Keeping the Legacy: Inside a 170-Year-Old Family Enterprise

Jill Gardner married into the Laird Norton Company at 24, eventually stepping into the role of family president for a business founded in 1855. Today, she manages a sprawling network of 551 relatives across seven countries, ensuring that a multi-generational lumber-turned-investment operation avoids the common fate of inherited decline.

The Laird Norton Company has defied the traditional "shirtsleeves to shirtsleeves" trajectory where wealth typically dissipates by the third generation. Gardner credits this longevity to a strategic pivot made by a third-generation leader who institutionalized the firm's survival. Now, the business serves as the primary anchor for a massive, dispersed family, transforming distant cousins into active stakeholders who manage a board composed of seven family members and five outside experts.

As family president, Gardner coordinates the effort to maintain cohesion among hundreds of shareholders. This involves producing an internal journal and hosting annual summits, such as the upcoming gathering in Salt Lake City for 350 members. These events are designed to foster genuine connections, moving beyond mere financial interest to cultivate a shared identity. The firm has shifted from the hands-off approach of previous decades to an intentional engagement strategy, offering internship programs and specific developmental tracks for members aged 14 to 40. By integrating spouses and younger generations early, the company aims to sustain its legacy well into the future, recently welcoming its first eighth-generation member.