Sponsors

The Center is proud to present our sponsors and links to their websites. Their individual and collective expertise and funding play a vital role in the Center's success. We appreciate their time and efforts and acknowledge their experience in fostering and working with family businesses.

Independent Health

Independent Health has enjoyed a long history of success in providing innovative health solutions. In 1980, its founders were on the cutting edge of health care with one of Western New York’s first HMOs. Some of the company’s original executives are still in charge today, helping Independent Health evolve to offer an array of benefits and services that extends far beyond that original product. Over the years, Independent Health has grown from serving 2,785 members in Western New York in its first year of operation to providing health benefits and services to nearly 440,000 individuals. For more than 20 years, Independent Health has been at the forefront of managed care by providing our members with ongoing product innovation and leadership.

Phillips Lytle, LLP

Phillips Lytle LLP is a full-service law firm with the farthest geographic reach of any law firm in the state of New York.  With offices in Buffalo, Albany, Chautauqua, Garden City, New York City and Rochester, we are able to service virtually all of our client’s needs.  Because New York State is so diverse, companies that do business here need a law firm that recognizes the nuances of each area.

The firm’s practice is built around our clients’ foremost legal needs:

Corporate, Commercial, Family Wealth Planning, Trial/Litigation and Labor, Employment and Immigration.  Each practice group is comprised of carefully selected, highly experienced, and client-focused attorneys.  This model enables the Firm to address, with a consistently high quality of service, the varied needs of our clients – from Fortune 500 companies to smaller, family-run businesses.

Phillips Lytle puts a strong emphasis on being a good corporate citizen.  Our attorneys take an active role in leading, sponsoring and supporting professional, civic and charitable organizations dedicated to the advancement of human services, education, culture, public affairs and business advocacy.  Phillips Lytle supports more than 380 community and national organizations, and our attorneys are active on more than 200 boards.
 

Phillips Lytle has been a part of the Buffalo Niagara business community for over 170 years, and is proud to have witnessed the success stories of so many companies and the growth of the Western New York region as a whole. For more information call Glenn Bobeck, J.D., Attorney at Law at (716) 847 8400.

MassMutual

MassMutual is a premier life insurance company and among the 100 largest U.S. corporations based upon assets (Fortune, 12/99). Committed to helping family businesses succeed for generations, MassMutual has produced a wide variety of guides, workbooks, videos, and a CD-ROM called "A Matter of Time," the first family business interactive movie to assist families and their advisors. MassMutual also sponsors the national family business of the year award and more than 60 family business centers located on college campuses across the country. For more information, call F. James Ginnane, CLU, ChFC, Managing Partner, Planned Futures Financial Group, LLC., Certified Family Business Specialist, at (716) 632 4200 x 108.

First Niagara

First Niagara was founded as a community bank more than 130 years ago in Lockport, N.Y., a suburb of Buffalo, where we remain headquartered. Today, we are a financial services company committed to the same community-oriented philosophy yet we are able to serve a greater number of customers with added products, services and convenience. We offer personal and commercial banking, investment and insurance products primarily through banking centers, ATMs and several financial services subsidiaries throughout western and central New York. Our customers also have the convenience of advanced telephone and web banking.