In today's world, a large part of the economy consists of family businesses. The development of management disciplines brings professional managers to the market who seek to find their path to success, including entry into family businesses. This master's thesis addresses the role of professional managers in family businesses with a particular focus on the challenges and opportunities their engagement brings. Family businesses often face the dilemma of preserving family values while introducing professional managers into their companies to help them grow and remain competitive. The aim of this thesis is to analyze the key roles through which professional managers can contribute to the stability and sustainability of family businesses in the future, as well as to examine the extent to which owners are willing to share the management of their business with an external manager. The theoretical part covers the main concepts of family entrepreneurship, including their life cycle, succession, and the advantages and disadvantages of such businesses. It also examines how the professionalization of management can facilitate the succession process for new generations, improve efficiency, and enable business growth. In the empirical part of the thesis, research was conducted on the willingness of family business owners to introduce professional managers into their operations through in-depth interviews with several family businesses. The research results indicate the owners' unwillingness to hand over the business to professional managers, yet they also believe that professional managers can help the company grow. The conclusions of the thesis suggest that engaging a professional manager is highly significant in a family business only if the family business is sufficiently open to accepting shared leadership