When your founding generation started your family business, decision-making was simple. Your family’s business and ownership decisions were likely discussed informally; debated over meals and at family get-togethers.

Over time, your family and family enterprises have grown substantially, becoming infinitely more complex and diverse. The spontaneity and informality of this early-stage debate and decision-making have become inefficient. You have likely identified a need to create resilient structures and processes delineating where decision-making will occur and who should be involved. You recognize that you need to build high-performing family councils, owner councils, and boards and are looking for guidance and support in this endeavor.

GTA team members have extensive global experience working with large business-owning families to design needed governance structures. GTA works hand-in-hand with you to create these structures and processes and develop your family’s talent, skills, and discipline to sustain them, generation after generation.

The family office plays a critical role for many families. As you become successful, you accumulate assets outside the family business. Early on, trusted family or non-family executives in the financial arena of your business may be managing these assets. These assets will grow substantially over time, making it clear that you need to establish a family office separate from the core of the family business. At first, you may want this office to provide concierge services for the family and manage financial assets outside your company.

At a certain point, the family office will reach critical mass. As this happens, you should develop a strategic plan for it in much the same way you devise a strategic plan for the core of the family business. Building this plan requires senior family board leaders and shareholders to create a mandate and charter for the family office.

• Why did you establish a family office in the first place, and what is its mission?
• What do you hope to achieve with the family office and the assets it manages?
• How should the Family office operate, and to what extent do you want to involve family members?

As the family office matures and begins transitioning from one generation to the next, this charter becomes  crucial to leadership succession within the family office. Furthermore, as an owner and leader, you want the family office to provide a gravitational pull to keep family members connected to the family enterprise.

The next generation of your family will have interests and priorities which differ from that of their predecessors. If you are approaching a point of ownership and leadership transition, you likely have concerns regarding how this new generation will utilize the family office.

At GTA, we support family owners and next-generation leaders in designing service-focused family offices. Our approach is to work jointly with the senior and next generation to create a shared alignment on the purpose of this office and how it will support your family.

For established family offices with service and investment functions, we support the family owners by defining the role of your family in overseeing the family office and developing ownership and leadership succession plans.

As a family business leader, you’ve dedicated your life to building the family business and supporting the next generation in pursuing their academic and professional passions. Nonetheless, you may reach a point where concerns arise regarding the succeeding generation. You may worry that their lack of knowledge regarding the family business(es) reduces their potential to become effective owners and benchmark family business leaders. You may also find that your generation knows too little about the next generation’s interests, skills, priorities, and aspirations.

The senior generation in your family has dedicated their lives to building the family business and supporting the next generation in pursuing their academic and professional passions. Nonetheless, you may reach a point where concerns arise regarding generational transition. Does the next generation have the right knowledge regarding the family business(es)? Are they prepared to become effective owners and benchmark family business leaders? Is the senior generation ready and prepared to welcome them into those positions? You may also find that the senior generation knows too little about the next generation’s interest, skills, priorities, and aspirations.

For this reason, it is essential to have assistance in designing intra- and intergenerational education and talent development programs. It is not sufficient to say: “Just show us the best practices.” You recognize that you need programs built on specific needs assessments of your family members and your family business(es).

We have extensive experience working with the senior and next-generation family members to create comprehensive development programs that combine high-quality large and small group education with coaching and mentoring.

• Coaching/Mentoring: Our approach to coaching and mentoring of the next generation is unique. We apply our deep understanding of family businesses and help the next generation to “connect the dots” between their professional interests and roles in the family business
• Group Education: We work with you to design a bespoke education curriculum that will prepare the next generation to work together, make decisions, and ultimately steward your family’s business assets