Billionaire Jim Thompson's daughter now runs his company. He reflects on being a founder and a father.

"In Crown's early days, he spent much of his time traveling or with his management team and customers. But he made it home most weekends, bonding with his young daughter over boating, water sports, and other activities. Thompson felt he was "always able to be a big part of Jenny's life as she was growing," and he was there to "help her develop her values.""

"Thompson said that he never expected Crown to become so successful, so it was only about 30 years ago that he began to think seriously about whether his children might take the reins of the family business from him. Yet he also wanted his kids to have fulfilling careers, he added. "It would have been a bit of a disappointment if Jennifer chose not to join the family business, but I would be more unhappy if she chose to join the company just to please me and not because she felt she wanted the challenge," he said."

"Thompson said he "placed Jennifer's happiness above the need for her to be my successor." He added that he felt fortunate she did ultimately take on that responsibility, and he's found that to be "very fulfilling." He knew that Harvey becoming CEO of the company he founded would raise questions of nepotism and doubts over whether she was qualified for the role, he said."

"Harvey was "well aware" that taking charge of Crown "would be a challenge" for those reasons, Thompson said. But she "dealt with this in a very mature way," he continued, and the other executives came to see she was the right person for the job."

Jim Thompson built Crown Worldwide from scratch into a global logistics company and became a billionaire. In the early years, he spent much of his time traveling and working closely with management teams and customers. He made it home most weekends to bond with his daughter through boating, water sports, and other activities. He said he was able to be a major part of her life and help her develop her values. He began thinking about succession about 30 years ago, while also wanting his children to have fulfilling careers. He said he would be disappointed if she did not join, but more unhappy if she joined only to please him. He acknowledged concerns about nepotism and qualifications, and said his daughter handled them maturely and earned support from other executives.

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