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Independent directors can enhance a family business board in a variety of ways, including providing expertise in a range of subject matter areas, leadership development, and learning opportunities. They can also help owners expand diverse viewpoints, adapt to changing circumstances in the market, and help make decisions that are difficult for the f...

Creating a truly effective board doesn’t happen by accident. From selecting the right people, to running crisp meetings, to fostering good working relationships with management and one another—boards are tasked with many decisions that impact how well they function. Over time, boards fall into routines for how they operate. But how many regularly l...

The pay levels for board directors have been increasing as the board members’ responsibilities grow with the need to fully understand and navigate the challenges arising from a variety of areas including geopolitical risk, regulatory complexities, macroeconomic shock, climate/environmental challenges, and technology advancements. Given these change...

Leading and sustaining an enterprise family that shares the ownership and stewardship of collective family assets can be challenging in the face of growing complexity and diversity. Fortunately, there is a path forward for families to ensure they thrive across multiple generations. Where To Begin Co-authors Sara Hamilton...

This study by Crystal & Co is based on a survey of family enterprises and focused on how families think about certain areas of risk. One finding of the study reveals a significant disconnect between the strategic risk management planning conducted by family enterprise executives and the inclusion of the family itself. Overall, th...

Succession will happen—it’s a matter of when, not if—so families should approach it with strategic forethought, flexibility, and responsiveness to ensure a smooth, successful transition. Through three different scenarios that encompass most transitions, learn how the decision-making process succession varies in significant ways across those scenari...

Robust governance practices form the cornerstone of success for the family wealth enterprise, and ongoing succession planning is one element of a mature governance system. As family considers its future succession, it is vital to understand why a well-conceived plan is so important and what the critical elements of the plan entail. Here, we outline...

Family wealth encompasses more than the financial capital of the family. From a multi-generational and family sustainability perspective, it’s about thinking beyond the private wealth and incorporating a holistic approach that prepares the human capital, enhances the intellectual capital, and builds the appropriate governance framework. This shift ...

To succeed, any organization needs to develop, maintain, and adhere to well-defined business processes and workflows. For family offices, which manage the complex financial and business affairs of ultra-high-net-worth families, best practice business processes are paramount to ensure efficiency and employee productivity, reduce risks, and improve o...