Barry Gump, president and CEO of the Santa Clarita sanitation company Andy Gump, has been elected chair of the advisory council for the California State University, Northridge, Family Business Center. Gump will lead the 11-member board in fundraising, organizing events, allocating resources and finding sponsors. The fledging organization, part of the College of Business and Economics, was formed several years ago to help family-owned businesses in San Fernando and Santa Clarita valleys, along with portions of Ventura County. It hosts mixers, seminars and speakers for small- and mid-sized businesses. Dr. David Russell, the center’s director, said the organization has about 25 members and it is growing. “The center is really gaining momentum and we need a strong sense of leadership and governance,” he said. “This is the first time we selected a chairman of the board and I think Barry is an excellent first one.” Gump said he plans to add more speakers and boost membership. “One of my goals is for more family businesses aware of the center, so they can benefit as much as I have benefited,” he said. “It’s such a wonderful resource.” Gump said the Family Business Center has been especially beneficial as he lines up who will take over his business after he retires. His father, Andy, started the company by creating portable toilets for construction sites in the 1950s. Today, Andy Gump has around 100 employees and provides portable restrooms, temporary fences and generators to most of Southern California. Gump’s only child, Nancy Gump Melancon, has been involved with the business for years and is being groomed as its next president, he said. Gump said the center helped him and his daughter look at how other businesses tackle the transition. “I want to expose her to different types of family businesses,” he said. We want to eliminate as many mistakes as possible. We’re in the throws of succession.” Ernie Doud, a principal with the Glendale consulting firm Doud Houser, said university-led small business programs like CSUN’s help family businesses wade through often-complex situations, such as who will take over in the next generation. “Such programs are one of the few places at which family businesses can come together to focus on their unique opportunities and challenges,” he said. Doud said Gump’s nomination to the chair post makes sense. “It is a great combination,one of the most respect family business leaders in the Valley taking a leadership role in a program that is the premier source of information and networking for all family businesses in the Valley.”
