Growing Into Leadership | Jenn Barlund & Kyle Bender of Falcon Plastics

Family Business Connection

In our first ever episode, we welcome both Jenn Barlund and Kyle Bender to Family Business Connection. Jenn is the president and Kyle is an executive vice president of Falcon Plastics, a plastic injection molding company based in Brookings, South Dakota. As Gen3 of Falcon Plastics, you’ll hear Jenn and Kyle’s stories of growing up in the business and how they grew from paper shredders as kids to key leaders today. They discuss the mentorship strategies they used to prepare for their current leadership roles and the importance of communication in a Gen2 to Gen3 transition. Lastly, they Jenn and Kyle touch on what it’s like to work with your cousin and what excites them about the future of Falcon.

With Jenn having her baby recently, we recorded separate conversations with Jenn and Kyle to accommodate their schedules. First, you’ll hear Stephanie's conversation with Jenn followed by her conversation with Kyle.

We also have an article featuring Falcon Plastics’ experience with PFBA and the programs they’ve found valuable including Affinity Peer Groups: https://youtu.be/ZpkC6_ekduw

Want to learn what key areas your family business should focus on next? Take the Family Business Checkup! After answering several prompts, the Family Business Checkup will give you scores on the key indicators of family business success and point you in the right direction for what you should focus on next. The Checkup is free and available at our website: https://fambus.org/resources/

Family Business Connection will be 10 episodes featuring stories from all kinds of family business leaders that guide the family businesses to thrive for generations.

Thank you to this episode’s sponsor, Schwan Financial Group!