06/01/2005
In the world of percussion, Zildjian cymbals are the gold standard. The list of artists whose drum kits include Zildjian products is a veritable who’s who of global music, featuring everyone from jazz great Louie Bellson to rock legend Mick Fleetwood and contemporary musicians like Linkin Park’s Rob Bourdon. Beyond the celebrity of its clientele, however, the Avedis Zildjian Co. of Norwell, Mass., stands out in another way: Having operated continuously for 382 years, it is America’s oldest family owned business. Worth features editor Douglas McWhirter talked to Craigie Zildjian, the company’s CEO, and her sister Debbie Zildjian, the vice president of human resources, about the enterprise that bears their name. As the first women to run the company, they offer a unique perspective on succession, business passion and the responsibilities that come with a centuries-old family legacy.
How have you managed to keep the Avedis Zildjian Co. in the family for so long?
Craigie: Our family ran this business for over three centuries in Constantinople. European businesses had primogeniture, which made succession very simple and clear. When my grandfather came to America in 1929, he incorporated the business here, and now we are three generations in the United States. The company today is very much based on our heritage. We have inherited a business that is 382 years old, and that means a lot.
Debbie: We grew up talking about the family business. It was part of the way we lived. We always heard about the history from my grandfather, talking about his family in Constantinople. Every week the family got together and talked about the business, so it was ingrained in us. It was part of our life. We try to talk to our kids about the business as well. Our family has always grown up saying, “It is not your birthright to be brought into the business. It is a privilege, and you have to have a passion for the business and you have to contribute to it and pay your dues.” My father was always very big on that. You have to have a good work ethic.
Yet growing up you did not really consider a career in the company?
Debbie: It was kind of strange, because even though we never had the expectation of a career in the business, we grew up in the business. We were always talking about the artists and the customers. We would have them to our home. I remember one time we had the whole Maynard Ferguson band at the house, and Buddy Rich was there once on my birthday. Whether or not it was a conscious decision to make it a career, we were still participating in the business.
Craigie: I think that’s critical. There is this involvement. It is not a [separate matter of] “here’s the family, here’s the business.” There is a huge overlap.
You joined the company at a time when it was unusual for women to lead family businesses.
Craigie: It was unusual in that day. There was no precedent for women going into the business, so Debbie and I actually thought we wouldn’t have the option. But my grandfather, who was very forward thinking, invited me into the business in 1976. Nowadays that sounds pretty simple, but back then that was a radical decision—particularly in a business like this where percussion was viewed as a primarily male instrument. Now you see women playing drums, so that’s a big change. It was up to my grandfather to set the tone. He said, “We’ve always given stock out to the male members, but I’m going to start gifting stock to the females.” That was the first level. My father and grandfather always wanted us to work summers here, so we knew people in the industry. It was kind of like being home.
Debbie: I have a master’s degree in political science, and I was very much into the women’s movement. It was the early ’70s and those were the kinds of things everyone was talking about. This was the first time that women were supposed to take advantage of all these opportunities. We would talk politics at home, too, and my father was very open to all that.
Craigie: We
were the first generation that had options other than being a homemaker. My
grandfather recognized that. He would even provide us with examples of women who
were successful in business.
Debbie: When I had my first job, my grandfather
would say, “Why are you working for someone else? Why don’t you work for
us?”
In some family businesses that kind of expectation can cause
problems.
Craigie: It can be dangerous if you go too far down that road. You
often hear of family businesses having issues. To keep our business healthy,
we’ve set up a number of rules—such as entry criteria for future generations—so
that we don’t have succession issues. As
Debbie said, you are not necessarily
entitled to come into the business. On the other hand, we don’t want to compel
the next generation to come into the business and make them feel they have no
other options or that they have missed out on some other opportunity in their
lives. There is a lot of preparation. An enormous part of our responsibility is
to prepare the next generation to be involved in the business.
How are you doing that?
Debbie: They are already involved. My daughters, who have graduated from
college, both did summer internships here. Over the years, when our kids were
young, we would bring them to trade shows, and they would spend time at the
booth. Even if they weren’t working, they could meet the customers. A lot of
times, if we have international customers come, we would include our children in
the dinners because our customers like to see that we are a family. And we want
our girls to understand what the business is like. It’s not that we are forcing
them into the business, but we want to expose them to the business.
Craigie:
The reverse side to that is we go to the management team and say, “You need to
create training sessions for the shareholders. It is important that they get to
know the next generation.” There has been a lot of business training that has
come their way. If they don’t go into the business here, maybe they can use that
training somewhere else.
What we try to do is develop a passion for the
business, which is pretty easy. We are not manufacturing widgets here. I mean,
kids love to go to concerts. This is an easy sell. It is a dynamic business that
is a lot of fun.
When you joined the business, was a succession
plan in place or was that something you created?
Craigie: Armand, our father, did it. He passed away in 2002, but before he
did, he had absolutely everything in place. Everyone knew exactly what was going
to happen. Succession is critical in any business, and I have to credit our
father for having done that. Debbie and I are trying to do that for the next
generation.
Are there members of your family who have chosen not to participate
in
Zildjian?
Craigie: My oldest sister has never really been involved. My brother was in
the business, but then went out on his own and did some other things. Although
he wasn’t working day-to-day in the business, he was always a shareholder and a
director of the company, and attended all the directors’ meetings. So there are
different ways to be involved.
Debbie, you are in charge of the secret alloy-making process that has been central to the success of this company for nearly 400 years. That must be a tremendous responsibility.
Debbie: Back in 1982, our father took Craigie and me into the room to show us
the process. At that time I was still working part time in the business, and
part time at home with two young children. I took it upon myself to get up early
and come in and work with the guys in the melt room because one of the things
our father always said was, “You have to do it to understand it.” I enjoyed that
initial experience, so I’m the one who keeps in touch with the guys in that
room. We have a lot of other secrets as well that have come about as we continue
to refine our process and introduce new products, but that certainly is our main
secret.
Craigie: Not even the plant manager knows the industrial secret, so
this is quite bizarre.
What challenges has your generation faced in the cymbal business?
Craigie: The music industry certainly has changed. We’ve seen consolidation, à la Wal-Mart. We’ve also seen that in terms of discretionary income, we are now competing with other products, like computers. Kids used to choose between sports and music. Now every kid has to have a computer first, or computer games.
What about electronic and digital music? I see bumper stickers that say, “Drum machines have no soul.”
Craigie: Electronic music is here to stay. But really, if you understand drummers, you know they love the feel of playing acoustic drums and the sound of that music. A lot of the appeal of electronics is mere convenience; you can carry a smaller kit to a gig. But electronic music has actually limited the opportunities for live music. When Debbie and I were much younger, there were jazz clubs and a lot more opportunity for people to play live music.
You are executives and coworkers but also sisters. How do members of the family separate their professional and personal lives?
Debbie: It is easier for me than for Craigie, and that’s why she’s the
CEO.
Craigie: Debbie has these rules that we are not allowed to talk about
business at holidays or family parties.
Debbie: . . . and when Craigie and I
play tennis. We try to keep the business off the tennis court.
Craigie:
[laughs] So that’s three times when we don’t talk business.