How does a family keep a company for more than 150 years?

In part two of my three-part conversation with Tony Simmons, former president and CEO of McIlhenny Company, the makers of Tabasco, his answer starts with a puzzle: feed the family and feed the business, and find the balance between them.

From there, Tony takes me inside how his family works in and owns the company together. We talk about a shareholder agreement with an independent call price, how a 129-year-old company with no written business plan built best practice governance, and why a cousin on the board liked to say, "Sunlight is an amazing disinfectant."

Tony also tells the story of a phone call about two sets of books, how he stepped away cleanly as CEO, why the family keeps its legacy assets outside the business, and why it chose to stay with pepper sauce.

Watch this episode on YouTube: https://youtu.be/bByRu0VzxkA

In case you missed it, listen to Part 1 of this conversation: Tony Simmons - Part 1: "Do Not Plan Your Life On It": https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/tony-simmons-part-1-do-not-plan-your-life-on-it/id1811403547?i=1000792742072&utm_source=twenty-one-clear&utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=ep-16-sunlight-is-an-amazing-disinfectant&utm_content=show-notes

21C Links

• Twenty One Clear website: https://www.21clear.com/?utm_source=twenty-one-clear&utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=ep-16-sunlight-is-an-amazing-disinfectant&utm_content=show-notes
• Adam Hatcher on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/adamhatcher?utm_source=twenty-one-clear&utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=ep-16-sunlight-is-an-amazing-disinfectant&utm_content=show-notes
• Subscribe to the Twenty One Clear newsletter: https://21clear.substack.com/?utm_source=twenty-one-clear&utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=ep-16-sunlight-is-an-amazing-disinfectant&utm_content=show-notes

Bumper Music
Still Hot
by Nic D, Connor Price
(c) Lossless, 2023

Episode Produced By
https://snapmarket.co

Chapter Timestamps
(00:00) Cold Open: "Sunlight Is an Amazing Disinfectant"
(00:22) Welcome to Part Two With Tony Simmons
(03:20) Feed the Family, Feed the Business: Solving the Puzzle
(06:28) The Shareholder Agreement and the Call Price
(09:06) A 129-Year-Old Company With No Business Plan
(11:54) Educating the Board and Building Committees
(14:34) Why Governance Pays Off: Transparency and Trust
(16:52) Board Letters, Shareholder Meetings and a Shareholder Website
(17:56) "Two Sets of Books": Stopping a Rumor Early
(20:44) Naming the Timeline and Adding Outside Directors
(25:54) A Clean Change: Why a Former CEO Can't Be Chair
(27:59) Avery Island Inc. and Land Held Together
(31:36) Keeping Legacy Assets Separate From Business Assets
(32:58) Educating Young Shareholders and Meeting Your Cousins
(35:28) Is a Family Council Worth the Lift?
(36:25) Defining Greatness: One Product, Five Years
(39:39) Common Themes, Your Own Answers
(41:42) Coming Up in Part Three: The Tabasco Tasting