Two generations of the Hemingway family recently shared their experiences with partnering for growth and developing the next generation.
On January 20, 2016, at Davis Wright Tremaine’s Seattle Office, Jon Hemingway, Chairman of Carrix, Inc. and CEO of Progeny 3, shared his perspective on his fourth generation firm’s evolution from a waterfront labor broker to an international port operator.
Locally owned by the Smith Hemingway family, Carrix and its affiliates are best known for their port operations as SSA Marine, but are also engaged in rail terminal operations, trucking, warehousing, aviation, and port management information systems and consulting.
Today, with over 120 operations worldwide including Latin America, Africa, Asia and, the US, Carrix is the only American-owned international port operator and is the largest port operator in the western hemisphere.
At our Legacy Series event, Jon shared his experiences in serving as CEO for 25 years of incredible growth, the sale of a portion of his family’s interest in the business to a Wall Street financial partner in 2007, the hiring of his successor as the first non-family CEO in 2012, and then bringing on a new partner in 2014 – this time a significant family-owned enterprise based in Mexico.
Jon’s daughter, Lauren Offenbecher, who among other things serves as Associate General Counsel for Carrix, shared key insights on management succession planning and the new partner transaction completed in 2014, as she provided coordination in both.
In 2007, Jon led the establishment of Progeny 3, a family office handling the Smith Hemingway portfolio management, tax reporting, estate planning, family wealth planning and other various needs.
Jon’s son, Chris Hemingway, serves as an investment portfolio manager for Progeny 3. He spoke on balancing the roles of employee, client, and family member.
Our Family Business Legacy Series provides a live forum for family business owners and operators to share stories, lessons and best practices in a safe, confidential environment. Held six times a year, recent speakers have included members of significant Northwest family-owned businesses, as well as noted family business experts and academics.
