In 2005, the Votorantim Group became the first Latin American company to win the most important international award given to family-owned companies. The IMD-LODH Award recognizes companies that successfully combine family interests with business. The award is given by the Swiss institute IMD Business School – one of the global leaders in executive development, in partnership with the Swiss bank Lombard Odier Darier Hentsch, a family-owned company that is more than 200 years old and in its seventh generation of family ownership. The criteria of the award include:
- Continuous family control for at least three generations
- Good results, international participation, and market leadership
- Corporate practices committed to citizenship, expressed in socially responsible actions and concern with sustainable development
- Successful stories that incorporate business innovation