2017 FOX Fall Forum Presenters
Presenters
Anna Belyaev is a serial entrepreneur and investor whose career got off to an auspicious start 30 years ago at the University of Illinois’ National Center for Supercomputing Applications (NCSA), on the team most famous for developing the world's first web browser.
Anna’s roots in technology innovation and entrepreneurship run deep, especially in the health, financial services, and online learning sectors. Prior to joining Nicole Loftus in launching Skin in the Game and The SITG Fund, Anna was an early employee of the wildly successful Epic Systems Corporation, whose software holds medical records of over 50% of the nation’s patients. In 1997, she managed design and development of Andersen Worldwide’s first web-based course — which is still in use in an evolved form today. She is best known as founder of Type A Learning Agency, an award-winning elearning company with a sweet spot serving Professional Associations and the Fortune 500.
Anna has won numerous awards for her products, leadership and service over the years, but is most proud of the Alfred P Sloan and Right Management awards she’s earned for “Workplace Excellence.” She is passionately committed to creating quality jobs, upskilling our nation's workforce, and inviting leaders like you to get skin in the game.
Catherine H. Burnett is Chief Impact Officer for Phillips Management Group, where her role includes quantifying social and environmental strategy and impact analysis for the operating business with real estate holdings across the Southeastern United States. She also serves as Chief Operating Officer for Phillips Philanthropies, the greater philanthropic practice of the Phillips family including Phillips Foundation, a private family foundation and catalytic capital platform with offices in Greensboro, North Carolina, and Dallas, Texas. The Foundation seeks to leverage its full endowment for positive social and environmental impact through original programs, strategic grants, and impact investing.
Prior to joining Phillips Foundation in 2015, Burnett held a variety of positions in the U.S. and abroad in the fields of philanthropy, nonprofit strategy, corporate social responsibility, and community and business development. She served organizations such as William R. Kenan, Jr. Charitable Trust, SC Johnson Company, Discovery Channel Global Education Partnership, SONY Online Entertainment, and Lewa Wildlife Conservancy.
Burnett holds a Master of Business Administration with honors from UNC Kenan-Flagler Business School and a Bachelor of Arts with distinction from Princeton University. She serves on the North Carolina Advisory boards of Environmental Defense Fund, Teach For America Piedmont Triad, and Partners Ending Homelessness.
Shannon Cagnina serves as Chief Operating Officer of Phillips Enterprises, a family business and philanthropic platform with offices in Dallas, Texas, and Greensboro, North Carolina. Phillips Enterprises oversees the business and philanthropy practices of the Phillips family, including operating businesses with real estate holdings across the Southeastern United States, innovative social ventures, and a broad family philanthropy practice. The enterprise platform is focused on impact as a means to live out the Phillips family’s values while encouraging internal and external stakeholders to follow.
For ten years Ms. Cagnina served as the Chief Operating Officer of Mary Crowley Cancer Research, an independent 501(c)3 conducting clinical trial testing of novel molecular therapies for cancer patients. Her work advanced the mission to expand treatment options for cancer patients, harnessing leading genomic science to benefit patients in need.
Ms. Cagnina’s past experience includes Deputy General Counsel to the Secretary of Finance and Administrative Law Judge for the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. She earned a B.A. in Economics at Wellesley College, a J.D. from Boston University.
Charlie Carr, US Family Enterprises Advisory Leader, PwC
Charlie inspires families to achieve their legacy for the next 100 years. He is PwC’s US Family Enterprises Advisory Leader, based in Dallas, TX. He has over 25 years of financial services experience, including more than 13 years working exclusively with wealthy families, their family businesses and family offices.
Charlie has worked with hundreds of family offices and family businesses to define their strategy, plan for succession, create a family office that meets the family’s interests and goals, identify risks in the office, and define efficient processes that support the family and their desired legacy.
He is a frequent speaker and contributor on family office and family succession topics. He holds a Bachelor of Business Administration in Accounting and Management from Baylor University and is a Certified Financial Planner™, with a Six Sigma green belt for process design. Charlie coached youth baseball for 29 seasons over 15 years and has developed and taught a personal finance class for high school students.
Greg Cessna, CEO, Northbound Consulting
Greg Cessna has held a President or CEO position in privately held companies and publicly traded companies since 1990. Greg’s experience spans technology, education, and food industries. Regardless of the industry or market, though, one common theme prevails in Greg’s success: Greg passionately builds cultures of competence and commitment, develops purpose and clarity in the business strategy, and drives execution.
Greg’s accomplishments include the sale of Extrel Corporation ($38 M), PolyVision Corporation ($185 M), and Consumer Fresh Produce (undisclosed). Additionally, Greg has completed over 18 business acquisitions throughout his career.
Greg founded Northbound Consulting, Inc. in 2005 and provides family and public companies with executive-level mentoring and coaching services, lean manufacturing process improvements, business analytics, merger and acquisition strategies, and a process for strategic planning. In addition to the CEO and Founder role with Northbound Consulting, Greg is CEO at Consumer Fresh Produce in Pittsburgh, PA. Greg joined Consumer Fresh Produce through his consulting company in 2012 to help the family owners develop an exit strategy. Greg was named CEO in the fall of 2012. In 2014, Greg led the sale of the company to DIAM, an international holding company in the fresh produce market. Greg was retained as the CEO.
Prior to Consumer Fresh Produce, Greg was President and CEO at Troxell Communications ($150 M), President of School Specialty, Inc. ($1.5 B), President of PolyVision Corporation, ($180 M), and President and COO of ABB Process Analytics ($800 M). In addition to his business leadership, Greg has served on the board of Moore Co, (Family owned, $100 M), Architectural Impact Products (Family owned, $30 M), and a variety of non-profit boards supporting children and primary education.
Greg recently graduated from Auburn University with his MBA and now sits on the Advisory Board for the Raymond J. Harbert Business School, MBA program. He also has a Bachelor of Science degree in Chemistry from Indiana University of Pennsylvania, 1975.
Ashvin Chhabra, President, Euclidean Capital, Author, The Aspirational Investor
Ashvin Chhabra is President of Euclidean Capital. Euclidean Capital is responsible for the management of investments for James H. Simons & Marilyn Simons and their associated foundations. The Simons Foundation is dedicated to advancing research in basic science and mathematics. It is currently one of America’s two or three largest private funders of these areas. Other major initiatives include the Autism research initiative to improve understanding, diagnosis and treatment of autism spectrum disorders, as well as Math for America whose mission is to upgrade the quality of math and science teachers in our public schools.
Ashvin was Chief Investment Officer and head of investment management and guidance at Merrill Lynch Wealth Management from 2013-2015. He was the Chief Investment Officer at the Institute for Advanced Study from 2007-2013 and Managing Director and head of wealth management strategies and analytics for Merrill Lynch’s Global Private Client Group from 2001-2007. Prior to that, he was head of quantitative research at J.P. Morgan Private Bank.
Ashvin is also the author of The Aspirational Investor, published by Harper Collins in 2015. He is widely recognized as one of the founders of goals based wealth management and for his seminal work “Beyond Markowitz” which integrates Modern Portfolio Theory with Behavioral Finance and proposes a novel Wealth Allocation framework.
Ashvin is the immediate past-chair of the Board of Regents for the Financial Analysts Seminar of CFA Institute. He is also member of the international advisory board of EDHEC-Risk Institute, the Board of Trustees of the Stony Brook Foundation, and the investment committee of the Institute for Advanced Study. Dr. Chhabra has lectured at Yale University, Carnegie Mellon University, Columbia Business School, Baruch College CUNY, and the University of Chicago. He holds a PhD in applied physics from Yale University in the field of non-linear dynamics (Chaos theory).
Jim Dethmer, Co-Founder, The Conscious Leadership Group
Author, The 15 Commitments of Conscious Leadership
Jim has been coaching leaders and supporting individuals, groups, and organizations to optimize their effectiveness. Potent and practical, he sees issues clearly and communicates next steps crisply. Jim works with leaders across all industries to support them to lead and live more mindfully, masterfully and potently.
Jim has coached CEO’s and their teams from Fortune 200 companies, leaders from nonprofit organizations, and entrepreneurs in privately held firms.
Jim’s professional purpose is to support the expansion of conscious leadership in the world.
Nick Di Loreto is a Principal at BanyanGlobal. He has counseled client families in North America, Asia, Europe, and the Middle East, working with them on an array of tasks including reviewing portfolio strategies, developing organizational capabilities, and planning for generational transitions. His expertise spans a broad range of industries including telecommunications, finance, energy, education, health services, and logistics. He also plays an active role in the financial management and planning efforts of the firm.
Nick was first exposed to family business in high school when he worked in his family’s medical technology business. This was his first experience of reporting, professionally, to his father, and he came to appreciate first-hand the tensions, the complexity, and the deep sense of accomplishment that can result from achieving business success with close family members.
He went to college at Bucknell and immediately afterwards went to work at Accenture, where he helped launch products, manage client partner relationships, and conduct business development. After four years at Accenture, Nick attended the Yale School of Management, where he earned his MBA with Distinction, concentrating on finance and strategy. During that time, he also worked as an energy sector credit analyst for Standard and Poor’s.
Coventry Edwards-Pitt, CFA, CFP®, Chief Wealth Advisory
Officer, Ballentine Partners, LLC
Coventry Edwards-Pitt is a Partner and the Chief Wealth Advisory Officer at Ballentine Partners where she is responsible for thought leadership for the firm, including the development and management of the firm’s family education, family governance, and philanthropic offerings. Covie also leads several of the firm’s large family client engagements and specializes in helping her clients manage the impact of their wealth and ensure that their wealth management strategy reflects their families’ values and goals.
Covie is the author of the Healthy, Wealthy & Wise collection, a two-book series based on interviews that highlight success stories: the first, Raised Healthy, Wealthy & Wise (2014), focuses on raising children to be grounded and successful adults amid wealth and the second, Aged Healthy, Wealthy & Wise (2017), focuses on designing a vibrant and purposeful later life and legacy. Covie has spoken widely on the lessons in the books and has been a featured speaker at over 80 events for wealth-owning families and their advisors. She also consults to individuals about how to implement the books’ best practices in their own lives and within their own families.
Covie has been recognized as one of “The 50 Most Influential Women in Private Wealth” by Private Asset Management, one of the “Top 50 Women in Wealth Management” by Wealth Manager/AdvisorOne.com, and was selected to the Boston Business Journal’s “40 Under 40” list. Covie has been quoted widely, including in The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, Bloomberg, and Investment News.
Mike Fernandez, CEO, Burson-Marsteller
Mike Fernandez is CEO, U.S. based in New York. Prior to joining Burson-Marsteller, Mike served as chief communications officer for five large U.S.-based corporations across diverse industries, including financial, technology, consumer goods and services, and health care. Most recently, he led global corporate affairs at Cargill, the world’s largest privately held company and one of the world’s leading producers and marketers of food, agricultural, financial and industrial products and services. During his six-year tenure, he was responsible for communications, brand and marketing services, government relations, and corporate social responsibility.
Before joining Cargill, Mike was chief communications officer for four Fortune 500 companies, including State Farm Insurance, ConAgra Foods, Cigna and US West. He also held various global marketing and communications roles at Kodak, leading teams focused on external business communications, employee communications and strategic communications. Early in his career, he served as Press Secretary to U.S. Senator Ernest “Fritz” Hollings, where at age 23 he was the youngest U.S. Senate Press Secretary ever and only the second Latino to serve in such a role.
Mike has been listed on PRWeek’s Power List of the top 50 PR professionals in the U.S., and the Holmes Report’s Influence 100 list of the top 100 PR professionals in the world. He serves on the boards of two professional organizations: The Institute for Public Relations and the Arthur W. Page Society.
Mike was inducted into the PRWeek Hall of Fame in 2015. He also has received the Institute for Public Relations’ Alexander Hamilton Medal, the Hispanic Public Relations Association’s first Pioneer Award, the PRSA Foundation’s Paladin Award and the Plank Center’s Milestones in Mentoring Award. In 2014 his Cargill team won PRWeek’s Global Program of the Year Award and in 2015, Fortune Magazine listed Cargill among 50 “Change the World” companies that are making a positive impact on the world.
Mike graduated with a B.A. in Government and M.S. in Accounting from Georgetown University.
Betsy and Jesse Fink, Founders, Marshall Street Management
Betsy and Jesse Fink have had a lifelong interest in the environment and stewardship. The couple met while attending SUNY College of Environmental Science and Forestry. After graduating Jesse received an MBA from Syracuse University and Betsy continued studies in ecological restoration. In his professional career, Jesse has been involved in developing innovative business models including as founding Chief Operating Officer at priceline.com. Betsy previously held management positions at both Prodigy Services and priceline.com, specializing in technical project management. Their work at priceline.com allowed them to become systems entrepreneurs, dedicated to aligning investments and activities with their philanthropic mission of solving environmental and social challenges. As Co-Founders and Trustees of The Fink Family Foundation, their venture philanthropy provides guidance, investment and strategic advice to social entrepreneurs. They have seed funded innovations and pilots at the intersections of the environment, food systems and resilience.
In 2006, Jesse co-founded MissionPoint Capital Partners, a private investment firm focused on financing the transition to a low-carbon economy. In 2014, MissionPoint Partners was formed to guide other families and foundations in their pursuit of impact. In 2006, Betsy established Millstone Farm in Wilton, CT with a vision of vibrant, healthful communities united through wholesome, delicious, and culturally significant foods. For 10 years she worked with local restaurants and markets to rebuild a regional food system and created a framework to explore the link between biodiversity and sustainable food systems. This integrated work led to the seed funding and creation of ReFED, a nonprofit focused in reducing food waste in the US, where Jesse currently Chairs the Steering Committee.
Jonathan Flack, US Family Business Services Leader, PwC
As a leader of PwC’s US Family Business Services practice, Jonathan leverages his personable and entrepreneurial spirit to develop collaborative, trusted, and deeply valued relationships with family-owned businesses. He strives to anticipate his clients' needs and to create diverse approaches, helping them achieve their business goals.
His innovative and visionary spirit instills an empathetic mindset in his teams, creating a differentiating client experience. His entrepreneurial drive stems from his experience launching two offices for the US firm (Nashville & Charleston) where he identified and developed high-performing teams, quickly gaining deep client trust and respect.
Jonathan is a lead engagement partner to some of the United States’ largest family-owned businesses and leverages a strong global network of partners with a similar focus. He also taps external advisors (attorneys, family business counselors, trust advisors) as needed to deliver innovative solutions to multi-generational family businesses.
As part of his role in leading the US family business practice for PwC, Jonathan spearheads the strategy, operations, talent development, thought-leadership and marketing for the family-owned business sector. He supports other client teams serving this sector and has published thought-leadership and led regional forums on family business issues.
Jonathan is also an Assurance Partner where he has extensive international experience with multi-billion dollar, private clients. He assists clients with business transactions and new products. He started his career in the Carolinas working on large privately held businesses in multiple industries.
Rob Gray, Senior Director of Operations and Executive Security,
Cox Enterprises
Currently, Rob Gray is the Senior Director of Executive Security Programs and Operations for Cox Enterprises which includes management of the protection of the Cox Family Office and business executives worldwide. Responsibilities include executive protection, protective intelligence, physical security & operations, investigations, risk mitigation, enterprise business continuity programs and disaster recovery.
Previously, Rob was the Director of Global Security for Novelis Inc. Duties included managerial oversight for global physical security, executive protection, business intelligence and threat assessment and crisis management. Rob managed a staff with international responsibilities and duties regarding regional specific operations. This role included the creation and formation of the international security department.
Prior to his position at Novelis, Rob was the Director of International Security and Government Initiatives for Western Union. In his role as Director of International Security and Government Initiatives for Western Union, Rob was responsible for an international staff and combating international fraud, money laundering schemes, and government/law enforcement liaison. Rob managed the emerging trends in the money wire industry and identified these trends utilizing current consumer fraud schemes and money laundering practices that manipulate the Western Union, Vigo, and Orlandi Valuta money transfer services. Other duties included executive protection, physical security assessments, and due diligence.
Western Union completed a spin off from its parent company First Data Corporation and he previously was Director of Corporate Security and Director of the Bank Investigation Group (BIG) at First Data. Before joining First Data, Rob served as a Special Agent for the United States Secret Service for 10 years ending as a program manager for an International Financial Crimes program. Rob has served in undercover roles for international terrorism and financial investigations as well as the Public Information Officer for Media Relations and protective intelligence roles. Rob was also a police officer for six and a half years outside of Chicago, specializing in gang intervention.
Gray earned his BA and MA from North Central College, Naperville, IL in Business and Futures Analysis respectively.
Marion McCollom Hampton, Senior Partner,
BanyanGlobal
Dr. Marion McCollom Hampton is a co-founder and Senior Partner at BanyanGlobal. She has been active in the family business field for 25 years, and has been named a Fellow in the Family Firm Institute. She is co-author of a foundational work in the family business field, Generation to Generation: Life Cycles of the Family Business (with Kelin Gersick, John Davis, and Ivan Lansberg, Harvard Business School Press, 1997).
Marion’s family business advisory practice focuses on helping families address relationship and governance issues to achieve business continuity from generation to generation. She has served clients and run educational programs for families in business in Latin America, Europe, and the Middle East, as well as in the United States.
Marion was on the Organizational Behavior faculty of Boston University’s School of Management from 1986 to 1997. She has published a number of articles on the structure and dynamics of family-owned business, in addition to cases, scholarly articles on organizational culture, and two books dealing with organizational issues. She has also taught in university executive leadership programs at Dartmouth’s Tuck School and the Wharton School, as well as in private corporate programs for Carrier, General Electric, Caterpillar, Grant Thornton LLP, and JP Morgan Chase Private Bank.
She received an AB magna cum laude from Harvard University, an MPPM (masters of management) from the Yale School of Management, and a Ph.D. in organizational behavior, with Distinction, from Yale University.
Katherine Hayes, Chair of the Board, HRK Trust Company
HRK Group, Inc. is a full service family office comprised of an investment partnership, a private trust company, and a private foundation. The HRK offices are in St. Paul, MN. Katherine served as the HRK Investments, LLC Portfolio Manager from 1998 until 2011. Katherine is currently the HRK Trust Company Board chair.
Katherine graduated from Carleton College in 1992 with a B.A. in Studio Art and received an MBA from the University of St. Thomas in 2010. She received mediator training in 2010 and volunteers for the Conflict Resolution Center in Minneapolis. Katherine started a repair business called Fixity in 2011. She has also worked as a metalsmith and jewelry designer. Katherine has served as a Board member on the HRK Foundation Board since 1996, Artspace Projects Board from 2002-2007 and 2011-2016, The Cowles Center for Dance and Performing Arts 2011-2016, and the Merce Cunningham Dance Foundation Board 2008-2012.
Brayden King, Chair of Management & Organizations
Department, Kellogg School of Management, Northwestern
University
Brayden King is the Max McGraw Chair of Management and the Environment and a professor of Management and Organizations. He is also affiliated with the Department of Sociology. Professor King's research focuses on how social movement activists influence corporate social responsibility, organizational change, and legislative policymaking. He also studies the ways in which the reputations and identities of businesses and social movement organizations emerge and transform in response to their institutional environments. More recently, his research has begun to examine social media and its influence on individual and organizational reputations.
Professor King is an expert in the field of corporate reputation and has been appointed an international research fellow at the Oxford University Centre for Corporate Reputation.
Professor King has published research in the American Journal of Sociology, Administrative Science Quarterly, American Sociological Review, Organization Science, and numerous other scholarly journals. He is currently a senior editor at Organization Science, a consulting editor at Sociological Science and the American Journal of Sociology, and has been a guest editor at Organization Studies and Research in the Sociology of Organizations.
Professor King received his PhD in 2005 from the University of Arizona in sociology and joined the Kellogg faculty in 2008.
Jill Koosmann, President & CEO, HRK Group, Inc.
Jill M. Koosmann is president and CEO of HRK Group, Inc., a single-family office, and HRK Trust Company, a private trust company chartered for the Andersen Windows Family. She is responsible for working with the family to set the strategic direction of the enterprise and for leading the planning and execution of each family member’s long-term investment, estate and philanthropic plan. In addition, she acts as an advocate for all family members in working to achieve their mission of being “Good Stewards with a Generous Spirit”.
Jill joined the office in 1995. Prior to joining HRK Group, Inc., she worked for ten year in business planning for Carlson Companies. She began her career as an auditor at McGladrey, Hendrickson, & Pullen.
Jill is a Certified Public Accountant and received her bachelor’s degree in Accounting from Gustavus Adolphus College.
Sanjeev Krishnan is Managing Director of S2G Ventures, and he has been with the firm since its inception. Sanjeev has over 15 years of experience in sourcing, executing, managing and governing venture and private equity investments, including a focus in agriculture and food companies. As Managing Director, Sanjeev is active in developing investments and managing portfolio companies.
Sanjeev serves on the boards of several S2G portfolio companies. He also serves on the investment committee of Bamboo Finance and a variety of advisory boards related to impact investing and the agriculture and water sectors.
Sanjeev began investing in the food and agriculture sectors in 2003 as a co-founder of the life sciences practice of the IFC, the $20 billion private investment arm of the World Bank. His previous investment roles include CLSA Capital Partners, Global Environment Fund, World Bank Group’s IFC and JPMorgan.
Sanjeev is a graduate of the London School of Economics and Political Science.
Entrepreneur Nicole Loftus disrupted a $20 billion industry, built the 8th fastest growing company in the country and the #1 woman-led company in the U.S. (Inc. 500). Nicole’s difficult experiences with venture capitalists triggered her next obsession – a better way to fund entrepreneurs.
Nicole’s TEDx Talk shares the first discovery in her journey – the $2.5 trillion in corporate venture. Skin in the Game is the next step in her mission and will engage the public in the process of funding innovative businesses. Loftus is an author, speaker and a frequent guest faculty member at Chicago Public Schools and Northwestern University. Nicole has served as a mentor to many entrepreneurs, some through The Clinton Foundation and The Network for Teaching Entrepreneurship (NFTE).
John Lugiano, President, MPS, LLC
John Lugiano leads the protective security program for the Mathile Family and their associated enterprises under CYMI Holdings. In this capacity, John manages the risk-based protective security operations related to the daily personal, cyber and asset protection needs of our multi-generational family and their related business and philanthropic endeavors.
Additionally, John assisted in the development and implementation of the Crisis Management Team (CMT), helping guide the family and businesses through sensitive security and public relations matters. He currently acts as its Chairman.
Prior to joining CYMI Holdings in 2003, John spent 21 years in the private sector, including 3 years as the Director of Security at The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, supporting its Benefactors and staff with comprehensive security and protection programs globally.
Over the course of his career, John has developed security programs, conducted risk assessments and protective operations in 40+ US States and 60+ foreign countries in risk environments from low to high.
Duncan is a 4th generation wealthy family member from Victoria, BC, Canada. He is the oldest of three siblings at 32. His background is in founding, operating, and investing in startups, mostly in software development. He is currently a partner in a firm that specializes in collaborative design methodology for helping organizations solve complex and difficult challenges. He also sits on the board of one of his family's companies, and enjoys actively engaging with his family office on a variety of levels. He is keen to share his perspective as a young family member who has grown up in a business family.
Josh Mailman is Founder and Managing Director of Serious Change LP., a sole LP impact investment vehicle started in 2006 with active investments in 45 companies. He was a founding investor in Stonyfield Farms, Seventh Generation, Grameen Telecom, and Global Telesystems. He serves on the board of the following non-profits: the Mailman School of Public Health, Echoing Green, the Fund for Global Human Rights (Emeritus) and the Sigrid Rausing Trust U.K. (founding trustee and rejoining board member).
Josh founded Social Venture Network with Wayne Silby of Calvert Group in 1987.
Consulting
Kim Schneider Malek, a second-generation family enterprise consultant since 1997, guides family businesses, enterprising families, governing boards, and individuals from where they are today toward a desired future story. The focus of her work is on the behavioral, organizational, and management (rather than the legal and financial) sides of transition planning. Client goals include family unity, succession, governance, board/management development, role clarification, communication, group dynamics/culture shift, leadership, and education. She serves clients, associations, peer groups, students, advisory firms, and families in over 50 countries.
The 2014 recipient of the Family Firm Institute’s (FFI) Barbara Hollander Achievement Award for global leadership and educational contribution to the field, Kim is the founder of Family/Enterprise Alliance, LLC and Kischma Consulting. She serves on the faculty of the FFI’s Global Education Network, teaching in the certificate programs, and has been an adjunct professor in the graduate-degree programs developing and teaching courses on family business, high performance management, and communication at the University of Denver’s Daniels College of Business since 2001.
Kim holds an MBA, BS in communication, and certificates in family therapy and family business/wealth advising.
Greg McCann is the founder, principal and leader of an international family enterprise consulting firm that create workshops, consults, publishes, and innovates on issues of importance to family enterprises. McCann and Associates is a boutique firm that has worked over the last two decades with family enterprises throughout the U.S. They help cultivate the commitment to family, greater trust, values-based decision making, and longer-term thinking that are vital strengths in well run family enterprises.
McCann was founder and director (1998-2006 and 2010 to 2014) of the Family Enterprise Center at Stetson University, where he led the effort to develop the nation’s second minor and first undergraduate major in Family Business. He continues to serve as a tenured full professor of Business Law and Family Enterprise at Stetson University.
His most recent book, Who Do You Think You Are? is about aligning your character with your reputation. His previous book, When Your Parents Sign the Paychecks, deals with the challenges faced by the next generation in family business. The work received a bronze medal in the career category at the 2008 Axiom Business Book Awards.
McCann is a graduate of Stetson University (B.A.) and the University of Florida, College of Law (J.D.) and has served on the Board of Directors of the Family Firm Institute (FFI) (2005-2008). He is a FFI Fellow and is certified in Family Business and Family Wealth Advising from FFI.
Mary-Hunter McDonnell, Assistant Professor of Management, The
Wharton School, University of Pennsylvania
Professor Mary-Hunter ("Mae") McDonnell is a professor in the Management department of the University of Pennsylvania's Wharton School of Business. She is an expert in corporate social strategy, and her work centers on exploring the strategies through which firms engage with contentious social activists and issues.
Prof. McDonnell holds a Ph.D. in Management and Organizations from Northwestern University's Kellogg School of Management, a J.D. from Harvard Law School, and a B.A. in Philosophy from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Her published work has appeared in numerous prestigious scholarly outlets, including the Academy of Management Journal, Administrative Science Quarterly, the American Sociological Review, Organization Science, the Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, and Psychological Science, as well as law reviews including the Cornell Law Review and the Harvard Human Rights Journal.
Dr. Anthony Michaels is a nationally recognized leader in sustainability, innovation and environmental science. Before joining the Midwestern BioAg team, Dr. Michaels was co-founder of Proteus Environmental Technologies, chief scientist at Pegasus Capital Advisors, president of ReCommunity Energy, and CEO of PhycoSystems. Dr. Michaels is board chair for the National Council for Science and the Environment and a board member at the Global Institute on Sustainability at Arizona State University. Previously, he chaired the Council of Environmental Deans and Directors, the Catalina Island Conservancy, and the NSF Advisory Committee on Environmental Research and Education.
Dr. Michaels received his Ph.D. of Biology from University of California, Santa Cruz.
W. Jackson Parham, Jr., CFA, Chief Investment Officer, Eton
Advisors
Jack Parham is responsible for applying Eton's goals-based investment process to specific clients’ portfolios and serves as Chair of Eton's Investment Committee. Jack also serves as an outsourced CIO for large U.S. and international single-family offices.
Prior to co-founding Eton Advisors, Jack was CIO of the US Trust Multi-Family Office Group where he also served on the firm's Investment Strategy Committee. Earlier in his career, Jack spent ten years as a college finance professor and served as Chairman of the Department of Business at Hillsdale College. He is currently an adjunct faculty member at the University of North Carolina's Kenan-Flagler Business School, and is a member of the Advisory Board of the Journal of Wealth Management.
Mitzi Perdue, Author, How to Make Your Family Business Last
Author, speaker, and businesswoman, Mitzi Perdue holds a BA with honors degree from Harvard University and an MPA from the George Washington University. She is a past president of the 35,000-member American Agri-Women, a former syndicated columnist for Scripps Howard, and her television series, Country Magazine, was syndicated to 76 stations. She’s the founder of CERES Farms, the family-owned agricultural real estate investment company that owns commercial and residential real estate, and the family vineyards that sell wine grapes to wineries such as Mondavi, Bogle, Folie a Deux, and Toasted Head. Mitzi’s ‘I’ve-lived-it’ experience comes from membership in two long-lasting family enterprises. Her family of origin began in 1890 with the Henderson Estate Company, forerunner of the Sheraton Hotels, which her father co-founded and in Perdue Farms, which was founded in 1920, but her experience began when she married family leader, Frank Perdue who has now passed on.
Mitzi Perdue’s book, How to Make Your Family Business Last, gives practical advice on how a family businesses can develop a culture that supports keeping the family business in the family.
Elizabeth Carlock Phillips, Executive Director, Phillips Foundation
Elizabeth Carlock Phillips is a social entrepreneur and millennial philanthropist at the helm of Phillips Philanthropies, including the Phillips Foundation. She graduated from Southern Methodist University (SMU) with degrees in Corporate Communications and Public Affairs and French. In high school, she founded a jewelry business that became her career for seven years and led her to Uganda, where she was Founding Designer of Akola, the first full-impact brand in the luxury space, and to Peru, where she consulted for a fair trade business offering economic opportunity to women.
Elizabeth has been involved with many nonprofits, including founding Echelon, the official national young professionals organization that is "Mobilizing the Next Generation" for The Salvation Army; starting Generation GPAC, a grassroots movement supporting the Greensboro Performing Arts Center project; and creating programs and chairing record-breaking fundraisers for several other causes. Since 2013, she has led the Phillips Foundation's implementation of large, high-impact grants that "move the dial" in Guilford County, North Carolina; developed the Foundation's 100% values alignment strategy; and launched its Impact Investing Think Tank as well as, more recently, the Healthy Relationships lnitative (HRI).
She is Governor-appointed to the Board of Trustees for the University of North Carolina at Greensboro and sits on the national boards of Women Moving Millions, Say Yes to Education, and Relationships First, along with several other affiliations. Elizabeth, 29, is a cofounder of The ImPact and has appeared in featured stories from a variety of publications, including the Dallas Morning News, Financial Times, Barron's, The Business Journals, Bloomberg and on various news broadcasts. She and her husband Kevin lead Phillips Enterprises, which includes Phillips Management Group, a third-generation multi-family real estate business, and they enjoy life with their children in Dallas, Texas and Greensboro, North Carolina.
Eric Powell, Chief Security Officer, Bayshore Global Management LLC
Eric Powell is the Chief Security Officer for a Private Family Office in Silicon Valley. His team is responsible for personal safety and security of his principals and family members, as well as the safety and security of their employees, personal business interests, and various assets located around the world.
Eric spent 23 years with the US Government (military and civilian), serving as a Special Agent with the US Secret Service and Air Force Office of Special Investigations, Senior Special Agent/Group Supervisor of the US Customs Service, and Security Specialist with the Naval Criminal Investigative Service.
Eric also served as the Protective Services Manager, and the Regional Security Manager for Asia Pacific and Latin America (APLA), for Google.
Eric has a bachelor’s degree in government and politics from the University of Maryland, a master’s degree in forensic psychology from Argosy University, and is currently enrolled in a doctoral program in psychology.
Management)
Shally Shanker founded and is CEO for AiiM, a platform which invests across the lifecycle of high-impact investments in the areas of energy, efficiency, water, agriculture and human development. AiiM was recently awarded a grant by The Technology-to-Market Program within DOE’s Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (EERE), to empirically test its method of forecasting optimal capital blends for individual early-stage companies.
Previously Shally built a diversified, global portfolio of high impact investments at the Schmidt Family Foundation, focusing on energy, agriculture and water/oceans with a focus on access and empowerment. Starting in April 2011, she created and implemented the portfolio’s strategy and investment thesis to build a high impact portfolio blending capital stacks to meet the needs of the underlying ideas. She sourced and actively managed a wide range of investment opportunities and worked with her team and domain experts to build and implement the portfolio strategy.
Shally has over 20 years of previous investment management experience structuring and stewarding global portfolios of debt and equity instruments. Before leading mission investing she was the Investment Officer at The Schmidt Family Foundation and Vice President of Investments at Hillspire, LLC. In addition to her investment experience, she has also worked at the Stanford Solutions Science Lab at the Stanford School of Medicine building a community based intervention program for childhood obesity prevention among at-risk communities.
Shally is qualified Chartered Financial Analyst and holds masters in finance and business.
Ruth Steverlynck is a principal of Your Family Enterprise and works as a private consultant to family enterprises. Prior to establishing Your Family Enterprise, Ruth was a VP of Wealth Services with BMO Harris Private Banking. She joined BMO after serving as the Director, Centre for Entrepreneurs and Family Business with PwC, Vancouver. Ruth holds an honors LLB from the University of Edinburgh, Scotland and holds numerous certificates and diplomas in mediation, conflict and dispute resolution.
Ruth holds a Certificate in Family Business Advising from the Family Firm Institute in the USA and was one of the first Canadians to receive the Family Enterprise Advising (“FEA”) designation from the Institute of Family Enterprise Advisors. Ruth teaches Governance in the FEA Program at UBC as well as Business Family Dynamics. Most recently Ruth has been appointed as one of two lead adjudicators for IFEA. Ruth’s civic and community involvement past and present include Board member for IFEA, the Advisory Board to the UBC Sauder, School of Business, Business Families Centre, Vice Chair of the Professional Advisory Council to the UBC Sauder School of Business, Business Families Centre; Director on the Executive Management Board of the DVBIA and the Vancouver International Children’s Festival Society.
Kate Tilney, Chair of the Board, HRK Group, Inc.
HRK Group, Inc. is a full service family office located in St. Paul, MN, consisting of an investment partnership, a private trust company, and a private foundation. As the spouse of a fifth generation HRK descendant and mother of two sixth generation descendants, Kate serves as board chair for HRK Group (since 2005), Inc., as a director for HRK Foundation (since 2002) and HTC Trust Company (since 2010) and as one of two Strategic Managers for HRK Group Inc. (since 20012). In her family Kate is also currently Managing Partner and fifth generation member of Tilney Farms LLP, a 132 year old family business. Professionally, Kate has extensive experience in a variety of non-profit and foundation environments. She has focused primarily on program evaluation, organizational development and program management. She also serves/has served on several non-profit and political boards, and current board work focuses on issues of immigrant and refugee resettlement. Kate holds a B.A in English from Bates College, a Master’s in Social Work from the University of Minnesota, and a Ph.D. in Sociology from The Union Institute.
With more than 20 years as a successful business leader and educator, Monica Walter is the Family Development Director for RFA Management Company, LLC, where she works with and advises multi-generational ultra-high net worth clients to ensure that wealth, values and legacies are passed from one generation to the next. As a key member of the RFA leadership team, Monica has broad responsibility for strategy and tactical initiatives across a number of diverse areas including: family governance; succession planning; education to build business and financial competence for family members.
Monica successfully built the infrastructure and family development curriculum from the ground up, including customized personal development and education plans ensuring future generational growth, governance and stewardship. She also initiated benchmarking with other Family Offices and private foundations, building relationships with Presidents to share best practices.
With a Master’s degree in Business Administration from Georgia Tech University and a Bachelor’s degree in Biology from the University of Delaware, Monica is also a financial planner receiving her Certified Financial Planner (CFP) Certificate from Emory University in 2012.
Michael is Co-Founder and Managing Partner of Big Path Capital, a leading boutique impact investment bank focused on providing Corporate Finance, M&A, and Placement Agent services to impact companies and funds globally. Big Path has worked with over 120 impact and sustainable companies and funds, more than any firm in the sector. In 2007 the old economy driven by the single gear of profit maximization reached a dead end in the financial crisis. It was a moment of reckoning during which Michael left his fifteen-year career in private equity to form Big Path Capital with his partner, Shawn Lesser, leveraging the engine of capitalism for an expansive economy built on natural, social, and financial capital.
Recognizing that impact investing isn’t just a different way of investing but a superior way of deploying capital, Michael is committed to challenging the status quo and to raising the expectation of capital. In this vein, Big Path has created a number of first-in-class initiatives demonstrating SmarterMoney+: Maximize impact, Maximize return. These include the Five Fund Forum, Impact Capitalism Summit, and Impact & Sustainable Trade Missions.
Michael received his BA summa cum laude, Phi Beta Kappa from the University of the South in Sewanee, TN and received a joint MBA and MEM (Master of Engineering Management) from the Kellogg School of Management, Northwestern University. Michael is an advisory board member of the Croatan Institute and the Babson Center for Global Commerce and is a member of the Social Venture Network and Net Impact.
Family Office Exchange Presenters
Sara Hamilton, Founder and CEO, Family Office Exchange
Sara Hamilton is the Founder and CEO of Family Office Exchange (FOX), the definitive source of information and best practices associated with the business of managing family wealth across generations. Ms. Hamilton launched FOX in 1989 and, since then has grown its network to over 490 globally-minded family enterprises and their advisors, based in over 20 countries.
Ms. Hamilton is the coauthor of Family Legacy and Leadership: Preserving True Family Wealth in Challenging Times. She also serves on the executive education faculty for the University Of Chicago Booth School Of Business and teaches the course on private wealth management.
Recently, Ms. Hamilton was recently named one of the Top 50 Women in Wealth Management by PAM and was honored with this award for three years running by Wealth Manager. She serves on the editorial boards of the Journal of Wealth Management and Trusts and Estates magazine.
Ann Dugan, Senior Managing Director, Consulting, Family Office
Exchange
Ann Dugan is the Senior Managing Director of Consulting at Family Office Exchange, where she leads the consulting team in the outstanding delivery of services to many of the world’s most substantial family enterprises and family offices. Ms. Dugan is also the founder of the Institute for Entrepreneurial Excellence at the University of Pittsburgh, where she led as an executive for nearly 30 years.
Most recently, Ms. Dugan comes to FOX from Headwaters SC (HWSC), where she served as Managing Director, Family Advisory Services. Ms. Dugan is a fourth-generation member of a business-owning family within the lumber and building supply industry in southeast Georgia. She currently resides in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, but her consulting and educational work continue to take her throughout the world.
Jane Flanagan, Managing Director, Family Office Exchange
Jane is the Managing Director of Family Office Research at Family Office Exchange (FOX). Jane has been with the firm since 1993 and has served in a number of roles, including Managing Director of Membership, Director of Research, and Consultant.
Ms. Flanagan currently leads the firm’s annual Family Office Benchmarking research studies and works as a developer, writer, and editor of industry white papers and research studies for FOX members. She also monitors the FOX listserv and serves as a content resource for the Membership and Consulting Teams at FOX.
Prior to joining FOX, Ms. Flanagan worked as a global custody Relationship Manager at the Northern Trust Company.
Charles B. Grace, III, Managing Director, Family Office Exchange
Charles B. Grace, III is Managing Director at FOX. Mr. Grace works on strategic planning projects for families and family offices as well as wealth management advisors.
Mr. Grace has been active for over twenty years in the family office community, advising ultra-wealthy families and family offices. Mr. Grace has been quoted in various publications on the subject of private wealth management, including The Wall Street Journal, Financial Times, and Worth Magazine and presented at many conferences focused on private investors and family offices.
In addition to his responsibilities at FOX, Mr. Grace has been active on the Board of the single-family office Ashbridge LLC since 1992, and in 2010 was named President. He is a Trustee and member of the Investment Committee of the non-profit Tuttle Fund, Inc. in New York City.
Amy Hart Clyne, Executive Director, Knowledge Center, Family
Office Exchange
Amy Hart Clyne is Executive Director of the Knowledge Center for Family Office Exchange (FOX), supporting the firm’s extensive global community of ultra-wealthy families and advisors. Ms. Hart Cline collaborates with all of the teams within FOX to ensure that the firm’s collective learning is used to enhance existing member relationships, attract new members, and support the work of the consulting practice. She is also responsible for program design & development at FOX, including all forums, events and webinars.
Leveraging over 25 years of extensive experience in private wealth management, Ms. Hart Cline joined Family Office Exchange in 2012. She has worked as a consultant to some of the country’s leading private wealth management firms and private family foundations. Ms. Hart Cline worked for The Chase Manhattan Private, Bankers Trust Private Bank, and Lehman Management Company, a subsidiary of Lehman Bros. Kuhn Loeb, in the ultra-wealthy individual area.
Kristi Kuechler runs the FOX Private Investor Center™ and is the moderator of the FOX Private Investor Council™ and FOX Direct Investing Network. Kristi has opened the West Coast office for FOX and is based in San Francisco.
Kristi joins FOX after five years as Partner and Managing Director of Lattice Strategies, an investment firm based in San Francisco. Prior to her work at Lattice, Kristi served as President of the Institute for Private Investors (IPI), where she was responsible for content and curriculum development and oversaw all matters related to membership. Kristi also created the Private Wealth Management program offered at Stanford University and ran it for three years.
Kristi has a bachelor’s degree from University of California-Davis, and a masters in educational policy from Stanford University.
Miguel López de Silanes, Market Leader for Europe and Latin
America, Family Office Exchange
Miguel López de Silanes Gómez is the FOX Market Leader for Europe and Latin America. He is responsible for delivering FOX services to current members and also works actively to expand the network in Europe and Latin America.
Mr. Silanes was previously director of the family office for one of Europe’s leading real estate families, with specific responsibility for designing and implementing the family’s investment strategy and for providing owner education to the younger family members.
He also at UBS Wealth Management in NY, Chile, and other locations in Latin America. He began his career at Bain & Company as an Associate Consultant in London and Madrid.
Mariann Mihailidis, Managing Director, Councils, Family Office
Exchange
Mariann Mihailidis oversees the FOX member councils, which are private networks of close peers working together to advance their professional development and to solve the unique challenges they face in their management of private wealth. She has extensive experience in the accounting and legal fields.
As a practicing tax and estate planning attorney, she develops strategies in wealth transfer issues, taxes, and corporate structures. Ms. Mihailidis has served as an executor and trustee, and her fiduciary responsibilities included administrative, legal, and accounting duties of various trusts and estates.
Prior to joining FOX in 1996, Ms. Mihailidis worked in one of America’s leading family offices as an accounting manager for the family’s investment partnerships and operating companies. She also spent more than six years in public accounting, including work as an auditor for Price Waterhouse.
Alexandre Monnier, President, Family Office Exchange
Alexandre Monnier is President of Family Office Exchange (FOX). Mr. Monnier oversees FOX globally and has extensive experience in creating, marketing, and delivering premium services to families of wealth in the wealth management, private aviation and healthcare industries—both in the US and internationally.
He joined FOX from PinnacleCare, a leader in private health advisory services, where he led the development of the business in the U.S. and in Europe. Earlier, he ran Skyjet, Bombardier Aerospace’s private jet charter business, transforming the business from an emerging player to a leading private jet travel provider. He also spent 10 years as a management consultant serving some of the most widely recognized firms in the U.S. and Europe on issues ranging from strategy to operational and organizational effectiveness. He started his career in finance with Societe Generale.
Monica Staco, Director, Research, Family Office Exchange
Monica Staco is the Director of Research for Family Office Exchange (FOX). She leads the execution of family offices benchmarking and research studies. Her focus in on the FOX Compensation and Benefits Study, Global Investment Survey and FOX Family Office Survey.
Prior to joining FOX, Ms. Staco worked with Mintel, where she led and managed its financial services, technology and automobile research team. Prior to that, she served as the Vice President, Senior Specialist Market Research at Northern Trust.
Ms. Staco is currently in the doctoral program at Wright Graduate University, where she is completing work in Transformational Leadership and Coaching. She is originally from Haiti and is fluent in French.
David Toth is the Director of Advisor Research at FOX. He harnesses research to develop actionable insights and perform strategic analyses for family offices and wealth management advisor members. Assignments include constructing a roadmap of initiatives that assist family offices and wealth advisors in building pricing strategies, elevating client experience, talent management strategies and optimizing team structure and achieving profitable growth. Most recently, he completed “Creating Memorable Client Experiences: Differentiation in the Ultra-Wealth Market,” a report designed to assist advisory firms and families in building their own unique client experience programs.
David brings over thirty years of wealth and investment management, marketing and strategic consulting experience to FOX and its members. Over the past fourteen years he has held key leadership positions in the Asset Management Division at PNC Financial formulating and implementing growth strategies that helped to more than double the size of their wealth and ultra-HNW businesses. David has played a lead role in the wealth industry through his work on client satisfaction/loyalty, improvements to both the client and advisor experience, pricing strategies, development of new investment products and approaches, and the launch of Wealth Insight® an award-winning blend of technology and advisor/client interaction.
David earned a B.B.A. majoring in Marketing and an M.B.A. majoring in Finance & Economics from University of Michigan and the University of Detroit/Mercy, respectively. In addition, David has completed Leadership and Executive Development programs at the University of Pennsylvania’s Wharton School.