The Single Family Office Gathering
I believe most of the work with family enterprises, including family offices, ought to be not only intimate, but ideally also thought provoking. With that in mind, about a year ago, and together with my esteemed colleague and co-creator, Jill Barber, President of CYMI Holdings, we decided to go forward with an idea: To collaborate with thought leaders in the field to produce a book that we would then present a draft of to select experts at a dedicated Single Family Office (SFO) Gathering. The feedback of those experts would then be captured in a separate title “The voice of the field”.
Starting in February of 2022, Jill and I were fortunate to gather these leaders who are as collaborative as they are talented. Two powerful results came from the group’s collaboration. On the one hand, we co-created a list of hidden assumptions or “design flaws” often found in the creation of a SFO. That has become the anchoring chapter for our book: Reshaping Reality: Unlocking the Family Office’s Potential by Addressing Its Design Flaws. On the other hand, we developed a chart contrasting the mindset that leads to success in a family business with the mindset often found when starting a SFO. This truly deepened my perspective on the assumptions and mindset that are seldom reflected on and typically taken as a given. One of the major ideas that came from our invitees was to see our efforts as evolving the SFO, building on good and noble work already done in and by the families and professionals.
The SFO Gathering was held on Friday, September 9th in Dayton, Ohio at Aileron, www.aileron.org. The Mathiles (who own and are a client of CYMI, the family office Jill leads) created this powerful institution. This wonderful setting reinforced the intimate and innovative nature of the event. I don’t think I had fully appreciated how much faith was involved in this process. Faith that the invitees would invest the time and have the courage to offer their candid feedback on the individual chapter and the book overall. Faith that the authors would lean back and have the courage to hear the feedback. I had a somewhat dubious concern beforehand that the chapters were so good that there was little room for improvement. I was wrong. We all gained a great deal from these 15 people.
As a co-author and co-editor, I believe we, with the help of everyone involved will produce a book that deepens the conversation in the field, challenges assumptions, and ultimately better serves SFO, their families and our communities.
Jill Shipley, Senior Advisor and Head of Family Governance and Education for Tiedemann Advisors, sets the stage with a chapter on how wealth perception shapes reality. Paul Carbone, President, and Managing Partner of Pritzker Private Capital, writes about the Antidote to Private Equity. Jim Coutre, Vice President, Insights and Connections at Fidelity Family Office Services, writes about family office relevancy: doing what’s asked and what’s needed. Mary Duke, an internationally recognized advisor to families navigating the complexities of substantial wealth, and Stacy Allred, Senior Managing Director and Head of Family Engagement and Governance with First Republic Investment Management, write about the role of learning in the family-centered office. Andrew Keyt, Founder and CEO of Generation6 and an internationally known business strategist and succession planning expert, addresses the transformative family office. And Jill and I address family office leadership – through a genuine case study on leadership development and teamwork.
The book is currently being edited, and we hope to have it published in early 2023. I am proud to say that this event and the book is the first in the Generation6 Innovation Series[1].
Authors
1. Greg McCann, Generation6 | Family Enterprise Advisors
2. Jill Barber, CYMI Holdings
3. Jill Shipley, Tiedemann Advisors
4. Andrew Keyt, Generation6 | Family Enterprise Advisors
5. Jim Coutre, Fidelity Family Office Services
6. Mary Duke, High Road Advisors
7. Stacy Allred, First Republic Private Wealth Management
8. Paul Carbone, Pritzker Private Capital
Attendees
1. Jesus Casado – Advisor, Generation6 | Family Enterprise Advisors
2. Joni Fedders – President, Aileron
3. Jane Flanagan – Director of Family Office Advisory, Northern Trust Company
4. Christine Franco – President, Ingeborg
5. Buck Hinkle – Hinkle Holding Co., LLC
6. Kaley Hudson – Legacy Coach and Consultant, Legacy Capitals
7. Holly Isdale – President & CEO, Wealthaven
8. Timothy R. Kelly – Founder, JMC Advisors LLC
9. Todd Litzsinger – former Chairman - CEO, Follett Corporation
10. Diane O. Malarik – President, Moreland Management Co.
11. Tracy Kirkland Payne – Director, Family Office Services, Cockrell Interests LLC
12. Sarah Kerr Severson – Partner, ArentFox Schiff LLP
13. Tiffani Schuh – Family Office CEO, HG Fenton Co
14. Tim Volk – Founder and Principal, T. Volk & Co
15. Tom White – Chairman & CEO, Haws Corp
[1] The Generation 6 Innovation Series is committed to being a catalyst for deep thinking, engaging discussions, and cultivating innovation to give back to our field. The next contribution as part of the Generation6 Innovation Series (2023) is led by Andrew Keyt (author in this year’s Gathering and Founder of Generation6) and will focus on family enterprise and mental decline.
