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About NEXGENS

A National Community for the Next Generation of Family Enterprise

NEXGENS is a national student community for current and future family enterprise successors. Through partnerships with universities across the United States, the network connects students and next-generation successors who share the unique opportunities and responsibilities that come with family enterprise. Student members gain access to lifelong learning, national networking, virtual learning experiences, events, mentorship, and conversations with family business leaders and fellow successors.
Membership, which is open to any student at any University across the United States, extends beyond graduation because succession is not a single event; it is a lifelong journey.
NEXGENS provides a community where the next generation can learn from one another, build meaningful relationships, develop as leaders, and prepare to carry their family legacies forward.
History
NEXGENS, the National Exchange for the Generational Enterprise Network of Successors, was co-founded by representatives from the Family Business Student Organization at the Alderson and Griffin Center for Family Business and Entrepreneurship at Texas Tech University, in collaboration with the Smith Family Business Initiative at Cornell University, the Family Business Program at the Fred Kiesner Center for Entrepreneurship at Loyola Marymount University, the D’Amore-McKim School of Business at Northeastern University, the Center for Family Business at California State University Fullerton, and the Center for Family Enterprise at Oregon State University with a vision to connect the next generation of family enterprise students across universities nationwide.
What began as a desire to give successors a community beyond their individual classrooms and campuses grew into a national network built around shared experiences, lifelong learning, and legacy continuity.
NEXGENS officially launched in February 2026, bringing together students, educators, and university partners committed to strengthening the future of family enterprise.
As the network continues to grow, its foundation remains the same: connecting successors today so family legacies can thrive for generations to come.
GRATITUDE TO DONORS:
The growth of NEXGENS would not be possible without people who believe in investing in the next generation.
We are deeply grateful to Brad and Barb Bouma for their generosity, encouragement, and commitment to get us started.
Their support has helped transform NEXGENS from a vision into a growing national community connecting current and future successors across universities.
Their investment creates opportunities for the next generation to learn, build relationships, exchange experiences, and prepare for continuity.
We proudly recognize Brad and Barb for believing in NEXGENS and, most importantly, in the generations of family enterprise leaders it serves
How NEXGENS Connects Successors

Learning, Connections, and Leadership

National Network

Connect with current and future family enterprise successors from universities across the United States.

Lifelong Learning

Learn through virtual sessions, events, and conversations with family business leaders and fellow successors.

Collaboration & Research

Connect with students, educators, and university partners to exchange ideas and advance family enterprise knowledge.

Legacy & Leadership

Prepare for the opportunities and responsibilities of family enterprise leadership and long-term succession.
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