FOXcast

The issues that come up in a family office or family enterprise are unique to each family and are rarely discussed in a public forum. In this podcast, Family Office Exchange reveals some of these issues in discussions with family office subject matter experts, family members, and trusted advisors. The podcast gives the listener a taste of how having a FOX membership can transform the way families and their trusted advisors approach ideas like philanthropy, governance, investing, and more.

Attracting and Retaining Top Family Office Leadership Talent with Brian Adams 09/18/2025

Attracting and Retaining Top Family Office Leadership Talent with Brian Adams Today, it is my pleasure to speak with Brian Adams, Partner at Mack International, where he specializes in C-suite executive search and human capital consulting for family offices and enterprises. Brian serves on the board of Sirrom Partners LP, a single-family office, and is the host of the Mack Podcast, which provides expert insights for family office professionals. Alongside his family office expertise, Brian co-founded two real estate private equity firms and was a former practicing attorney. Mack International is a former long-time member of FOX. Talent – especially top leadership talent – continues to be among the top evergreen needs of enterprise families and their family offices. We begin with Brian’s insights on talent search for family offices. He paints the picture of the current landscape for identifying and attracting leadership talent to SFOs and covers the most prominent trends he sees in the marketplace. Another persistent challenge for family offices is holding on to the top talent they have – especially, since most SFOs tend to be small, flat organizations without much of a career path or growth options for their key people. Brian shares his view on the key talent retention strategies and tools utilized by family offices and how they have evolved over time. An interesting, and somewhat counterintuitive, consideration family offices face when they think about attracting and retaining talent is their location strategy. Brian talks about why and how the choice of where the office is located can have a significant practical impact on SFOs’ ability to recruit and engage their key people. Another practical tool that families and family offices have at their disposal – yet don’t always deploy fully in their talent management strategy – is their values, governance, and mission. Brian describes how these foundational elements of governance and collective decision-making that families establish and follow come into play when it comes to recruiting and retaining top talent. Don’t miss this highly insightful conversation with one of the top executive recruiting firms serving the family office space. /episode/index/show/familyoffice/id/38266675

Interacting Effectively with Family Wealth Advisors in the Age of AI with Craig Armstrong 09/11/2025

Interacting Effectively with Family Wealth Advisors in the Age of AI with Craig Armstrong Today, I am pleased to welcome Craig Armstrong, Managing Partner of Veridian, a Miami-based tax, audit, accounting, and advisory firm. Craig has over 25 years of public accounting experience, including serving clients ranging from Fortune 500 companies to local or middle market companies, as well as high net worth family offices and individuals. He began his career with the firm of Williams, Cox, Weidner, and Cox in Tallahassee, Florida, and held prior roles as Senior Manager of Corporate Accounting Special Projects with Ryder System, Inc. and South Florida Site Leader for audits of employee benefit plans at PwC in Miami. Craig co-founded CAPA, a certified public accounting firm in 2004 and merged with Hancock Askew in 2020 prior to forming Veridian in 2025. He serves on the audit and finance committee of the Board of Directors for Catholic Charities of the Archdiocese of Miami and is a member of the University of Miami’s School of Business Accounting Advisory Board. Craig and his firm, Veridian, are advisor members of FOX and we are thrilled to have their expertise available within our membership community. In recent years, technological advancements have transformed the role of the advisor serving UHNW families. Craig talks about how the role of the advisor has evolved alongside technology, and particularly how the role of the CPA has changed. With the rise of AI, we are beginning to witness the next-stage transformation of the family advisor role. Craig shares his thoughts on what is likely to happen to the role of the fiduciary advisor in the era of AI – how will CPAs, estate planners, and wealth planners will coexist with the AI tools. One practical consideration advisors and families need to navigate is the increasingly divergent preferences between older-gen and rising-gen clients. Craig offers his tips on how professionals and clients can best manage the “generational tug of war” caused by their different values and preferences. Finally, Craig provides his and suggestions for UHNW clients on how best to interact with their CPA – especially given all the self-serve tools and AI solutions that are increasingly available in all professional services fields. Please enjoy this highly informative conversation with a leading expert and experienced UHNW advisor serving enterprise families. /episode/index/show/familyoffice/id/38181725

Deploying Unique Assets as Part of the Family’s Philanthropic Strategy with Debbie Wilkerson 09/04/2025

Deploying Unique Assets as Part of the Family’s Philanthropic Strategy with Debbie Wilkerson Today, it is my pleasure to speak with Debbie Wilkerson, President & CEO of Greater Horizons, one of the nation’s largest and most experienced providers of philanthropic services, with more than $6 billion in charitable assets. Since 1998, Debbie has helped build Greater Horizons and its local counterpart, the Greater Kansas City Community Foundation, into trusted partners for individuals, families and companies using donor-advised funds and other charitable vehicles to support the causes they care about. With a background in estate and tax law, Debbie was introduced to philanthropy through her work on Ewing Kauffman’s historic donation of the Kansas City Royals in the 1990s—the first and only time a major league sports team has been gifted to charity. Debbie became President & CEO in 2012 after serving as General Counsel and COO, and under her leadership, Greater Horizons offers a comprehensive giving platform and world-class service, with expertise in complex charitable gifts including private business interests and cryptocurrency. Debbie and her organization work with families and their enterprises to devise their giving strategies, and she tells us how they help donors identify the assets they want to or should deploy in their philanthropic strategy. Debbie has extensive experience with donors gifting to charity some exceptional assets, such as the Kansas City Royals team. She highlights the considerations and lessons learned related to deploying unique, non-traditional assets as part of a family’s philanthropic vision and strategy. Going into the practical aspects of her work with clients, Debbie unpacks the various structures – foundations, DAFs, supporting organizations, etc. – that donors can choose from when it comes to operationalizing their philanthropic vision and plans. Finally, Debbie offers some useful tips and suggestions to our listeners with regard to the practical tools, frameworks, or resources families and their family offices can engage when devising and implementing their philanthropic giving strategies. Don’t miss this highly instructive and illuminating conversation with a leading expert and practitioner in the field of family giving and philanthropic strategy. /episode/index/show/familyoffice/id/38087550

Instilling the Family Values in the Family Office Design and Culture with Eric Hohauser 08/28/2025

Instilling the Family Values in the Family Office Design and Culture with Eric Hohauser Today, it is my pleasure to speak with Eric Hohauser, President of Harvey Hohauser & Associates, a firm specializing in the assessment, identification, integration, and placement of culturally aligned and strategically adaptive C-Suite & Vice President level leaders. Prior to joining Harvey Hohauser & Associates in 2008, Eric worked at a multi-site distribution and retail business, where he was responsible for the management of cross-functional operations, merchandising, recruitment, and training teams. Eric, and his firm Harvey Hohauser & Associates, is a valued and generous advisor member of FOX, and we are fortunate to have his expertise available to our membership community. Recruiting executive leaders and expert staff for family offices continues to be one of the top priorities, and challenges, for enterprise families. Eric talks about what it takes to successfully recruit and assimilate senior leaders into a family office, as well as what the family office recruiting landscape and marketplace looks like today. Beyond identifying and recruiting talented leaders, building a strong culture in the family office is really important – and has its own unique challenges. Eric points to what wealth owners and family leaders should be doing to foster a vibrant and attractive culture within their family offices, and how they can imbue the family office with a strong purpose and vision that attracts and retains top talent. One practical tip Eric has for family leaders is to link the family office design, governance, and even culture with those of the family. He describes how that can be done and why it helps strengthen the bonds between the family and its family office staff. Another strong suggestion Eric has for family leaders is to engage in continuity planning for the family office in a systematic and intentional manner – actively managing the organizational design of the family office and aligning it with the needs and values of the family. Eric paints the picture for our listeners of how to do that and what are some of the best practices you see families apply to achieve this goal. Please enjoy this very relevant and illuminating conversation with one of the most experienced thought leaders and practitioners in the world of family office talent recruiting and development. /episode/index/show/familyoffice/id/38000530

Helping Young Rising Gens Navigate the College Prep Process with Christopher Rim 08/21/2025

Helping Young Rising Gens Navigate the College Prep Process with Christopher Rim Today, I am pleased to welcome Christopher Rim, founder and CEO of Command Education, a top college admissions consultancy based in New York City. Command Education helps students pursue their passions and navigate the college process. Before founding the company in 2015, Christopher worked on inspirED at Meta with the Yale Center for Emotional Intelligence and served on advisory boards for organizations like Lady Gaga’s Born This Way Foundation. A Yale graduate in psychology, he developed an EQ-based mentoring approach that has helped hundreds of students gain admission to top schools, with a 94% acceptance rate to at least one of their top three choices. Christoper helps families with what is almost always the #1 objective for parents across the globe – providing the best education, and the best opportunities, for their children. He talks about the importance of helping young rising-gen members to enter top schools and elite colleges and why this is so high up on the list of critical priorities. The college prep space has transformed significantly in recent years. Christopher shares his insights on how the landscape has changed – how the selection process has evolved among leading schools and what it takes nowadays for a college applicant to stand out and succeed. One practical tip Christopher has for our listeners is the importance of extracurricular activities and projects that showcase the values, passion, and interests of the rising gen members. He elaborates on that and highlights why these activities and undertakings matter more and more. Finally, Christopher offers his views on some of the most important practical resources for students and their parents that can help them navigate and excel throughout this process – from consultants to tutors to coaches and other quantitative and qualitative tools. Enjoy this highly informative conversation with a trailblazer in the college admission consulting and coaching space. /episode/index/show/familyoffice/id/37904295

Weathering Periods of Historic Geopolitical and Economic Disruption with Patricia Angus 08/14/2025

Weathering Periods of Historic Geopolitical and Economic Disruption with Patricia Angus Today, I have the pleasure of speaking with Patricia Angus, Founder and CEO of Angus Advisory Group, an independent consulting practice serving enterprise families. A former international trusts and estates lawyer, Patricia is a thought leader in the field of multi-generational family governance, wealth and philanthropy. She has been advising global families and their companies, family offices, and foundations, for three decades and is the author of The Beneficiary Primer, among numerous publications. She founded the Global Family Enterprise Program at Columbia Business School, where she teaches graduate and executive education courses, and is a Fellow and board member of the Family Firm Institute and a frequent speaker at industry and family events. Patricia is a long-time friend and collaborator of FOX. Patricia is one of the pioneers in the family wealth space and has been at the forefront of the industry for over 3 decades. As she reflects on the past 30 years, she shares what she believes has changed significantly and what has stayed the same. As Mark Twain famously said, “History doesn’t repeat itself, but it often rhymes.” Today, we find ourselves once again in a time of significant geopolitical and economic shocks, armed conflicts at home and abroad, and the return of populism and authoritarianism even among western democracies. Patricia offers some of the lessons she has learned and would like to pass on to families and their advisors on how to best weather such times of conflict, instability, and disruption. Throughout her career, Patricia has developed a number of practical tools for families – one prominent example of a tool she utilizes with her clients is the Trustee and Beneficiary Primer. She tells us more about these tools, what is in them, and how families and their advisors can benefit from them. In the family wealth space, there is a mix of practitioners and academic programs aimed at helping families of wealth achieve success throughout their multigenerational journey. Patricia provides her insights into how families should think about utilizing practitioners vs. academics, highlighting the utility and limitations of each of these resources and offering tips into how families can achieve the right balance between the different kinds of knowledge and tools both academia and practitioners provide? Do not miss this deeply insightful conversation with one of the veterans and original thought leaders of the family wealth space. /episode/index/show/familyoffice/id/37817010

Integrating the Story of the Wealth into the Family Purpose With Samantha Reynolds 08/07/2025

Integrating the Story of the Wealth into the Family Purpose With Samantha Reynolds Today, it is my pleasure to speak with Samantha Reynolds, Founder & CEO of ECHO Storytelling Agency. Since 1999, Sam and her firm have been trusted by hundreds of prominent families and global companies to preserve their legacies in books and videos. In 2005, Sam was named one of British Columbia’s “Top 40 under 40” and is also a Forbes Magazine Council Member and writes a monthly article on how to use authentic storytelling to drive business results. Sam and her firm, ECHO, are Specialist Advisor members of FOX, and we are excited to have her expertise and thought leadership within our membership community. In the family wealth space, we are increasingly talking about the importance of telling the family story and passing the history down to future generations. Sam talks about the neuroscience behind sharing authentic stories – both stories of success and of adversity. Can you talk about this and connect it with how you see the significance of the family’s story throughout their journey. There’s a delicate balance between sharing enough and sharing too much – both among family members and with external constituents. Sam shares her views on how families should navigate this balance and determine how much to share internally and with the public and their employees. One practical tool Sam has developed and uses with her clients is a list of questions rising-gen members can ask of their elders. She tells us about this list and highlights the top questions to ask and the best settings in which to ask them. Sam also describes some of the modern technology-enabled tools and resources she recommends to families to help them with their effective communications and storytelling – or as she calls it “memory insurance.” Enjoy this insightful conversation with one of the leading thinkers and practitioners in the storytelling and legacy preservation space. /episode/index/show/familyoffice/id/37718610

Protecting Older Family Members from Financial Fraud and Exploitation with Elizabeth Clubb 07/31/2025

Protecting Older Family Members from Financial Fraud and Exploitation with Elizabeth Clubb Today, I have the pleasure of speaking with Elizabeth Clubb, Founder and CEO of myFloc, an innovative fintech company addressing the unique financial needs of the aging population and their families. Prior to myFloc, Elizabeth was President and Chief Strategy Officer at an innovation and growth consultancy serving Fortune 500 clients across a broad range of industries. Elizabeth is on the Board of Directors of Lenbrook, a nationally renowned Continuing Care Retirement Community, where she serves on the Strategic Planning Committee and the Marketing Committee. She is an active member of the AARP Agetech Collaborative and The Business Collaborative for Brain Health and an Advisory Board member of The Famtech Collaborative. Across our society, there are lately more conversations about and recognition of the impact of age on financial decision-making and the associated risks. Elizabeth talks about how the topic is being broached and addressed in the wealth management space in general, and in the world of wealthy families and family offices in particular. A related, and unfortunately relevant and frequent, topic is financial fraud targeting older people. Elizabeth describes the latest trends and developments in the space and elaborates on how the threats and risks evolving are and how the risk-management, education and protection strategies and tactics are developing to respond to those threats. One practical tip Elizabeth offers is that, in addition to all the technical and quantitative solutions and strategies, families and their family offices should also focus on the human element of fraud prevention – specifically, talking to and educating family members about fraud sooner than later. She shares the best practices and approaches for families she has observed in that area. Finally, she provides her top list of useful fraud prevention tools for families and family offices that can help them protect family members from financial exploitation. Please enjoy this highly informative conversation with a leading expert and practitioner specializing in the unique financial needs and risks among the elderly and their families. /episode/index/show/familyoffice/id/37621135

Writing an Autobiography to Capture a Family’s Origins, Stories and Values with Roy Moëd 07/24/2025

Writing an Autobiography to Capture a Family’s Origins, Stories and Values with Roy Moëd Today, it is my pleasure to speak with Roy Moëd, Co-Founder of LifeBook Memoirs, a company dedicated to helping parents and grandparents preserve their life stories in beautifully crafted, private autobiographies for their families. The inspiration for LifeBook Memoirs came from Roy’s own experience when he helped his ageing father rediscover a sense of purpose at a difficult time in his life. Since then, Roy and his company have created over 20,000 private memoirs for families in more than 40 countries. Prior to that, Roy co-founded Pourshins Limited in 1978, which grew into a global enterprise employing over 600 people in 4 countries around the world. Throughout his career, he has built businesses not just with commercial success in mind, but with a heartfelt desire to connect and impact people and families in ways that matter. Roy begins by explaining it is important for families to share their history with their children and future generations and for founders and family leaders to tell the story of their life and achievements in their own words. Nowadays, there are so many storytelling formats to choose from, yet in his business, Roy has adhered to a single traditional format – the autobiographical printed book. Roy talks about why the physical book is still the best medium for older generations to share their life story with their progeny. Many family leaders may feel overwhelmed by the notion of writing a book that captures the essence of their life’s journey and achievements. Roy offers his advice on how to get started on the journey of writing an autobiography that will speak to and be appreciated by future generations. Roy provides some practical resources that he recommends to families and family leaders who wish to consider embarking on a book-writing journey to memorialize the family’s origins, values, and stories. Enjoy this illuminating conversation with a veteran storyteller and publisher of limited-edition biographies exclusively serving enterprise family leaders and founders. /episode/index/show/familyoffice/id/37533400

Leaning on Trust and Communication for Successful Family Transitions with Amy Castoro 07/17/2025

Leaning on Trust and Communication for Successful Family Transitions with Amy Castoro Today, I have the pleasure of speaking with Amy Castoro, President and CEO of The Williams Group, where she leads a team dedicated to ensuring the smooth transfer of wealth across generations. Amy is a recognized expert in preparing high-net-worth families to successfully transition wealth while maintaining family unity and control over assets. She is also an accomplished author, keynote speaker, and senior family coach known for her direct yet compassionate approach, which fosters long-term relationships and delivers measurable results. Amy is the author of Bridging Generations—Transitioning Family Wealth and Values for a Sustainable Legacy. She is a long-time friend of FOX and has been a speaker at FOX events and council meetings. Amy has helped many UHNW families navigate intergenerational transitions, and she shares her experience on what are the hallmarks of a successful wealth transition and what role trust and communication play in achieving such successful transitions. Throughout her career, Amy has created a framework for how to build, repair, and manage trust in a family. She tells us about this framework and highlights how families can successfully leverage it. One practical tip Amy offers to many families is how to have challenging conversations and how to structure this often-uncomfortable process. She provides her recipe for success with necessary but difficult discussions within the family. Another practical tool Amy has developed is her “10 Questions Quiz” that she uses to help families strengthen relationships with each other and prepare for a smooth and successful intergenerational wealth transition. She describes the 10 questions and how she applies the quiz to help families succeed. Enjoy this insightful conversation with a leading advisor of UHNW families and practitioner in the field of family transitions and wealth transfer. /episode/index/show/familyoffice/id/37441075

Applying the Four Room Model to Manage Change in the Enterprise Family with Jeff Strese 07/10/2025

Investing in Gold to Preserve and Protect the Family Wealth with Drew Mason and Christianna Mason 07/03/2025

Investing in Gold to Preserve and Protect the Family Wealth with Drew Mason and Christianna Mason Today, I’m excited to speak with Drew Mason and Christianna Mason. Drew is Managing Partner at St. Joseph Partners, a precious‑metals brokerage and wealth protection firm serving individuals, families, and family offices across the U.S. and internationally. He is a G2 principal of Andrew Mason Associates, a family business founded in 1979 as a strategic management consultancy and later pivoted to acquiring and building businesses, with three ultimately sold to private equity. Christianna is Drew’s daughter and a G3 member in their family office. She is a CPA who has advised Fortune 100 and private equity clients on global M&A from PwC’s New York office. Earlier in his career, Drew held positions at major Wall Street firms including Lehman Brothers, where he witnessed first-hand the 2008 Global Financial Crisis, an experience that triggered a personal and professional search for true financial safe havens in times of stress. This ultimately led to him founding St. Joseph Partners, and over the past fifteen years, the firm’s services have expanded to include: an online trading engine, secure domestic and international storage, private-label minting, audit and insurance facilitation and logistics. In this episode we focus our conversation on gold. Drew and Christianna share their views on what is so unique about gold as an alternative investment asset and why investors should be paying particular attention to gold right now. They also address the skeptics and risk managers out there, who may not be convinced, and explore what the worst-case scenario might look like for gold. Drew and Christianna delve into the options and intricacies associated with investing in physical gold vs. financial instruments that emulate the performance of gold. And for those who are worried they may have missed the gold rally and are wondering whether it’s too late to get in now, they provide a perspective on where their think gold is headed from here. Enjoy this instructive conversation with two of the leading experts on multigenerational families investing in gold and precious metals. /episode/index/show/familyoffice/id/37272040

Inspiring Female Wealth Owners to Find and Fulfill Their Purpose with Amy Hart Clyne 06/26/2025

Inspiring Female Wealth Owners to Find and Fulfill Their Purpose with Amy Hart Clyne Today, it is my absolute pleasure to speak with Amy Hart Clyne, Chief Knowledge & Learning Officer at Pitcairn. Amy is responsible for Pitcairn’s Family Engagement Services function and leads the firm’s thought leadership and learning initiatives. Before joining Pitcairn, Amy served as Executive Director and Chief Knowledge Officer at FOX, and led our knowledge, learning, and education strategies serving our community of families and multi-disciplinary advisors. Amy is the co-author of the book Finding Her Voice & Creating a Legacy: Portraits of Pioneering Women Leading Wealthy Families – an exploration that draws from intimate, in-depth conversations with over 40 women of wealth about how they came to wealth, their role in the family, and the obstacles they overcame. Amy holds a Certified Financial Planner™ (CFP®) designation and an Advanced Family Business certification (ACFBA) from the Family Firm Institute where she is also an FFI Fellow. She, and her firm Pitcairn, are valued wealth advisor members of FOX and we are thrilled to have their expertise as part of the FOX membership community. Finally, Amy is a former member of the FOX team, and I am thrilled to welcome such a distinguished FOX alumna to FOXCast. Amy’s book, Finding Her Voice is a groundbreaking book and, in my view, required reading in the family wealth space. Amy shares with our audience the story of the book, including what motivated her to write it and what methodology she used for gathering the insights and stories captured in the book. Having captured the fascinating and unique stories of these 40 women, Amy talks about the main revelations and learnings that she took away from her research and that she is passing on to the readers of the book. We then talk about the more practical outcomes of Amy’s research and the applied learnings for female wealth owners, starting with some practical tips and suggestions for the women who are founders or wealth-creators and built their wealth from scratch. Next, we discuss the advice and suggestions Amy would offer to female inheritors – those who are the recipients of generational wealth being passed on to them. This is a must-hear conversation with one of the pioneers of family wealth learning and education, and a groundbreaking researcher, writer, and thought leader in the field of women in wealth. /episode/index/show/familyoffice/id/37163495

Understanding the Benefits and Complexities of Generation-Skipping Trusts with Amy Wirtz 06/19/2025

Understanding the Benefits and Complexities of Generation-Skipping Trusts with Amy Wirtz Today, I’m excited to speak with Amy Wirtz, Senior Consultant with The Family Business Consulting Group. Amy works closely with families to identify their goals around values, ownership, and financial wealth, and helps them establish family offices, councils, and enterprise governance systems to support these goals. She served as a lawyer for 27 years, with the last 10 years practicing collaborative law. In addition, Amy is a trained mediator and skilled facilitator in conflict resolution, communication, and listening skills. She serves on multiple family business advisory boards and frequently teaches and speaks at business forums, including YPO, YPO Family Office, Private Company Governance Conference, and The Exit Planning Institute. In today’s conversation, we’ll zoom into generation-skipping trusts, which are both powerful and popular estate planning vehicles deployed by UHNW families and their advisors. We start with the basics, and Amy providing a definition of what generation-skipping trusts are and why are they so commonly utilized by families of wealth. Like all estate planning, risk management, and tax optimization strategies, there are both pros and cons and complexities associated with generation-skipping trusts. Amy talks about the long-term implications for families who establish and subsequently must live within these legal structures. Amy offers some practical tips and suggestions for families who are just starting to consider generation-skipping trusts, helping outline what they should know and beware, and how they should prepare the family for these structures. Amy then offers some pointers and advice for families who already have established generation-skipping trusts, sharing her insights into how they can live their lives in accordance with their goals and preferences while still managing and complying with the complexities of these existing legal structures. Please enjoy this deeply insightful conversation with one of the leading practitioners and consultants in the area of trust and estate planning for UHNW families. /episode/index/show/familyoffice/id/36971760

Orchestrating Healthy Family Transitions with Bob Weinhold 06/12/2025

Orchestrating Healthy Family Transitions with Bob Weinhold Today, I am pleased to welcome Bob Weinhold, Partner at Velocity Advisory Group, an advisory firm helping clients accelerate organizational success through leadership development, executive coaching, cultural alignment, and strategic execution. Bob oversees the firm’s Family Business Advisory and Executive Coaching practices. He began his career in healthcare working with executives in 1996 and later that year was fortunate to support the Atlanta Olympic Games with his individual and team performance enhancement experience. Bob supports the development of next generation leaders to prepare for succession and help senior family members transition responsibilities while mitigating risk. In his work with families, Bob talks about the concept of “mental scripts” that family members have in their heads that, while helpful in some cases, can also get in the way of successful transitions, communications, and relationships within family enterprises. He elaborates on this concept and gives some examples of how these mental scripts form and manifest themselves within families of wealth. One common challenge related to the “mental scripts” topic is the “fear of screwing up” mentality that so often guides and derails progress among enterprise families and their members. Bob explains why this “Don’t Mess It Up!” attitude is so pervasive both among older generations looking to transition control and their next-gen descendants who are looking to step into leadership. He also offers some insights into what families can do to avoid or navigate this common pitfall. One practical tip Bob offers is for family members to really mind their language – to study the phrases they use in their conversations. Bob delves into why language is so important and unpacks what family leaders and members can do to make sure how they speak to each other helps them grow and succeed rather than derail or hold them back. Another practical tool Bob uses and recommends is “the list”, which often older generations have in their mind before they can be comfortable transitioning power and control. He talks about this mental list – what’s often on it, how to deal with it, and how rising-gen members can manage toward and around this list. Enjoy this instructive conversation with a prominent and experienced thought leader and practitioner in the field of intergenerational transitions and succession within UHNW families. /episode/index/show/familyoffice/id/36971055

Protecting Against Unforeseen Risks by Utilizing 831(b) Plans with Van Carlson 06/05/2025

Protecting Against Unforeseen Risks by Utilizing 831(b) Plans with Van Carlson Today, I’m excited to speak with Van Carlson, Founder & CEO of SRA 831(b) Admin, a specialized risk management solutions company. Van has over 25 years of experience within the risk management industry. Prior to founding SRA, Van ran his own property and casualty firm for 15 years and was awarded Presidents Council’s and other top-performing achievements during his tenure as a P&C Agent. In 2008, he saw the Great Recession hit his commercial business clients hard, and just like them, he was also affected by the sharp economic downturn. Out of that challenging experience, he emerged committed to developing better ways to manage risk and improve business operations for his clients, and consequently founded SRA 831(b) Admin to pursue this mission. In this episode, we delve into the topic of micro-captive insurance plans, or 831(b) plans, and the ways family businesses and family offices can deploy this specialized tool to manage a range of risks. Van covers the fundamentals, offering our audience an overview of how 831(b) plans work and why wealth owners and family enterprises should consider deploying this innovative risk management tool. There are many ways 831(b) plans can create value for families and their enterprises. Van describes the most common use cases families and family offices can address by deploying 831(b) plans and shares some examples of the different unfunded liabilities this tool can help address. One very practical and helpful tool Van developed is the 831B.com website. He talks about the resources that are available on the website and how families and family office teams can utilize this public resource. The 831(b) solutions have many positive applications, but as is the case with everything in life, there are also downsides to consider. Van covers the potential risks associated with 831(b) plans and shares his tips on how our listeners can avoid or mitigate these risks. Please enjoy this insightful conversation with a pioneer and thought leader in the technical field of micro-captive insurance plans. /episode/index/show/familyoffice/id/36864250

Carrying Forward Values and Legacy by Preserving Family Artifacts with Brad Mindich 05/29/2025

Carrying Forward Values and Legacy by Preserving Family Artifacts with Brad Mindich Today, I’m excited to speak with Brad Mindich, CEO and Founder of Inveniem, the leading archiving & fan engagement company that works directly with artists, estates, athletes, brands, and individual celebrities on finding, organizing, preserving, and monetizing their artifacts and history. Brad also founded Agent Phoenix, a brand realignment and creative consulting agency, which works with companies to improve and enhance their relationships with their target audiences. Brads businesses have served such iconic artists as Coldplay, Metallica, Norah Jones, Jeff Bridges, Questlove, and Elvis Costello, to name just a few. Prior to founding Inveniem and Agent Phoenix, Brad was President of the Phoenix Media/Communications Group, a multi-media organization, and is a veteran of several media and technology start-ups in the US and UK. Brad talks about the world of iconic creators – artists, actors, athletes, and other creative personages – and provides an overview of this exclusive niche and how he and other experts serve these VIP UHNW clients, especially helping them preserve and manage their intellectual property, intangible assets, and unique artifacts. The knowledge, tools, and processes Brad and his firm have developed and apply are not limited to just in this creative niche of the market. Brad describes how families of wealth can also leverage this approach and solutions to preserve and pass down their artifacts, heirlooms, and collections – but also their legacy and values more broadly. Brad goes over the practical steps of how families and UHNW clients can get started on this journey of understanding, managing, and making the most out of their creative assets and intellectual property. He delves into one of the most common roadblocks for many families and clients – how to first organize all the artifacts and creative assets they have so they can know what is there, what exists, and then follow the robust process to begin to manage these collections of unique, alternative assets. Enjoy this informative conversation with the leading service provider in this exclusive niche of the UHNW wealth management landscape. /episode/index/show/familyoffice/id/36750160

Understanding and Utilizing Closely Held Family Office Groups with Mark Tepsich 05/22/2025

Understanding and Utilizing Closely Held Family Office Groups with Mark Tepsich This week, it is my pleasure to speak with Mark Tepsich, Executive Director and Family Office Design and Governance Specialist in the Family Office Solutions group at UBS Private Wealth Management. Prior to joining UBS, Mark spent several years with a NYC based investment advisory firm, where he built the firm’s family office platform, which included designing the infrastructure, services, tech solutions and vetted third party professionals such as law and tax advisory firms. Prior to that, he spent a decade at a large single-family office where he served as General Counsel of a dynastic, multi-generational family, advising on family office structuring, governance design, personal, estate and income tax issues, as well as business formation and operations, investment due diligence and real estate development. Many firms and institutions serving UHNW family clients are creating in-house family office groups and centers of excellence. Mark talks about this trend, explains its rationale, and outlines the different varieties of internal family office groups, and what capabilities they usually offer. We then delve a bit deeper into the rationale, addressing why it makes sense to create these internal family office teams, and describing the scenarios when it makes sense for a UHNW family client to engage with such closely held family office groups. Mark also paints the picture of how these internal groups fit within the broader advisory and service provider ecosystem of players serving the UHNW and family office clientele. Mark offers his practical tips on how UHNW clients should go about identifying and selecting the external partners they work with and what process they should follow – including how to identify, compare, and select internal family office groups that are part of a larger wealth advisory firm. Finally, Mark shares his views on now the UHNW and family office ecosystem is evolving, highlighting how the different kinds of firms and internal family office groups not only coexist but actually collaborate with each other with the goal of to providing their (often shared) clients the best possible advice, solutions, and service. Enjoy this illuminating conversation with one of the leading practitioners in the UHNW family wealth management space. /episode/index/show/familyoffice/id/36680165

Creating a Values-Aligned Family Office with Sharon Schneider 05/15/2025

Creating a Values-Aligned Family Office with Sharon Schneider Today, I have the pleasure of speaking with Sharon Schneider, founder of Integrated Capital Strategies. She works with families and foundations to align all of their activities with their values, expanding from philanthropy and impact investments to advocacy, operating businesses and property management/household operations. She is the author of "Handbook for an Integrated Life: A Practical Guide to Aligning Your Everyday Choices with Your Internal Compass". Previously Sharon served as Executive Director of the Telluray Foundation and was the founding Director of the Walton Personal Philanthropy Group. She was also co-founder and CEO of the for-profit social enterprise Moxie Jean, a Chicago Innovation Award winner in 2013 and a 2012 portfolio company of renowned tech accelerator Excelerate Labs (now TechStars Chicago). Moxie Jean was acquired by Schoola in 2015. Before starting Moxie Jean, Schneider spent 12 years as a staff member and consultant to private foundations, including the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, the Pew Charitable Trusts, and dozens of small family foundations, working on issues ranging from strategic planning and outcome management to engaging your family in philanthropy. Sharon wrote a highly regarded book about the concept of an “Integrated Life”, and she shares with our audience the meaning of this term and its key takeaways for UHNW families. In her writings, Sharon posits that these is a “3rd Gen Problem” – that by the time G3 steps into the leadership role, the family office structure begins to strain. She describes this problem, and illustrates how it is manifested across families, why it occurs, and most importantly, what to do about it. Through her work with families, Sharon has formulated 8 principles for a values-aligned family office, and she unpacks her thinking and practical insights related to the 8 principles. She then provides some specific practical applications of the principles, and shares some use cases that can help bring the principles to life for our audience. Enjoy this informative conversation with one of the best recognized philanthropy advisors and practitioners in the family wealth space. /episode/index/show/familyoffice/id/36579325

Leveraging External Partners to Design the Optimal Family Office with Drew McMorrow 05/08/2025

Leveraging External Partners to Design the Optimal Family Office with Drew McMorrow Today, it is my pleasure to speak with Drew McMorrow, President & CEO of Ballentine Partners, an independent wealth management firm providing comprehensive investment and family office services to wealthy families and entrepreneurs. In addition to being responsible for the day-to-day management of the company, Drew also continues to consult with families on all aspects of their financial lives. Prior to joining the firm in 2002, Drew worked at Mercer Management Consulting, where he advised technology companies on their strategic plans, and before that, he was the Director of Business Operations at Oracle Corporation, where he directed financial and business analysis for procurement and distribution operations. Drew, and his firm Ballentine Partners, are valued members of the FOX MFO Council and we are very proud to have their expertise as part of the FOX membership community. As family offices become increasingly popular and as families look to them for an ever-broader range of services and expertise, many families are weighing the pros and cons of in-housing vs. outsourcing vs. partnering as they try to decide on the optimal operating model for their family office. Drew shares his perspectives on the tradeoffs between in-house and partnered design options for SFOs and explains when and what should families consider outsourcing when building our their SFO, highlighting the functions or situations that lend themselves better to one model vs. another. Drew and his firm Ballentine Partners have built the Center for Family Wellbeing as a practical resource to help families make the best resourcing choices for their FOs. He tells our audience about the Center, its mission, and how it serves multigenerational families of wealth. Another practical insight Drew offers is regarding the often-neglected qualitative disciplines in support of the family’s long-term success – functions such as family communications, education and learning, and next-gen engagement and preparation. He provides his practical recommendations on how families can utilize internal resources and external partners to develop and deliver these mission-critical services to the family. Do not miss this engaging conversation with one of the most prominent thinkers and leaders in the UHNW family wealth management space. /episode/index/show/familyoffice/id/36487545

Extracting Value and Joy from Art Investing with Anne Rappa & Alex Glauber 05/01/2025

Extracting Value and Joy from Art Investing with Anne Rappa & Alex Glauber Today, it is my pleasure to speak with Anne Rappa & Alex Glauber. Anne is the fine art practice leader for Marsh McLennan. She provides risk management advice and assists clients by negotiating risk and insurance solutions related to fine art collections and transactions. Anne has 30 years’ experience representing the interests of both individual and institutional collectors, institutions, art dealers, auction houses, art logistics companies and other fine art focused businesses. Anne, and her firm Marsh McLennan, are a valued Advisor member of the FOX community, and we are grateful to have their expertise and thought leadership in our membership community. Alex is an art advisor, curator, and educator based in New York. He is the founder and principal of AWG Art Advisory, where he works with private individuals, corporations, and institutions in the conceptualization, building, and management of fine art collections. Prior to founding AWG Art Advisory in 2009, Alex served as an assistant curator for the Lehman Brothers and Neuberger Berman art collections from 2006 to 2009. He has curated monographic and thematic group exhibitions at venues as varied as the Portland Museum of Art in Maine, Phillips auction house, and Bryant Park, New York, as well as at galleries such as Lisson Gallery, Andrew Kreps Gallery, Chapter NY, Dickinson, David Lewis Gallery, and Casey Kaplan. He is a board member of The Brooklyn Rail and the president of the Association of Professional Art Advisors. Art is an increasingly popular investment asset among enterprise families and family offices – both as a passion investment and an alternative asset in their diversified portfolios. Anne and Alex talk about what is going on today in the world of art investing and highlight the latest trends that have been shaping the space over the recent years. They also explain how art is different from other investment assets, describing the unique attributes and market structures that set art apart from other investments and even from other alternative assets. One practical piece of advice Anne and Alex have for our listeners is to consider and understand the role of a professional art advisor. They describe the role of the art advisor and share their views on why families and family offices should be working with one and what value they can extract from such a relationship. With the unique attributes and value of art come also some unique risks. Anne and Alex shed some light on the major risks art investors should be aware of and how family offices and their clients can manage and protect themselves against those risks. Don’t miss this deeply instructional conversation with two of the leading experts and advisors in the world of art investing. /episode/index/show/familyoffice/id/36388960

Managing the Complexities of Private Family Estates Jennifer Laurence 04/24/2025

Advancing the Holistic Measurement of Impact Strategies with Volker Then 04/17/2025

Advancing the Holistic Measurement of Impact Strategies with Volker Then Today, I have the pleasure of speaking with Volker Then, an independent Senior Impact Analyst who is launching a start-up company on Comprehensive Impact Measurement together with a coalition of impact partners. From 2022 to 2024, Volker was Founding Chief Executive Officer and Member of the Executive Board of Fondazione AIS (Advancing Impact and Sustainability) in Bologna. Earlier in his career, Volker was Executive Director of the Centre for Social Investment at Heidelberg University for 15 years and also served as Director Philanthropy and Foundations at the Bertelsmann Foundation. He is a former member of the Scientific Advisory Board of the OECD’s Global Action “Social and Solidarity Economy” and served on the National Advisory Board of the G7-Social Impact Investment Task Force. Impact is a big word nowadays – maybe even a buzzword – and people in our space are using it broadly and frequently. But it’s not clear that everyone has a clear shared definition of the term. Volker provides his definition of “impact”, especially as it relates to enterprise families and the objectives they set for themselves with regard to fulfilling the purpose of their wealth and their family capital. One of the greatest challenges, and opportunities, in the world of impact is the measurement of the effectiveness and outcomes of impact initiatives. Volker talks about the latest thinking and work that is being done in this area, especially the thought leadership and development he has been spearheading in his prior role at Fondazione AIS and now in his current venture. Volker offers his tips and suggestions for enterprise families who are just starting or are early in their impact journey, focusing on what he recommends they do to get better educated and equipped to realize their impact ambitions. He then turns to enterprise families who are more advanced and have a developed impact framework and strategy, sharing his advice on what they can do to further the reach and consequence of their impact programs and strategies. Don’t miss this enlightening conversation with one of the foremost thought leaders in the realm of impact definition and measurement. /episode/index/show/familyoffice/id/36204575

Nurturing Family Culture Through Spirituality with Chris Koenemann 04/10/2025

Designing Cutting-Edge Compensation Plans for Top Family Office Talent with Bruce Benesh 04/03/2025

Designing Cutting-Edge Compensation Plans for Top Family Office Talent with Bruce Benesh Today, it is my pleasure to speak with Bruce Benesh, Managing Principal at Benesh Consulting Group. Bruce has more than 40 years of experience in executive compensation, tax planning relating to compensation arrangements, and international human resource consulting. He formerly served as the national partner- in-charge of the Human Capital Services Practice at Grant Thornton, and prior to that was the partner-in-charge of Arthur Andersen's Americas Human Capital Services Practice. Bruce, along with his firm Benesh Consulting Group, is a distinguished and generous advisor member of FOX, and we are fortunate to have his expertise available to our membership community. Bruce begins with an overview of the family office executive compensation landscape today. He describes the current state of affairs in the space, the established practices, and the latest trends pertaining to compensating key staff at family offices. Bruce then talks about some of the challenges family offices are facing when looking to create total compensation structures for their key employees and executives, highlighting the issues they struggle with the most. Bruce has worked with dozens, if not hundreds, of family offices over the years, helping them design attractive and effective compensation packages for key hires. He summarizes some of the best practices he has observed most frequently and would recommend to our listeners. Beyond hiring a compensation expert with experience in the family office space, such as himself, Bruce provides a summary of the other resources and practical tools family office owners and leaders should be aware of that can help them understand, plan, and design best-in-class compensation structures. Do not miss this highly relevant and instructional conversation with one of the foremost thought leaders and practitioners in the family office compensation space. /episode/index/show/familyoffice/id/35990630

Fostering Family Unity and Collaboration Through Philanthropy with Betsy Erickson & Joseph Brooks 03/27/2025

Fostering Family Unity and Collaboration Through Philanthropy with Betsy Erickson & Joseph Brooks Today, it is my pleasure to speak with Betsy Erickson & Joseph Brooks, Co-Heads of Family and Individual Services at Arabella Advisors, a leading philanthropy services firm supporting individual, family, institutional, and corporate donors worldwide. Prior to joining Arabella, Betsy worked for eight years in the nonprofit sector with groups focused on cancer research. She provided independent consulting services to national and regional nonprofit organizations such as CureSearch National Childhood Cancer Foundation, the Make-A-Wish Foundation, and the Lance Armstrong Foundation. Prior to joining Arabella, Joseph led the philanthropic advising team at the Greater Milwaukee Foundation and was a fundraising strategist for Marquette University and the country’s largest HIV/AIDS service organization. Betsy and Joseph, and their firm Arabella, are valued Advisor members of FOX, and we are privileged to have their knowledge and expertise in our membership community. The role of philanthropy within enterprise families is evolving – in some cases, philanthropy becoming the primary activity of the family enterprise. Betsy and Joseph talk about what is happening today in the world of family philanthropy and highlight the latest trends that have been shaping the space over the recent years. These trends are inevitably affecting the role and design of the family office. Betsy and Joseph explain how family offices are transforming to respond to the importance of philanthropy and how they should be redesigned to support the family’s evolving needs and activities. Arabella Advisors has put forth a body of thought leadership on the barriers to philanthropy that constrain enterprise families. Betsy and Joseph provide an overview of the most common barriers families face and how they can practically overcome them. Philanthropy is often one of the most common activities families undertake together after they have evolved beyond being fully focused on their business – and as a result, it often is the training ground for other joint activities by the family. Betsy and Joseph share their views on the role of philanthropy in helping families work together and its broader practical implications on fostering lasting collaboration and unity among family members. Don’t miss this highly informative conversation with two of the leading experts and advisors in the realm of family giving and philanthropy. /episode/index/show/familyoffice/id/35893140

Exploring Primary and Secondary Residences in the Swiss Alps with Cassandra Levene 03/20/2025

Preserving Family Values Through the Power of Stories with Kasia Flanagan 03/13/2025

Preserving Family Values Through the Power of Stories with Kasia Flanagan Today, it is my pleasure to speak with Kasia Flanagan, founder of Everyday Legacies, a boutique personal history firm. Kasia and her team help high-net-worth families capture the experiences, values, and wisdom that define their legacies. Through bespoke memoirs, family story books, and legacy films, they help clients create lasting qualitative assets that complement their financial wealth and preserve their true legacies. Kasia is an award-nominated historian, entrepreneur, and keynote speaker specializing in legacy preservation for exceptional individuals and families. Kasia and her firm, Everyday Legacies, are a Specialist Advisor member of FOX, and we are happy to have her expertise and thought leadership within our membership community. Kasia’s mission is to help families preserve and grow their qualitative wealth, primarily through the power of storytelling, and she talks about why the family story is possibly its most powerful capital and how shared stories strengthen and enrich the family and its individual members. Kasia describes the prevailing practices today among families who are looking to pass down their shared stories and legacies, highlighting the best practices and areas where there is room for improvement – where families could do better with this important dimension of their accumulated wealth. Kasia and her firm have formulated a clever and compelling tagline: “Preserve your values, not just your valuables.” She shares her view on how families can and should be doing that and lists many of the practical tools and mechanisms she recommends to families, family offices, and their outside advisors. Kasia also speaks to the families who are not yet ready to work with a specialized advisor, such as Everyday Legacies, and offers a broad array of DIY tools and readily accessible resources they can rely on. Please enjoy this highly instructive conversation with one of the leading practitioners in the family history and values preservation space. /episode/index/show/familyoffice/id/35672400

Uncovering Underutilized Resources and Capital within the Family with Kevin Quinn 03/06/2025

Uncovering Underutilized Resources and Capital within the Family with Kevin Quinn Today, I have the pleasure of speaking with Kevin Quinn, founder and president of Legacy Counsellors, an estate and business planning law firm serving successful individuals and families throughout New England. Kevin is a former Fellow of the Esperti-Peterson Institute and a member of the WealthCounsel, LLC, and a former member of the National Council on Planned Giving and the Connecticut Planned Giving Group. He is a co-founder of the Wealth Legacy Development Project, an organization dedicated to helping non-profit organizations develop planned giving programs. Kevin is the founder and an instructor of the Wealth Strategies Institute, a professional education institute that provides continuing education to certified public accountants, certified financial planners, attorneys, development officers, and insurance professionals. Kevin focuses his practice and work with families on the goal of “maximizing the utility of everyone in the family”. He talks about the meaning of this objective and how he approaches it in practice with UHNW families. Kevin describes the outcome of his work with families often being that they together identify underutilized resources and capital within the family and redeploy those in a timely, effective, and collectively fulfilling ways. He describes how this happens, where this pent-up energy is usually hidden within families, and how they can unlock it. Kevin created an intergenerational family wealth program, which he named “My Family My Wealth” that helps families structure a process to collectively talk about and share their abundance. He walks us through this program and highlights how it creates value for enterprise families. Another practical resource Kevin has formulated and recommends to families is the “Top 5 Ways to Use Your Family Wealth to Help Your Family Flourish”. He shares with our audience this framework and its components, and highlights how families can benefit from it. Enjoy this informative conversation with a successful practitioner in the UHNW family wealth space. /episode/index/show/familyoffice/id/35561125

Utilizing PPLI Policies to Optimize Financial Outcomes for UHNW Families with Michael Liebeskind 02/27/2025

Utilizing PPLI Policies to Optimize Financial Outcomes for UHNW Families with Michael Liebeskind Today, I’m excited to speak with Michael Liebeskind, founder and principal at Golconda Partners, an independent firm that serves as a guide and service platform for ultra-affluent clients who are seeking to effectively navigate the sophisticated and financially powerful applications of life insurance and annuity investment account policies. Michael started his career with the accounting firm of Coopers & Lybrand and today is the founder of several operating businesses in the financial services space. He is a member of the New York State Society of CPAs, the Estate Planning Council of New York City, The Society of Trust and Estate Practitioners (STEP), and the Yale Insurance Study Group. Michael and his firm Golconda Partners are valued advisor members of FOX, and we are very fortunate to have their knowledge and expertise as part of our membership community. In today’s conversation, we focus on the topic of private placement live insurance (or PPLI) and the many ways enterprise families and their family offices can deploy this versatile tool. Michael starts us off with the basics, providing an overview of how PPLI works and why wealthy families should consider exploring PPLI policies. There are multiple ways PPLI can create value for wealthy families, and Michael goes over the different use cases and strategies families and family offices can pursue to deploy PPLI, either as a traditional life insurance product or as a vehicle to optimize returns, wealth transfers, or income. Michael offers some practical tips for UHNW families, family office professionals, and external family wealth advisors for how to best leverage PPLI policies. He then covers the common cautionary tales and watchouts, describing what could go wrong and sharing his insights on the what families and their advisors should beware when utilizing PPLI policies for the different risk management and tax optimization use cases they can serve. Don’t miss this highly instructive conversation with one of the best recognized PPLI experts and insurance entrepreneurs in the UHNW space. /episode/index/show/familyoffice/id/35466790

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