RE-TALES - Succession

Many family-owned hi-fi companies have experienced generational leadership transitions over the last few years: Wilson Audio, Von Schweikert Audio, PS Audio, and VPI Industries, to name a few. In two of those cases, the founding father is still around. One of those is VPI Industries.

- JULIE MULLINS

Harry and Sheila Weisfeld founded VPI in 1978. A succession plan? "Initially there really was none," VPI President Mat Weisfeld, who took over for his father Harry, told me. "They'd hoped to work to the last of their days. Unfortunately, my mom's days were cut short." 

As Mat was growing up, he had some involvement with the company-he worked there in high school and became adept at building motors-but he chose a different career path: teaching school, like his mother. When Sheila was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer, Harry needed to spend more time with her, so Mat became more involved in the company. Harry was planning to sell the business, and other companies were ready to buy.

"My mom didn't want me to deal with [taking over the business], and I didn't really want to uproot my life," he said. "I didn't think I was properly prepared for it." He hadn't studied engineering or business, and he wasn't prepared to take over the business. Still, father and son began working together as mentor and protégé. They had differences of opinion, different approaches. They fought a lot. It was, Mat said, the best education he could have received.

"We did it together for a while and he turned out to be better than I am," Harry said. "He's better because he's not an engineer. I want to keep changing the design. I always ran it like it was an engineering project. He ran it more like a business."