Families still together past the third generation have succeeded because of their purposeful planning for the family’s future.  Families with an enterprise view find it necessary to align the family and its goals toward a collective vision of the future, tied together by mutual respect, alignment of interests, and a level of cooperation that may not only be difficult to achieve, but also challenging to maintain. In this session, family members who have engaged their families in becoming a true family enterprise will share their lessons learned and the guiding principles that got them there. 

“Putting Private Capital to Work Productively and Incorporating a Proper Governance Process”

Serge de Ganay, Bemberg Family Enterprise, Board Chair of Quilvest

Eric Allyn, Co-Chair of the Welch Allyn Board of Directors

Session Facilitator: Sara Hamilton, Founder and CEO

 

Two successful families in the 4th and 5th generation have focused on managing smooth business transitions in the recent past.  They are also involved in creating proper governance structures at each juncture of the family’s evolution.  These speakers are happy to answer your questions, and provide insight into some of the following topics:

 

• How a family enterprise develops the strategy for allocating family capital

• Why families choose to invest together in a new operating business

• What support is offered to the young entrepreneurs in the family

• What best practices in family governance can do to keep families together

 

“Family Engagement, Leadership Succession and Family Transitions”

Peter Evans, The Laird Norton Holding Company, 5th Generation Former Family President;

Langdon Evans, The Laird Norton Holding Company, 6th Generation Family Member;

Andrew Pitcairn, The Pitcairn Company, 5th Generation Family Council Chair

Session Facilitator: Alexandre Monnier, President

 

We are very fortunate to have younger representatives from two families moving from the 5th to 7th generations.  Each of them has initiated changes that were hard to accept and difficult to manage. In this session, we will discuss the following topics:

 

• What the younger generations are thinking about the roles they want to play

• How family members are trained to be ready to lead

• When it is time to pass leadership to younger generations

• How families react to the need for change

• How family culture impacts the ability to manage change

 

 

The retiring generation often prioritizes financial returns and considers contributions to social and environmental goals only through philanthropy. Rising Generation family members are increasingly challenging this approach. Rising Gens typically seek social and environmental returns in addition to market rate risk-adjusted returns.  Further, younger Millennials rank “to improve society” as the number one priority of business, above “to generate profit.”  

 

Family Office Exchange has been conducting research on the advantages of long-term private equity investing and the changes in the private equity industry and Sara Hamilton will report on this research.  She will also moderate a discussion with one of the leaders in the private equity industry, Mr. Vincent Mai, who is the Chairman of Cranemere Group, a privately owned equity holding company based in London. He was previously the former CEO and Chairman of AEA Investors, who spearheaded a 20 year track record at AEA from 1989-2011, building one of the top 10 private equity firms worldwide for consistent superior performance. Vincent is a seasoned investor and a valued resource on best practices, serving on several important family office and foundation Investment Committees.  He will provide unusual insight into the future of the private equity industry, how to structure relationships with private equity funds in an optimal manner, and how to think about direct co-investing. 

 

As complexity in the investment industry increases, families see the need for a thoughtful philosophy for preserving family wealth across generations.   This session will provide insight for those who have wondered how to balance appropriate selection criteria when choosing best fit investment strategies for their family. In an open-dialogue panel discussion, external investment strategists and their client family leaders will share case study examples of how to work successfully with an investment strategist and how to build strong partnerships with these advisors over time.