Last week's announcement that Robin Tauck had stepped down as president of Tauck World Discovery meant that only one family member would remain in the executive suite of one of the travel industry's most storied dynasties.
But according to that family member, Tauck's CEO, Dan Mahar, this is a moment for which the family has been preparing since the early 1990s, when the Norwalk, Conn.-based tour operator starting bringing in outside consultants to help evolve the business.
"For example, when Peter [Tauck, Robin's brother] had to leave, we were able to fill his role and responsibility and not impact the company or our customers or agents or any other stakeholders at all," Mahar said. "And the same again here with Robin. Unlike some family businesses, where you see that either because of succession development or due to an unforeseen situation, companies can really go into a tailspin in terms of managing themselves, that is not the case at Tauck."
Robin Tauck is leaving the tour operation her grandfather founded 83 years ago to form a new venture, R. Tauck & Partners LLC, which will develop projects within specialty segments of the global travel arena and on public-private partnerships. (See Q&A at bottom.)
The granddaughter of the company's founder, Arthur Tauck Sr., Robin had been with the company since 1982. In 1997, Arthur Tauck Jr. appointed his daughter Robin and son Peter to share the position of president. Peter left the company in 2001; Robin was later named president and CEO.
In May 2007, Mahar, the son-in-law of Arthur Tauck Jr. (married to Robin's sister Kiki Tauck Mahar), was named CEO after working his way up through the ranks. Robin stayed on as president.
With Robin's departure, the remaining family members in the business, in addition to Mahar, are Arthur Tauck Jr., who remains nonexecutive chairman, and his daughter Liz Tauck Walters, who manages the Tauck Foundation. They are also the only three family members on the eight-person board.
As president, Robin served on the board for the past 10 years, was executive director of the operator's World of Giving philanthropic organization and was involved in the Tauck Foundation. She also serves on the boards of the World Travel and Tourism Council and the Travel Industry Association Foundation.
A nonoperating role
With Robin's departure, Liz Tauck Walters will oversee World of Giving. Robin will continue to serve on the WTTC and TIA boards. She said she would also continue to serve on the Tauck Foundation and would work closely with the Tauck executive team to ensure that her transition out of the company proceeds smoothly.
"The president's role, at least for the past couple of years, has been a nonoperating role, in that the functions of the company did not report to Robin," Mahar said. "They reported to me as CEO. Being a nonoperating role, it will potentially be filled down the road as part of our own internal succession development. ... Right now, it's not necessary to replace [Robin]."
Beyond her role as president, Robin has been a highly visible representative of the Tauck brand, making numerous appearances throughout the year and speaking on behalf of the company. Mahar said that with Robin gone, he was planning to get out in front of the industry himself more often.
Mahar said that "perhaps one of the greatest achievements of this generation" of Taucks is that they have been able to manage the transition from an entrepreneurial, family-run business in which Arthur Sr. was "involved in every decision" to a mature business with "real succession management and performance and development" programs that "have enabled different family members to leave if they so chose."
"That is the right thing for the business, certainly, and for all of our stakeholders," Mahar said. "And that's the right thing for the family, as well, because we maintain the family influence, the family culture, the family focus on the long-term. But at the same time, we're not at risk if either a family member wants to leave or if [there are] unforeseen circumstances -- an accident, a premature death."
Robin remains an equity stakeholder in the company, along with siblings Peter, Kiki and Liz. Arthur Jr.'s fifth child, Chuck, left the company in 1996 and is now the principal owner of Sheldrake Point Vineyard in New York state's Finger Lakes region.
Waiting in the wings are 18 fourth-generation Taucks. But 13 are under the age of 12. Moreover, Tauck Sr.'s "constitution" structuring the family business states that all family members have to work somewhere outside the company for five years before they can work full-time for the tour operation. So, it could be a while before more Taucks get involved in the business.
"Increasingly, different parts of the company could be run by other people until members of the fourth generation have demonstrated interest and ability," Mahar said. "But I always think that actual family members will run it."
Colleen Leth, Robin's daughter, was among the first of her generation of Taucks to join the business, serving in marketing and volunteer projects since 2005. She will work from this November through July for Cairo-based land operator AKORN Receptive, a partner in Tauck's Egypt operations.