. Ken holds an MBA from Stanford University’s Graduate School of Business and a B.A. from Amherst College. The House of Natori was founded in 1977 and today is one of the fashion industry’s most recognizable designer brands. Each of the Natori brand collections — Josie Natori, Natori, N Natori and Josie by Natori — is a reflection of the namesake designer’s distinctive, East/West aesthetic.
