Karl Toosbuy's daughter took over ECCO and kept it family-owned

Karl Toosbuy founded ECCO in Denmark in 1963 and built it into a vertically integrated shoe maker that owned its tanneries, factories and stores. He began the succession early: his daughter Hanni Toosbuy Kasprzak took over ownership of the company about seven years before his death.

When Toosbuy died in 2004, Hanni and her husband Dieter Kasprzak took over the management. The family's explicit aim was continuity: Danish trade press reported that the founder wanted the company to remain family-owned and family-run, with Hanni as working chairman alongside her husband.

The handover held. ECCO stayed in Toosbuy-family hands, expanded internationally — opening tanneries and factories in China from 2005 — and by 2016 sold in 87 countries through more than 3,300 shops and over 14,000 sales points, with more than 19,000 employees.

ECCO remained family-owned and grew into a world-leading shoe brand sold in 87 countries through more than 3,300 shops, employing over 19,000 people.

The founder had deliberately planned the succession years before his death.

Keeping ownership in the family preserved ECCO's long-term, vertically integrated model.

The husband-and-wife team split chairman and CEO roles, then handed daily management to a professional in 2016.

Grooming the next generation before the founder dies smooths the handover — ECCO's daughter took ownership seven years before taking over management.

In 2016 Dieter Kasprzak handed day-to-day management to Steen Borgholm while Hanni remained chairman of the supervisory board. The third generation — grandchildren of the founder — joined the family's ownership and board structures.