Presenters

David M. Allen
Partner, Katten Muchin Rosenman LLP

David Allen helps high-net-worth individuals and families with all their legal needs. With an approach that seamlessly integrates estate planning, tax minimization and concierge lawyering, David's advice allows his clients to spend less time managing advisors and more time focusing on their passions, their businesses and their families.

From restructuring valuable art collections to coordinating legal services for multibillion-dollar family businesses and family offices, David is often the first and only phone call his clients need to make. His clients live around the world and include private business owners, corporate executives, hedge fund managers and private equity principals.

Former professor at John Marshall Law School, David taught a course on estate and gift tax law, and he is a frequent speaker on estate and tax planning related topics, including pre-business sale tax and estate planning, international trust and estate planning, income taxation of trusts, ethical tax planning, trust decanting and estate planning with digital assets. David is also vice chair of the Society of Trust and Estate Practitioners (STEP) Chicago Branch.
 

Ken Cameron
Director, Human Capital Services, Grant Thornton

Ken is a Director in Grant Thornton’s Human Capital Services Consulting Practice. He is based in Atlanta and serves as the employee compensation design services national leader for the firm.  

Ken has more than 25 years of human resources leadership experience in both the consulting and corporate environments. His areas of experience include Total reward strategy; Executive compensation and benefits; Compensation Committee support; Survey design and administration; Variable pay/sales plan design and diagnostics; Broad-based pay design, Culture assessment and Performance management.
 
Ken has earned the designation of Certified Compensation Professional from WorldatWork and has been a featured speaker for numerous compensation, human resources and financial organizations and a contributor to publications such as the Wall Street Journal, Crain’s New York Business, Bloomberg BNA, the Atlanta Business Chronicle, The Financial Times and Accounting Today. 

Ken has a Master of Science in industrial relations from Loyola University’s Institute of Industrial Relations. He received his Bachelor of Arts degree in psychology from the University of Rochester.
 

Mandy Chardoul, CPA, MST, CFP^®
Partner, Plante Moran

As a Tax Partner and a leader within Plante Moran’s Family Office Services Group, Mandy works closely with her clients to help them with their comprehensive planning needs.  Working with clients nationwide, Mandy is sought out by affluent families, family offices, and other professional advisors for her in-depth knowledge of estate, gift, and trust taxation.

Her technical strength comes from years of experience helping clients with strategy and execution as well as overseeing the filing of hundreds of large and complex 709 and 706 Gift Tax Returns. At a firm level, she serves on the front line of our National Tax Office studying emerging issues and providing guidance to tax leadership.
 
Mandy is an active member of the Family Office Exchange and has given presentations on tax law changes to several law firms and professional associations throughout the country.  

Kimberlee Connell
Managing Director, West Zone, Marsh McLennan Agency

As the West Zone Leader for Marsh McLennan Agency Private Client 
Services (PCS), Kimberlee Connell provides strategic direction for and overarching management of client advisory services, marketing and underwriting, business development, and operations related to the comprehensive personal risk management services delivered to high-net-worth individuals and families of this region. Kim holds a dual role as Family Office Leader directing the practice’s strategy within the family office space. A seasoned personal insurance expert with more than 30 years in the industry, Kim has a deep understanding of the marketplace as well as the complex, unique exposures of the private client segment. 

Kim’s successful personal insurance career began at USAA where she held several key leadership positions in claims, underwriting and marketing, aviation, marine, and specialty lines over the course of 18 years. In 2001, she joined Marsh for the first time leading the Chicago office of the Private Client Services practice for three years. Kim then returned to the carrier side of the industry as Vice President of Customer Service at Fireman’s Fund Insurance Company where she led more than 800 colleagues across multiple locations for personal and commercial lines. After eight years, Kim transitioned to the role of Chief Operations Officer for Willis Private Client in 2012 where she was responsible for the operational leadership of the personal lines and private client insurance businesses. Kim re-joined Marsh PCS in 2015 to lead the central zone before expanding her responsibilities to include the Western US extending from the Midwest to the Pacific Coast. 

In addition to her business achievements related to her responsibilities within each of her firms, Kim developed a mentor program at Fireman’s Fund as well as a women’s networking chapter during her tenure at Willis. She is also a dynamic speaker on topics including women in leadership, operational effectiveness, mentoring, and driving for results. 

Kim attended the University of Virginia, Darden Graduate School of Business in an executive management program while at USAA. She also attended St. Mary’s University in San Antonio, Texas. Kim is an active board member of Private Risk Management Association (PRMA). 
 

Valerie Dahiya
Partner, Firmwide Chair, Securities Trading and Markets Practice; Washington, D.C. Office Managing Partner, Perkins Coie

Practicing at the intersection of financial regulation and technological innovation, Valerie Dahiya advises financial services clients on complex compliance, regulatory, and transactional matters arising under U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and Financial Institution Regulatory Authority (FINRA) jurisdiction. The managing partner of Perkins Coie's Washington, D.C., office, she is also the firmwide chair of the Securities Trading and Markets practice.

Valerie also advises clients in the distributed ledger technology space that are seeking to understand the potential securities regulatory implications. Her practice ranges from product counseling all the way through to counseling on complex compliance and regulatory issues.

Prior to joining Perkins Coie, Valerie was branch chief in the Office of Trading Practices in the Division of Trading and Markets at the SEC, where she was responsible for the administration of Reg SHO. She also worked in the SEC’s Office of Compliance Inspection and Examinations, where she conducted examinations and inspections of broker-dealers for compliance issues relating to Regulations ATS, NMS, M, SCI, and SHO; suitability and standard of care issues; large trader and position reporting; forex trading; market access and other electronic trading issues; information barriers and insider trading; soft dollars and commission sharing arrangements; research; the net capital and customer protection rules; cybersecurity and data protection issues; and books-and-records requirements. This experience informs her counsel on the highly complex regulatory issues associated with broker-dealer and ATS operations.

Valerie assists clients in identifying and addressing noncompliance issues with broker-dealer regulations. While at the SEC, she worked extensively on issues related to market making, ETFs, direct market or sponsored access, when-issued securities, and trading in the grey markets. She also reviewed enforcement and examination matters involving broker-dealers and securities markets. Valerie’s background includes working in Market Regulation at FINRA, where she focused on issues related to Order Audit Trail System (OATS) reporting, the predecessor to the consolidated audit trail (CAT).
 

Eric Gonzaga
Principal, Human Capital Services, Grant Thompson

Eric is the national managing principal for Grant Thornton’s compensation consulting and Human Capital Services practices, and is based out of Grant Thornton's Minneapolis office.

He specializes in total compensation strategies, having served as a board advisor for private equity and financial institutions, private and public sales, service and manufacturing firms and the array of healthcare provider, managed care and service organizations. His organizational focus is equally as deep, having designed pay programs for boards, executives, sales team and broad-based compensation plans.

Eric is a frequent lecturer on the topics above and has received national recognition for his topical research on best practice governance of total compensation and pay-for-performance.

Eric is a Certified Executive Compensation Professional (CECP), which is the top designation in executive compensation from World at Work. Eric received his JD from Hamline University School of Law and BA from Northern Illinois University.
 

Carolann Grieve, CTFA
Senior Vice President and Managing Director of Family Governance, Truist Wealth Center for Family Legacy

Carolann Grieve is a Managing Director of Family Governance within Truist Wealth’s Center for Family Legacy. Carolann is responsible for delivering family governance and family education offerings to clients across the firm, helping families to identify their wealth objectives and to deepen their financial knowledge and what it means to live a life of wealth.

In addition, Carolann chairs the Women & Wealth Initiative. Through this initiative Carolann works with her colleagues to create a welcoming environment emphasizing a holistic approach to financial stability, which in turn enables women to live an informed and responsible life with wealth, to feel fulfilled and empowered to achieve their goals.

Prior to her current role, Carolann was a Senior Wealth Strategist, responsible for assisting families with a wide variety of wealth management needs, including estate planning, tax, financial planning, fiduciary, philanthropy and family governance issues. Carolann worked closely with a client’s Truist Wealth Investment Manager and other professional advisors outside of firm to ensure that all aspects of a family’s wealth management plan were closely coordinated.

Carolann was previously the Chief Financial Officer of Eagle Capital International, an investment firm and multi-family office, where she was responsible for trust and estate administration, tax return preparation, client reporting, technology and human resources. Prior to that, she worked as Director of Accounting at Pantasote, a publicly traded international plastics firm. Additionally, Carolann was Accounting Manager at the International Division of Chesebrough Ponds.

Carolann is a graduate of Iona College where she received her MBA in Finance and her BBA in Accounting. Carolann is a Certified Trust and Financial Advisor.
 

Deon Hornsby
AVP, Regional Underwriting Manager, AIG, Private Client Group

Deon Hornsby is an AVP for Private Client Group as the Regional Underwriting 
Manager for the Chicago Region. Deon is responsible for the profitability, growth
and retention of the nearly 16,000 in-force policies within the 12 state Chicago 
Region, which has $93 Million in written premium. Deon leads a team of 9
Underwriters and Underwriter Technicians and works closely with his team and 
leadership to maintain agency relationships and execute strategies for the states 
within the Region.

Deon has held several Underwriting and Distribution positions during his 25-year
insurance career, starting his career as an Auto Underwriter at State Farm 
Insurance and continuing in Underwriting and Distribution roles with Chubb 
Insurance.

In addition to his current role, Deon serves on Private Client Group’s Diversity, 
Equity and Inclusion Council. He also serves on the Board of Trustees for Private 
Risk Management Association, co-chairing the Diversity, Equity and Inclusion 
Team.

Deon received a Bachelor of Arts degree in Business Administration from Illinois 
Wesleyan University. 
 

Michelle Javier
Talent and Organizational Development Consulting Manager, Plante Moran

Since 2015, Michelle Javier has served as a management consultant in various management consulting firms focusing on human capital performance and organizational development. Prior to completing her Master of Science program in Human Resources and Organizational Development, Michelle worked with HR professionals in multiple different companies abroad which ignited her passion for organizational development. Accordingly, Michelle is a committed aid for clients undergoing arduous internal change as they work toward achieving their organizational goals.
 

Jack Kristan, CPA, CIA
Partner, Plante Moran

Jack is the co-leader for the firm’s family office practice, focused on consulting services. He develops tailored risk management, internal audit, technology, and human capital solutions to gain greater insights for my clients. Jack primarily serve large Single Family Offices. His clients appreciate that he doesn't simply tell them what they should do; instead, he works with them to come to a mutually agreed-upon solution that has buy-in at multiple levels in the organization. More often than not, this approach provides the greatest path to sustainable success. Jack served as one of the primary authors and lead editor of Plante Moran’s Family Office Answerbook, released in June 2022.
 

Robb Lanham
Personal Insurance, HUB International

Robb Lanham is the Chief Sales Officer for HUB International Personal Insurance. Robb is responsible for the personal insurance sales initiatives across North America. He has developed the strategic plan for new client acquisition since 2005 for both individuals and national and international wealth management firms.  

Robb is also the Director of Hub’s Family Office Practice where he and his team develop creative solutions for complex risks. Whether the client is a Single or Multi Family Office, affluent individual or professional athlete, he, and his team complete a thorough, forensic analysis that lays the groundwork for a tailored risk management plan. Utilizing some of the industry’s foremost “specialty” experts, each plan is developed with Best-in-Class knowledge and creativeness. 

Robb has a been a guest speaker for various Family Office gatherings and Professional Athlete symposiums across the United States and Canada where he demonstrates the integral role that risk management plays in each of their lives both professionally and personally.

He is backed by a team of nearly 3,000 Personal Insurance experts at HUB International Limited. Hub is a leading North American insurance brokerage that provides a broad array of property and casualty, life and health, employee benefits, reinsurance, investment and risk management products and services throughout offices located in the United States and Canada.
 

Jeremy Mertens, JD, CPA
Tax Managing Director, BDO

Jeremy is a Managing Director with the BDO Grand Rapids Tax Practice.  He has over fourteen years of experience working with high net worth individuals in the areas of personal income taxation and planning, trust taxation and planning, gift taxation, and estate planning. Prior to BDO, Jeremy spent five years with the Big Four working primarily with affluent clients, as well as three years working for a local firm addressing the needs of clients and their family entities. 

Jeremy works with a diverse client base by providing numerous services including: research, estate and trust planning, tax planning, and wealth transfer planning. 
 

Scott Metsch
Founder, Pulver Metsch LLC

Scott is the founder of Pulver Metsch LLC where he provides operational advisory and implementation services to ultra-high net worth individuals and family offices. Scott has 25+ years of experience in finance and professional services and 20+ years of direct family office management experience. Prior to founding Pulver Metsch LLC, Scott managed three different family offices. In each office, Scott functioned as the point person, developing and implementing process and procedure as well as overseeing and coordinating all the personal financial and operational needs of the family. Scott also served as the main point of contact for managing relationships and projects with all external consultants and advisors.

Scott has a BA in Economics from Washington University in St. Louis and an MBA in Finance from the Jack Nash Honors MBA Program at Baruch College.
 

Stephen Poux
Risk Management Services and Loss Prevention, AIG Private Client Group

Stephen G. Poux is Senior Vice President, Global Head of Risk Management Services and Loss Prevention, for AIG Private Client Group, a division of the member companies of American International Group, Inc. (AIG).  Steve oversees a team of seasoned risk management specialists who help high net worth individuals and families maximize safety and proactively reduce the likelihood of suffering a loss.  

Steve has over 32 years of property casualty insurance experience.  He joined AIG in 2000 as one of the founding members of AIG Private Client Group and was instrumental in building client-centric business practices that remain in use today.  In 2004, Steve was the principal architect of AIG Private Client Group’s Department of Loss Prevention, which was the first practice of its kind within the high-net-worth personal lines industry.  As Director of Loss Prevention, he was responsible for launching other industry firsts, including AIG’s Wildfire and Hurricane Protection Units.  Throughout his tenure he has appeared on CNBC and been featured in publications such as The New York Times and The Wall Street Journal. Most recently, Steve participated in a Congressional Science Briefing on wildfire preparation where he spoke about the most significant threats to homeowners in wildfire prone areas and shared the best way to protect property from damage.
 
In 2007, Steve took on the General Manager role for AIG Private Client Group’s New York City/Long Island Region.  Most recently, he was the segment leader responsible for the launch of AIG Premier Client Solutions, an insurance product suite for affluent homeowners.
 
Prior to joining AIG, Steve spent over 10 years with Fireman’s Fund and Chubb, gaining valuable experience in the affluent and high net worth personal insurance segments.  He has a BS in applied mathematics, statistics and economics from Stony Brook University. 

Amjed Saffarini
CEO, Maestro

Amjed is Maestro’s CEO. He has gathered a team of trusted experts to build, manage, and grow Maestro and its family of financial solutions companies.

By bringing new ideas, processes, and technologies to industries such as education, cybersecurity training, and now financial services, Amjed has built a career steeped in transformation.
  
With experience leading growth teams, companies, and boards, he knows the value of teaching, coaching, and mentoring in order to deliver meaningful and successful companies.

Amjed has professional experience in founding companies and leading teams as well as the turnaround of troubled ones. His industry experience includes financial services, cybersecurity, edtech, online education, and workforce development.

With functional experience across all aspects of company management product development, marketing, M&A, and more, his focus has always been customer centric. As a Board member and CEO, he has guided organizations from both a growth and customer centric perspective. Amjed’s focus with Maestro is to deliver a flawless and highly valued experience.

Adam K. Sherman
Partner, McDermott Will & Emery LLP

Adam K. Sherman is a partner in the Chicago office of McDermott Will & Emery LLP.  Adam provides legal counsel on a wide range of wealth transfer, tax, estate planning and business succession matters for high-net-worth individuals and business owners.

Adam has extensive experience structuring and implementing sophisticated wealth transfer techniques and working with owners of closely held businesses to develop customized succession plans. Adam also advises clients on a range of issues relating to the formation and maintenance of family office and private trust company structures.  

Adam counsels executors, trustees and beneficiaries in all aspects of estate and trust administration, including the preparation of federal estate tax returns and judicial and non-judicial trust accountings. He has also been involved in numerous estate and gift tax audit proceedings before the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) and has successfully obtained favorable private letter rulings for his clients on a range of income and transfer tax issues.

Adam has spoken extensively on estate planning topics, including wealth transfer planning, gift, estate and generation-skipping transfer (GST) tax reporting, and exercising powers of appointment.  

While in law school, Adam was a staff member of the Chicago Journal of International Law, in which he had his note (on the international legal status of drone operators) published in 2004. 
 

FOX Presenters

Heather Asher Abramson
Director, Relationship Manager

Heather Asher Abramson is the Director of Relationship Management at Family Office Exchange (FOX).  In her role, Heather works with business-owning family members to understand their objectives and provides guidance to help address their unique needs through the resources available at FOX. Heather also runs FOX’s Rising Gen Community, which is designed to provide next-generation family members an opportunity to learn, share experiences, and develop skills as future leaders. Heather has held multiple roles at FOX including membership development.    

Before joining FOX in 2008, Heather served as Strategic Marketing and Events Manager at Aon Corporation. While at Aon, Heather planned and executed more than 100 large-scale events and created the marketing and project execution for Aon’s South America Division. Earlier in her career, she worked on Capitol Hill for a U.S. senator and in the foreign policy department at a lobbying organization. She also has previous experience working in a Chicago-based family office. 

Heather has a B.A. degree in Journalism, Public Relations, and Political Science from the University of Wisconsin-Madison. She graduated with honors from DePaul University with an M.A. in Organizational and Multi-cultural Communications. 
 

Tim Duffy
General Counsel and Strategic Partnership Manager

Tim is the General Counsel and Strategic Partnership Manager at Family Office Exchange (FOX).  In his role as General Counsel, Tim maintains FOX’s compliance with all existing laws, drafting legal agreements, overseeing outside counsel, and maintaining FOX’s intellectual property rights.  As Manager of Strategic Partnerships, Tim manages select relationships by developing and implementing long-term partner agreements, fulfilling partner business priorities, and creating "value-added" opportunities for FOX and these strategic partners.  Tim also works closely with our Director of Private Investments, leading our DIN Resource Partner initiative that provides increased education and support to actively involved members in the Direct Investment Network.

Tim has more than 15 years of experience in private equity, venture capital, and M&A as both an attorney and entrepreneur.  For over a decade, Tim has been involved in the cannabis industry, where he successfully built and sold a vertically integrated medical marijuana company.  As an attorney, he has advised clients on over $200 million in M&A transactions and investment initiatives across a broad range of industries.

Tim attended The Ohio State University, where he earned a B.A. in Political Science and was a three-time Big Ten Scholar-Athlete and division one men's lacrosse player.  After college, Tim coached Ireland’s Men’s National Lacrosse team in the 2015 and 2017 World Lacrosse Games.  Tim also holds a J.D. from DePaul University College of Law.
 

Gabrielle (Gaby) Griffin
Market Leader, Business Owners and Family Office Executives

Gaby Griffin is the Market Leader for Business Owners and Family Office Executives at Family Office Exchange (FOX). In her role, Gaby leads the overall Family Office Council experience and manages multiple councils. She provides members the opportunities to learn from and share ideas with highly accomplished and hard-to-find peers in a confidential environment. No matter what hat she’s wearing, her goal is simple – to create value for families by providing objective guidance and timely relevant information in order to make informed decisions. Gaby takes a very personalized approach to her relationship management practice and has built client and advisory relationships that span over two decades. She also serves as a member of the FOX leadership team.

​Gaby brings 25 years of wealth management, corporate banking, investment, and strategic advisory experience to FOX and its members. Gaby recently joined FOX from Capital Group. Prior to that, she held leadership positions at LaSalle Bank N.A. advising business owners, their families and family offices, as well as working directly with ultra-high net worth clients as a relationship manager for Abbot Downing. Gaby has been involved with the FOX community for over 20 years.

Gaby earned a B.A. in Political Science from the University of Wisconsin at Madison. She obtained a Certified Private Wealth Advisor (CPWA) designation at the University of Chicago Booth School of Business in 2013.  Gaby is a member of the Chicago Estate Planning Council (CEPC), Women Investment Professionals, 100 Women in Finance, DyMynd Angels, and Urban Land Institute (ULI). Gaby served on the Board of Trustees for Victory Gardens Theater from 2012-2020. Additionally, she has held several other positions in the non-profit sector.
 

Chris Herbert
Relationship Manager

Chris Herbert is a Relationship Manager at Family Office Exchange (FOX). He brings to his role a background that is rooted in the Financial Services Industry, having served in the areas of commercial and private banking, as well as Family Business Services. As a senior relationship manager, Chris works with financial families to understand their objectives and provides guidance to help address their unique needs through the resources available at FOX.

Prior to joining FOX, Chris worked in the Family Business Division at The Northern Trust Company, where he managed a portfolio of family business assets that are associated with closely-held corporations and partnerships held in trusts and estates. He has experience with assets in a variety of industries, such as, manufacturing, publishing, investing, agriculture, and real estate. Chris also has a background in commercial lending and trust administration. Earlier in his career, he worked as a legal researcher for a well-respected, Chicago-based, intellectual property consulting firm, which specialized in litigation/valuation advisory services.

Chris holds an M.B.A. in International Business and Marketing from the Brennan School of Business at Dominican University.
 

Glen W. Johnson
President of Membership

Glen W. Johnson is President of Membership at Family Office Exchange (FOX). In this role, he is responsible for all aspects of the member experience, ensuring that each family member, family office executive, and trusted advisor has an unsurpassed experience partnering with FOX by providing unique industry knowledge and insights coupled with a safe and confidential environment where members can share best practices. In addition, Glen oversees the operations of FOX and is charged with establishing and executing systems to execute FOX’s strategic plan, promoting its vision and service-centric culture, and enabling the FOX team to work together to exceed our member’s expectations.

Glen has over 30 years of experience working with family offices, business owners, and executives, first as an attorney and then as a wealth advisor, eventually founding Mirador Family Wealth Advisors – the multi-family office for Fifth Third Bank. He has worked with business owners and executives across all stages of their business life cycle including business succession.  Glen writes and speaks nationally focusing on family and business governance and the unique challenges faced during the sale and transition of closely held businesses.

Glen earned a Bachelor of Sciences degree in Education from the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor, MI and a Juris Doctorate degree from Wayne State University Law School in Detroit, MI.
 

Kent Lawson
Director, Technology Integration Services

Kent Lawson is Director of Technology Integration Services at Family Office Exchange (FOX). With 25 years of experience as a leader in the wealth management industry, and a deep focus in technology for the family office, Kent’s expertise in consulting, project management, analysis, and diligence around technology drives the FOX Technology Marketplace.

Prior to joining FOX, Kent had an established relationship with FOX as a market leader and as a member. Through his previous role with an enterprise family office and as a contributor to FOX forums, Kent brings over a decade of experience serving at the executive level within a single family office. His expertise in wealth management spans a variety of disciplines, including investment operations, technology, and compliance via working with RIAs, the SEC, and Global Investment Performance Standards (GIPS). He also served as a business analyst and consultant for Advent Software, as COO of a trust company, and other technology solution vendors. Kent also founded an outsource COO firm in the wealth management industry providing strategic leadership as a trusted advisor.

With a degree in Music Performance from Ball State University, Kent spent his early years performing as a jazz saxophonist and married another musician, which led him to his “day job” within the wealth industry as a part-time file clerk with an RIA. His background in creativity and thinking outside the box provided the foundation needed for designing innovative solutions in business process and technology making him perfectly suited for the family office industry.
 

Hilary Leav
Director, Insights & Research

Hilary Leav is the Director of Insights and Research for FOX. In her role, she oversees FOX’s efforts to effectively use data, analysis, and insights to support members and further industry understanding of the unique needs of family offices.

Hilary brings over ten years of research, evaluation, and analysis experience in leadership positions to her work at FOX. Her most recent work centers on building capacity for data usage and creating and sharing actionable information and insights that can drive strategy development, improve efficiency, and increase shared understanding of complex issues. Additionally, Hilary has extensive international experience and has previously worked in operations, strategy development, process improvement, and grants management in both non-profit and for-profit organizations.

Hilary holds her B.A. from the University of Michigan. She received her M.S. in Measurement and Evaluation from American University in Washington, D.C.

Peter Leo
Director, Human Capital

Peter Leo, SHRM-CP, is the director of human capital at Family Office Exchange (FOX). He is an accomplished Human Resources Leader with decades of experience leading human resources teams with a specialty in talent acquisition, benefits, employee engagement & relations and HR technology. He has a proven success record working within the financial services, technology, financial technology, manufacturing and services industries.

Peter Moustakerski
CEO

Peter Moustakerski is CEO of Family Office Exchange (FOX), the premier resource for families managing private enterprises and family wealth across generations. For over 30 years, FOX has been recognized as the industry’s most exclusive, innovative, and influential community for peer networking and learning, and has provided independent insights, expert guidance, and practical solutions to complex problems related to family transitions and family wealth.

Peter has spent more than 25 years as a C-level strategist and executive across a variety of industries, including wealth management, capital markets, and technology. He is a former family office executive and FOX member, management consultant, and entrepreneur. He has served as a strategy, innovation, and growth leader for a number of private and public companies and founded two start-ups in New York City and China.

Prior to joining FOX, Peter served as Chief Operating Officer of the family office of the founder of Bridgewater Associates, where he worked closely with the principal family members to envision and oversee the redesign of the family office strategy and day-to-day operations to better serve the evolving needs of the family. Before that, Peter was a management consultant at Booz Allen Hamilton, advising many of the world’s top C-suite leaders, and a strategy executive at UBS, leading all growth and transformation initiatives for the bank’s wealth management organization.

Most recently, Peter was Chief Strategy Officer of News America Marketing, a former News Corp. subsidiary, where he built and led the Corporate Strategy and M&A function and led the company’s successful carve-out and sale to a private equity sponsor. In addition, for more than 20 years, Peter has been a contributing writer and researcher with The Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU), and has led many qualitative and quantitative research projects, and written a number of influential white papers for the EIU, NBER, and other research institutions and media publications.

Peter holds an MBA from Columbia Business School and a BSc in Computer Science and Engineering from Zhejiang University in China, and is proficient in Mandarin, Russian, and Bulgarian.
 

Scott Muench
Market Leader, Financial Families

Scott Muench is the market leader for Financial Families at Family Office Exchange (FOX).  In his role, Scott leads all aspects of the Financial Family market at FOX, defined as those families who no longer own an operating company and family office executives serving these families.  In addition, Scott is also responsible for leading, coaching, and managing our Relationship Management team and overseeing the overall member experience.

Scott has over twenty-five years as an institutional and ultra-high net worth investment professional, including working at  SEI Investments as head of the Defined Contribution national market, working with plan sponsors on target-date fund and core investment strategy implementation. This experience working with investment committees and professionals enhanced a strong background in asset allocation, capital markets, and strategic and tactical instruments. Scott also worked at Northern Trust Asset Management as a managing director for the eastern region of the United States, working with large complex corporate institutions and asset owners, including foundations, endowments, pension plans, and ultra-high-net-worth families. Scott's experience at Northern Trust also includes the Global Family and Private Investment Office Group. He led a team of investment relationship managers working with families, family offices, and investment consultants to implement strategies to meet personal financial goals. In addition, Scott managed the team working with 400+ family offices to achieve tax efficiency and superior risk-adjusted returns.

Scott received his Bachelor of Science degree in Finance from Northern Illinois University. He earned his Master's in Business Administration with concentrations in finance and accounting from DePaul's Kellstadt Graduate School of Business.
 

Stephanie Simmons 
Senior Relationship Manager 

Stephanie Simmons is a Senior Relationship Manager at Family Office Exchange (FOX). She brings to her role a background in family office operations, having served in a both a dedicated office and virtual family offices. As a senior relationship manager, Stephanie works with financial families to understand their objectives and provides guidance to help address their unique needs through the resources available at FOX. 
 
Before joining FOX, Stephanie worked with family clients at Personal Office Management, a firm focused on providing financial and project management assistance to high net worth families. She also has a background in private equity investing on behalf of institutions and families, including six years with the family office of former U.S. Secretary of the Treasury, William Simon. Earlier in her career, Stephanie worked in corporate finance/mergers and acquisitions for two leading investment banks. In addition to Chicago, Stephanie has lived and worked in New York, London, and Vero Beach. 

Stephanie earned a B.A. in political science from Wheaton College in Norton, MA.  
 

Scott Winget
Enterprise Market Leader

Scott Winget is the Enterprise Market Leader at Family Office Exchange (FOX). In his role, Scott serves as Co-Chair for Enterprise Councils and Executive Councils, where members can share experiences, ideas and best practices with veteran peers in a confidential environment. Scott also serves as relationship manager for Enterprise Family members, in order to understand their unique needs and provide them with access to important research and objective guidance. He is as a member of the FOX leadership team, helping to develop and execute service strategies designed to meet the needs of his market segment, and also participates in new research and thought leadership meaningful to members.

Serving families for over 25 years in the areas or family office, wealth management and estate and tax planning, Scott brings significant experience to FOX and its members. Prior to joining FOX, Scott created and led multi-disciplinary and award-winning consulting groups that provided comprehensive family office services at both Cresset and Ascent Private Capital Management. Earlier, he was a senior wealth planner at Wells Fargo Family Wealth (later, Abbot Downing) and began his career as an income tax and estate planning specialist with Arthur Andersen and EY. Scott has participated in the FOX community for over 15 years.

Scott is a CPA and holds a J.D. from The Ohio State University, where he also earned a B.S. in Business Administration with a dual major in Accounting and Finance. He is a member of the Rocky Mountain Estate Planning Council, Colorado Society of CPAs and the Colorado Bar Association. He has also held several securities and insurance licenses and served on the board of the Mountain Area Land Trust as Treasurer and head of the Finance Committee among other roles with non-profits.