
Kent B. Rhodes
rhodes@thefbcg.com
P: 949-422-3762
Areas of Expertise
- Communication & Conflict
- Succession & Continuity Planning
- Leadership Development
- Organizational Development
- Strategy
Resources
- Passing Down with Purpose: Five Keys for Transitioning to a Multi-Generational Family Foundation
- Leadership Evolution: Creating a Culture of Learning and Development in Your Family Office
- How Does Your Family Measure Up? Using Assessments to Develop Effective Leaders
- Six Keys to Successful Family Foundation Creation
- Predictable Yet Not Inevitable: Archetypes of Potential Conflicts in the Family Enterprise
- Unsticking Succession: Common Obstacles and a Path Forward
- Conflict in Land-Based Family Businesses
- The Competitive Advantage of Culture in a Family Business
- Using the Ladder of Inference in Managing Conflicts
- Emotional Ownership
- The Status Effect: How Ego Plays Out in Family Firms
- Putting Coaching to Work in the Family Business
- Culture is Key in Family Firm Mergers and Acquisitions
- Keeping Conflict in Play or at Bay? Old Habits Play a Role in Family Business
- Managing Conflict in the Family Business: Understanding Challenges at the Intersection of Family and Business
Kent B. Rhodes
A trusted advisor, educator, and business leader, Kent Rhodes brings a wealth of expertise in organizational development, family enterprise consulting, and executive development to his work. His blend of entrepreneurial leadership, management insight, and cross-sector consulting experience uniquely positions him to contribute meaningfully to the governance and leadership across the enterprise.
Kent serves as a Senior Consultant with The Family Business Consulting Group, where he partners with families across global industries to align enterprise strategy with family harmony, stewardship, and continuity. Since joining the firm in 2006, he has earned an international reputation for helping multigenerational family businesses navigate leadership transitions, governance, and long-term sustainability.
In addition to his consulting work, Kent is a Clinical Professor in Pepperdine University’s Executive program in Organization Development and its Doctoral programs in Global Leadership and Change. His long-standing contributions to the University span across multiple schools and programs, including teaching in the renowned Straus Institute of Dispute Resolution at the Caruso School of Law and chairing the Executive MBA committee at the Graziadio Business School.
Before entering academia and consulting, Kent founded a virtual learning platform company and led it as CEO through a successful acquisition by a publicly traded technology firm in Silicon Valley. He continued to serve as a Principal and Managing Director through the company’s post-acquisition integration and growth.
Raised in Lubbock, Texas, Kent resides in Orange County, California. He remains actively engaged in professional associations, including the Academy of Management, the Family Firm Institute, the Executive MBA Council, the American Psychological Association, and Pepperdine’s Graduate School of Education and Psychology Board of Visitors.
Education
- Doctorate in Organizational Leadership, Pepperdine University
- Master of Education in Counseling, Texas Tech University
Personal
Kent has a unique appreciation of the links between personal development, giving back to the community and fulfillment in life and work. He serves as a member of the Board of Directors for several organizations, including Shanti OC, an AIDS services organization based in Orange County, California, and Lamukani, a community-based organization in Kenya that focuses on sustainable crop and water source development.