From Stigma to Strength: Andrew Keyt on Mental Health in Family Enterprise
Let’s Talk Family Enterprise Podcast Episode #82
Host: Aileen Miziolek
Guest: Andrew Keyt
Host Aileen Miziolek speaks with Andrew Keyt, founder of Generation6 and a business strategist and succession planning expert with more than 25 years of experience working with family enterprises. Andrew previously led the Loyola University Chicago Family Business Center and the Family Business Network – United States, and is the author of Myths and Mortals: Family Business Leadership and Succession Planning.
The conversation explores why families often reach for more governance and structure when conflict resurfaces, even when the underlying issue may be an unaddressed mental health challenge such as depression, anxiety, or substance use. Andrew explains how individual struggles can ripple through the entire family system, why privacy and stigma can leave families feeling isolated, and how to balance compassion with accountability when someone needs help.
He also shares practical starting points: leading with curiosity rather than diagnosis, building a “protection team” of trusted truth-tellers, and treating emotional openness as a skill families can practice rather than a one-time fix.
This episode offers a candid, research-grounded look at why emotional health belongs at the centre of family enterprise resilience, and how families can begin talking about what is often the hardest topic to raise.
Hear more from Andrew on this topic at the Families Summit of Minds (FSOM) 2026, November 20–22 in Banff, Alberta.
Links
Andrew Keyt’s book From Stigma to Strength: Cultivating Mental Health for a Thriving Family Business (available through Amazon).
Family Enterprise Foundation’s publication From Silence to Strength: Mental Health in Family Business
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