FOXcast

Today, I am delighted to welcome Raul Serebrenik, Founder of Family Enterprise Consulting International Group. Raul is an adviser, researcher, speaker, and author with extensive expertise in family businesses, entrepreneurial family dynasties, family legacy, continuity, and wealth. Raul is also a good friend and collaborator of FOX, and he is a team member of the FOX Caricol Local Chapter serving families in Colombia and the Caribbean. Raul’s work with families often involves the topic of longevity of the family enterprise, focusing on the learnings from and characteristics of families that last and flourish for generations, and sometimes centuries. He shares his observations of what it means – and what it takes – to achieve longevity of the family, the family business, and the family’s broader enterprise activities. Raul then defines the role of the family office in this journey (assuming the family has one) and shares his views on how families should leverage their family office and other enterprise resources in their journey to success and longevity. On the practical side, Raul offers some of the tools (such as diagnostics and roadmaps) families can utilize to chart their course to achieving long-term success and longevity as a family enterprise. Finally, he emphasizes the importance of implementation – there is no long-term success without implementation, even if there is a compelling shared vision. Raul provides some useful tips and suggestions for families on how to successfully implement their multigenerational enterprise vision and plan. This is a must-hear conversation with one of the most decorated and recognized international experts in the field of family wealth, family business, and family enterprise continuity and sustainability.

This week, I am pleased to welcome Doug Macauley, Partner at Cambridge Associates and member of the firm’s Private Client Practice. Doug works with both G1 entrepreneurs and multi-generational families and specializes in developing asset allocation strategies and investment manager structures for families with a broad range of investment objectives and risk tolerances. Doug is a CFA charter holder with over 25 years of investment industry experience in performing due diligence for clients on managers across public and private asset classes and advises families on a range of issues, such as structuring pooled investment vehicles, managing concentrated stock holdings, integrating estate planning within the investment portfolio, and establishing investment governance. A big and recurring topic in Doug’s work with families, both newly liquid ones and multigenerational enterprise families, is asset allocation. He tells us how families are thinking (or should be thinking) about asset allocation and lists some of the important considerations surrounding this topic, such as liquidity needs, risk tolerance, and distribution policies. Another important theme that comes into Doug’s conversations with his client families is active vs. passive investments. He shares his views on how families should be making these tradeoffs and offers his suggestions for families to consider as they look to juggle the sometimes-competing priorities of returns, control, risk, and complexity. One important practical piece of advice Doug has for families and family offices is to make sure they fully understand their exposure within their investment portfolio. He offers some valuable tips and suggestions for family leaders and family office executives on the various methods and tools to do that. Another critical best practice Doug recommends is stress-testing the family’s portfolio. He talks about how families and their enterprise offices should be doing that and unveils a number of resources they can lean on to accomplish this objective. Don’t miss this instructive and insightful conversation with an expert practitioner and thought leader representing one of the most thoughtful and respected investment advisory firms in the private wealth and family office space.

Stephan Heller, a next-gen owner and VC expert, discusses the evolution of venture capital, family office investments, and the integration of VC in family portfolios. He explores the impact of family influence on business ventures, the role of impact in family investments, and the significance of family enterprises in investment decisions. Heller offers practical suggestions for families looking to navigate the venture capital landscape efficiently.

Today, I am pleased to welcome Peter Vogel, Professor of Family Business and Entrepreneurship and holder of the Debiopharm Chair for Family Philanthropy at IMD Business School in Lausanne, Switzerland. He is also the Director of the Global Family Business Center and the Global Family Business Award and founder and Chairman of Delta Venture Partners and an Associate Partner of the Cambridge Family Enterprise Group. Peter works with families, owners, boards, and executives of family enterprises and family offices around the world, focusing on transformations, governance, ownership and leadership succession, entrepreneurship, wealth management, and establishing professional boards and leadership teams. Peter has dedicated his distinguished career to serving multigenerational enterprise families and he shares some of the major themes and most common challenges that families are facing, both historically and right now. Peter is the author of two celebrated books: Family Philanthropy Navigator and the recently published Family Office Navigator. He describes the purpose behind these books and how they are addressing the challenges confronting enterprising families today. For multigenerational families focused on either creating or operating their family office, Peter offers some of the practical tools and frameworks detailed in his new book. He unpacks the “Five Stone Model,” which is introduced early in the book, and explains the concept behind this model and how families should think about or apply it to their family enterprises. He also outlines the “Family Office Strategy House” framework, which serves as the backbone of several highly instructive chapters of his book, and delves into the practical aspects of this framework, covering what its uses are and how families and family office executives can utilize it to organize their thinking, design, and planning related to their family office. This is a must-hear conversation with one of the world's most renowned academics, practitioners, and thought leaders in the family business and family office space.

Today, I have the pleasure of speaking with Pat Soldano, President of Family Enterprise USA, a non-profit organization based in Washington, DC, whose mission is to promote the growth of generational-owned family businesses in the US. Pat is also President of Policy and Taxation Group, a non-profit she formed in 1995 that works to reduce onerous tax and economic policies for successful families, family offices, and family businesses. Before that, she spent over 30 years providing family office services as owner of Cymric Family Office Services and then as Managing Director of the Western Region for GenSpring for 5 years. Pat and Family Enterprise USA have been doing great work representing the interests of family enterprises. She talks about legislation that is either being considered or has recently been passed in Washington, DC that can potentially affect enterprising families and their businesses. Pat also shares some highlights of the results and findings from the annual Family Enterprise USA survey of family businesses, which was just recently completed and received over 700 responses from family businesses across the US. Pat offers some practical tips for family businesses and families of wealth on how they can stay abreast of legislative and political developments in Washington, DC that might affect them. She also makes valuable and actionable suggestions for family business owners who not only want to stay informed but also have an impact on legislation or other government actions that impact their enterprises and their families’ wealth and well-being. Do not miss this important conversation with an industry doyenne and the most prominent advocate for family businesses and enterprising families in the US.

Today, I am delighted to welcome Danielle Oristian York, Executive Director and President of 21/64, a nonprofit practice serving next-gen and multigenerational families. She is an expert facilitator, trainer, and keynote speaker, and has been a consistent leader in the field, spending 18 years helping families, leaders, and communities have complicated conversations about change, identity, and the future. Danielle is a member of the Collaboration for Flourishing Families and the Professional Advisors Committee at The Boston Foundation. In her 20-year career of working with enterprising families, one of the critical challenges Danielle has seen them struggle with is making decisions together effectively, especially as the number of family members grows. She discusses this challenge and how she sees it manifested among the families she advises and trains. She also talks about her non-profit organization, 21/64, its origins, and the meaning and purpose embedded in its name – a reference to the two most important milestones in the lives of most people. She describes the bridge, or the “third space”, that she and her colleagues pride themselves for being able to build between generations who often are very far apart. She elaborates on this concept, defines what “third space” means, and describes how it works to connect and unify the generations within a family. Danielle then delves into many of the practical tools and approaches she teaches and applies with families who are on their multigenerational journey and looking to become more cohesive, more united, and more effective. She also shares her insights into the applied skills, frameworks, and tools she teaches or recommends to family advisors and other professionals serving the family who attend the various 21/64 training and educational programs. Please enjoy this instructive conversation with one of the most skilled and recognized family engagement and education professionals in our space.

This week, I’m especially honored to welcome Dimitar Tsotsorkov, Chairman of the Supervisory Board of Asarel-Medet, the largest and most advanced copper mining and processing company in Bulgaria. Dimitar is the G2 family leader of the Tsotsorkov family, former Chairman of the Management Board of the family’s operating business, and active philanthropist through the “Lachezar Tsotsorkov” Foundation, which he established in honor of his father, who was the G1 wealth creator of the family. Dimitar was recognized as a Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) Pioneer for Digital Transformation of the United Nations Global Compact Sustainable (UNGC) development initiative and became the first manager of a mining company to win the prestigious award in 2022. As a G2 family leader of a highly enterprising family, Dimitar is carrying forward his father’s great legacy and laying the foundations on which his family can continue to flourish in the future. He recounts the rich history of his family and shares his personal journey as a business owner and family leader, tapping into the captivating stories of his family’s entrepreneurial achievements over the past 100+ years. Dimitar and his family are firm believers in the importance of a strong culture, and they even undertook a thoughtful and systematic process to craft and formalize their “family brand”. Dimitar talks about this exercise and sheds light on the reasons why a family brand is important in his view and how he and his fellow family members arrived at their family brand. The Tsotsorkov family also made a concerted effort to distill and formulate the shared values of their family – or as they call them, their “values in action”. Dimitar reflects on the importance of values and describes how they went about defining theirs, and what they mean to everyone in his family. Throughout these important and systematic undertakings, Dimitar and his family identified a number of helpful practical tools, such as rituals and life milestones, which they deployed with the entire family to build their brand and establish the family culture. Dimitar describes the importance of these tools and how he uses them with his family members. Another pillar of his family culture is continuous learning and development, and to achieve that goal, Dimitar has instituted individual development plans (IDPs) for all family members. He describes this practice and how it is working for his family, not only with the younger G3 rising-gen members but also with the older “now” generations. Don’t miss this exceptional conversation with one of the most enterprising, forward-thinking, and generous multigenerational enterprise families within the FOX community.

This week, I have the pleasure of speaking with Maryann Fernandez and Paul McKibbin, co-founders of Shaking the Tree Interactive Productions, an independent educational nonprofit that uses theater and interactive audience forums to teach family dynamics and to promote philanthropy. Maryann is currently Managing Director at Strategic Philanthropy Ltd. and has worked in wealth management and philanthropy for over 25 years, including at the UN World Food Program’s Regional Bureau for Asia and the Pacific and Harris Private Bank. Paul is a Managing Director in Ernst & Young’s Americas Family Office Advisory practice, and prior to that was a Managing Partner at Family Office Metrics and the Founder and President of Private Family Networks. Maryann and Paul reflect on the challenge they perceived back in 2000, when they founded Shaking the Tree, with how families and their advisors were approaching and addressing family dynamics issues. They describe how and why they reached the conclusion to apply theater and dramatized productions to family dynamics and share the reasons why this creative approach is often more effective than more traditional ways of engaging family members during difficult or transitional times. Over the years, Shaking the Tree has amassed an impressive online library of videos illustrating different situations and case studies. Maryann and Paul talk about how families and advisors can make use of this resource and apply these case studies in the work they do with their family members. Beyond simply using the existing inventory of online videos, Maryann and Paul also shed light on the other theatrical and creative tools and methods that families and their advisors can deploy to engage and educate family members more effectively, including creating their own original video content to utilize within their family structure and broader family enterprise. Please enjoy this illuminating conversation with two of the most experienced and creative veterans in the space of engaging and educating multigenerational family members.

Ned Rollhaus and Luke Jernagan from Matter Family Office discuss the emerging trend of hybrid family offices, combining single and multi-family office models. They highlight the benefits, risks, and practical tips for families considering this structure, emphasizing the importance of collaboration, managing family dynamics, and long-term planning. The podcast also touches on transitioning single family offices, building family unity, and legacy creation.

Today, I am delighted to welcome Coventry Edwards-Pitt, CFA, CFP®, Partner and Chief Creative Officer at Ballentine Partners, an independent multi-family-office firm. Covie is the author of three popular books: Raised Healthy, Wealthy & Wise, Aged Healthy, Wealthy & Wise, and Engaged Healthy, Wealthy & Wise. She has been quoted widely, including in The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, Bloomberg, and Investment News. Covie is a trained opera singer and pianist, and a member of the Women Presidents’ Organization and the Collaboration for Family Flourishing. Covie works with many families of wealth looking to “prepare their next gen to be good stewards of wealth” and often she finds there is a rift between what the parents want and what their children actually need when they embark on this journey. She shares the insights she has uncovered over the course of her career about this tension. She also highlights another problematic aspect she has experienced – this one has to do with the solutions the family wealth industry offers. These solutions are intended to do good, but often create many unintended, damaging side effects. To remedy that, Covie advises her clients to “take 10 steps back,” and deploys with them such practical tools as a “facilitated reading journey” utilizing her Healthy, Wealthy, and Wise books. She describes how that approach works and the benefits it creates. An area where rising gens often first get involved in the family enterprise is the philanthropic strategy and giving activities of the family. Covie shares her ideas of another practical tool, which actually doesn’t exist yet, but in her view, should and would be of great value to philanthropic families and their younger generations. She outlines her vision of a vehicle that would act as a “national CLAT” (charitable lead annuity trust) and delves into how this idea would create value to families and their communities. Please enjoy this informative conversation with a celebrated practitioner and recognized author in the domain of rising gen engagement and development.