The Family Business Center welcomes three new advisory board members: (from left) Erin Buddig, Ashley Martin and Michael Schupp.
Three new members will join the Family Business Center’s Advisory Board in May 2024, helping to advance the Center’s vision of building a community for mid-sized family businesses, regardless of location.
The new directors represent three generations of the family-owned company, which is headquartered in Indiana, Michigan and Illinois.
“Expanding the board with new members brings fresh perspectives to our work,” the advisory committee chair said. Nolan Burke “The Board of Directors wants to emphasize that we support mid-sized businesses, regardless of where their families or headquarters are based,” said Paul I. Loyola, CEO of Burke Beverage, Inc. “Loyola FBC is a community resource reserved not for periods of transition, but for stability and harmony for the business and the family behind it.”
Erin Budig
Erin Budig is a fourth-generation owner of Carl Budig & Co., a food manufacturing company headquartered in Homewood, Ill. Her maternal family were founding members of the Family Business Center, and her paternal company continues the tradition of membership and leadership.
She is the director of Young Life and assistant coach for the high school girls lacrosse team, and is a graduate of the Family Business Center's Stewardship Institute.
“I grew up being a part of Loyola's FBC, which was founded the year I was born,” Budig said, “and I joined the board because I wanted to help people who were pursuing careers outside of the family business and were looking for ways to support the business.”
Budding earned her bachelor's degree from St. Ambrose University in Iowa and her master's in social work from Loyola University Chicago.
Ashley Martin
Ashley Martin is the fifth-generation president of NIBCO, a manufacturing company headquartered in Elkhart, Ind. Martin co-founded the American Supply Association’s Women in Industry group to raise awareness of professional women in the plumbing, heating and cooling and piping (PHCP) and industrial pipe, valves and fittings (PVF) supply chains.
She recently discovered the Family Business Center and serves as a board member and the newest member of the group’s “GenNow” Hybrid Peer Advisory Group.
“We look forward to connecting with families who operate in other industries,” Martin says. “We believe there are synergies we can share.”
She earned her bachelor's degree from the University of Notre Dame in Indiana and her master's degree from Southern Methodist University in Texas.
Michael Schupp
Michael Schupp is the third generation of his family to run L&L Products, an automotive company based in Romeo, Mich. He lives in Colorado and serves as chairman of the Family Council and chair of the Owners Council.
He has helped the company transition from an owner-managed business, but wants to continue to thrive as a privately owned business. Outside of work, he is self-employed in real estate. He completed the Family Business Center's Next Generation Leadership Institute (NGLI) in January and thought he could stay connected to the Family Business Center by serving on the center's advisory board.
“It's exciting to be part of a new way to serve the family business community,” Schupp said. “I'm happy to be involved.”
