Management succession poses considerable challenges for family businesses. Many family businesses hire non-family managerial successors. Building on Upper Echelon Theory and recognizing the differences in personalities and leadership styles of family and non-family CEOs, as well as the potential conflicts of interest arising from the owning families’ altruism, this study examines to what extent non-family CEO successors affect the family businesses’ corporate social responsibility (CSR) performance. The results from the difference-in-difference analysis indicate a positive impact of non-family CEO successors on CSR performance. Further tests respecting the heterogeneities of the non-family CEOs and the family businesses reveal that succeeding CEOs’ political connections enhance the positive relationship between non-family CEO successors and family businesses’ CSR performance, whereas the firms’ financial slack resources weaken it. This study contributes to literature on family business CSR, management succession and non-family managers, while providing managerial implications for family businesses and the government.