FOXCast Family Office Exchange

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.

Today, I am pleased to welcome Stephan Heller, founding partner of AlphaQ Venture Capital (AQVC), a global VC fund of funds with an innovative semi-liquid evergreen structure, focused on early-stage VC funds and co-investments. Stephan is a next-gen owner in his family’s enterprise, a serial entrepreneur, an active angel investor with over 20 direct investments, including Talon.one, Surge Fitness and Caya. He led Intel's European Startup Program and co-founded Intel Ignite, which was voted the best early-stage DeepTech startup accelerator; founded FinCompare, a fast-growing fintech platform for small and medium-sized enterprise financing, which was acquired by Germany's largest banking group; and created Watchmaster, a re-commerce platform for new and used luxury watches.
Venture capital (VC) is Stephan’s passion and domain of expertise, and he shares his views on where VC stands today as an asset class and what trends are shaping this corner of the investing universe. He then delves into how enterprise families are engaging in VC today and discusses the challenges, opportunities, advantages, and drawbacks facing multigenerational families who choose to be active as venture investors.
Stephan offers a number of practical suggestions for families and family offices – he posits that families should develop a deep understanding of both the external factors (e.g., the VC value chain and the major trends shaping the industry) and the internal needs and preferences of the family (e.g., risk appetite and liquidity requirements, to mention a few). He recommends some useful tools and analyses families can employ to study and evaluate these internal drivers and external forces.
As many families are interested in or drawn to venture but don’t necessarily have the capabilities to be competitive and efficient as investors in this space, Stephan describes some of the tools and channels for family enterprises and family offices to access VC effectively and profitably.
Don’t miss this instructive conversation with a successful rising-gen investor and an expert professional in venture capital – the asset class that hold the potential for most differentiated and attractive returns for families in the long term.

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.