Family Business Board Service – Insight and Issues

Overview

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Panelists

Rodrigo is a member of a third-generation family business with operations in the Caribbean and Venezuela. From a young age, Rodrigo participated in the family business in various roles until political circumstances in his home country and his desire to pursue an engineering degree brought him to the United States. 

Upon completing his M.S. in Engineering and B.S. in Ocean Engineering at Florida Atlantic University in 2007, Rodrigo joined Deepwater Corrosion Services, a family company in Houston, Texas, USA. In 2010, he joined Houston-based Mustang Engineering (A subsidiary of Wood, PLC – a family firm headquartered in Aberdeen, Scotland). In 2017, Rodrigo served as Vice President of Operations & COO of Houston Anodes International (a family firm based in Houston, Texas, USA). In this role, Rodrigo expanded production output, improved efficiency, and increased client satisfaction. In 2018, he moved on to TRC Solutions, where he formalized how new and existing employees within his department are groomed to take on new roles and responsibilities while helping them find career paths that lead to success. 

Rodrigo brings to the team years of experience in leadership and upper management at numerous family enterprises, companies, and volunteer organizations. His key qualities are his ability to support groups in developing cohesion, a strong learning orientation, and openness to feedback. 

In his quest to continuously improve himself as a leader and family member and become an educated owner and good steward of the family business, he decided to pursue an Executive MBA in Family business at Kennesaw State University in the United States. The program, which fostered an intense and ongoing exchange with family business peers, substantiated Rodrigo’s belief that family cohesion and good stewardship are key pillars of any family’s legacy. 

Rodrigo lives in Houston, Texas, with his wife and two children.

Jeff Tapick is CEO of Martin Foods, a fourth-generation family business that celebrates its 80-year anniversary in 2024. A lawyer by schooling and training, Jeff considers himself still to be “in recovery” from the ten years he spent as a trial attorney in a New York City law firm and with the United States Department of Justice in Washington, D.C.

In 2011, newlyweds Jeff and Becca Tapick relocated to Jeff’s hometown of Houston so that he could join the family food business. At the time, Martin Foods was a distributor of premium meat, poultry, and specialty groceries, with nearly 400 employees in four locations. Jeff’s dad, Mike Tapick, who had spent over 30 years growing Martin Foods into the largest specialty food distributor in the region, saw an opportunity to create a new business division focused on manufacturing proteins. Between 2011 and 2020, Mike and Jeff together grew this new protein manufacturing division until it had surpassed the legacy distribution operation in financial performance.

During this time, Mike and Jeff developed a highly functioning work relationship, while successfully creating and implementing a family council, a family constitution, and ultimately an independent advisory board. Jeff assumed the role of president in 2014 and the role of President/CEO in 2017, with Mike becoming Chairman of the newly created advisory board. In October 2021, following nearly two years of slumping distribution sales caused by the COVID-19
pandemic, Mike and Jeff shuttered the legacy distribution business and rebranded Martin Foods as solely a protein manufacturing company. After Mike’s sudden and unexpected passing in February 2022, Jeff enlisted a trusted board member to join the business as its president in charge of daily operations, with the goal of more than doubling the manufacturing volume within three years. Today, Martin Foods is well on its way to achieving that goal, providing custom processed chicken, beef, and pork to chain restaurants, meal kit companies, and grocery stores across the nation.

Jeff and Becca reside in Houston with their four kids. As frequently as possible, the Tapicks escape from the heat and humidity to the shores of Lake Michigan with their most treasured possession – a 30-ft Airstream travel trailer. Jeff and Becca are supporters of humanitarian causes including the Human Rights Campaign, the Houston Area Women’s Association, and the National Alliance on Mental Illness. 

Coble Jorgensen is the founder of Cap Six Advisors LLC, where she serves as Chief Executive Officer of the firm and oversees development of the technology platform underpinning its investment process. She is also a member of the firm’s Investment Committee. 

Coble is also trained as a lawyer and has experience with multiple family-run businesses. She currently serves on the boards of King Ranch, Inc., Kleberg and Company Bankers, Inc. and the San Jacinto Museum and Battlefield Association. 

She graduated cum laude from Harvard College and received a J.D. with honors from the University of Texas School of Law. Coble is also a certified mediator and volunteers in family law mediations through the Harris County Dispute Resolution Center. 

Moderator

While politicians lean on strong campaign managers, business leaders look to Jen Petree to advise on important inflection periods and growth initiatives. Jen Petree tackles special projects focused on business development efforts, client relations programs and other marketing and PR-related endeavors. With deep roots in the service industry, Jen served as the director of business development for AmLaw100 international law firm, Vinson & Elkins. Jen led firm-wide business development programs, including corporate director outreach across the firm’s governance and compliance practices. 

Prior to V&E, Jen oversaw the business development efforts of Baker Botts’ most significant transactional and energy-related practices. Jen spent her early career in professional sales, marketing and public relations roles. Most notably, she was on the management team of Enventure Global Technology, an energy technology joint venture between Shell and Halliburton. With a fresh approach to client research, external and internal communications, Jen helped grow the company five times its size within five years.

Jen graduated magna cum laude from the University of St. Thomas with a B.A. in organizational/industrial psychology. An avid volunteer, wife and mother of two teenagers, Jen enjoys serving multiple non-profit organizations, including the Private Directors Association.

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