Wellmeaning Companies: Family, non-family and financial family office succession

Christina Wing
November 29, 2023

Succession planning is one of the most important things a family office will have to contemplate. The smooth transition and even the future survival of any family firm depends on it, yet many owners and management teams are unprepared. In this article by Family Office Pro’s Margaret Steen, Wingspan founder Christina Wing is quoted discussing the three dimensions of family office succession: family member succession, financial succession, and succession of non-family team members.

“Typically there is one family member that has the mandate to manage the family office, either as the CEO of the family office or as the chairman of the board or of the investment committee,” Christina says of the first dimension. Planning for the future requires decisions about whether a single person is to inherit this role or if a more sophisticated governance structure is to be initiated. Regarding financial succession, owners may want to require children who inherit part of the family estate to keep their money invested in the firm for a set period of time, long enough to make reasoned decisions about family assets. And finally, family offices need plans for the succession of non-family staff, who often play key roles in management that family successors may not be immediately equipped to fill (or ever want to fill).

Read the full article on this important issue for family offices.

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About Christina Wing

Christina founded Wingspan Legacy Partners to help Founders and Families navigate the intersections between Family dynamics, business operations, wealth, legacy and philanthropic impact.