Joe Henry Jr., Owner and CEO, J. Henry & Sons
Joe Henry Jr. was certain he didn’t want to become the third-generation owner of Henry Farms LLC, his family’s farm and bourbon business based in Dane, Wisconsin. Eager to leave farm life behind, he moved to Chicago after college to work.
With time and distance, however, Joe Jr.’s perspective changed. He realized his family’s seed corn business — founded by grandfather Jerry in 1946, saved from bankruptcy by his father, Joe Sr., in 1979, and co-managed by his mother, Liz, since 1985 — had huge growth potential and was a unique career opportunity. His parents added bourbon production in 2006. So, at age 25, Joe Jr. quit his job, moved home and started managing bourbon sales. Liz and Joe Sr. were thrilled to pass the baton to their son.
But once Joe Jr. was settled in, he noticed his parents weren’t ready to walk away from the business and didn’t have a formal succession plan in place. “They kept saying they were going to retire, and then they didn’t,” Joe Jr. recalls. “They were so passionate about the business, they didn’t want to let it go.”
So, Joe Jr. took succession planning into his own hands and turned to Vistage for help. The Henrys had friends and colleagues in Vistage who encouraged them to consider membership for Joe Jr. He joined a Vistage group in nearby Madison to find business owners he could relate to and learn from, he says.
He gained that and more. In his peer advisory group, several CEOs advised him to restructure the business and referred him to a consultant who could support the process. At Vistage events, he listened intently to speakers like Rick Houcek, who encouraged him to think deeply about long-term strategy, and Hunter Lott, who broadened his thinking on HR and culture issues.
But the biggest turning point came when his Vistage Chair, Sarah Gibson, and group members visited the J. Henry & Sons farm. Joe Sr. and Liz appreciated the strong and diverse mix of professionals who were mentoring and advising their son. “It increased their confidence and helped them realize they could safely step away,” Joe Jr. recalls. “It also helped them realize the business’ trajectory was changing, so my role wouldn’t be the same as theirs.”
Thanks to Joe Jr., the business was changing — quickly. Along with tripling the company’s headcount in three years, he developed a plan for growing revenues 10x over the next five years. With this, Liz and Joe Sr. had the reassurance needed to move toward retirement.
Now, as owner and CEO, Joe Jr.’s goal is to make J. Henry & Sons an international brand in the next 20-30 years and a centennial farm by 2046. He is also developing a succession plan for younger brother Jack to eventually take over the company’s operations — and take a seat in a Vistage group.
