Prepared in association with STEP, the world’s leading organisation for private wealth professionals, this practical guide steers readers through the family office model, from its inception to the final stage in its ‘life cycle’. Written by leading experts in the field, this third edition has been fully updated and looks at a broad range of key topics including:

• establishing a family office and choosing the right jurisdiction;
• the tax structuring of a family office;
• the pros and cons of a ‘virtual’ office;
• governance, crisis planning and long-term resilience;
• hiring leaders for the family office;
• philanthropy and the global culture of giving; and
• wealth stewardship.

New chapters cover family office relevancy, the importance of the family owner’s manual, reputation in the digital age, diversity and inclusion in estate planning, and building and caring for family art collections. In addition, the book explores the increasing number of important jurisdictions and features chapters on Australia, Bermuda, Canada, Greater China, the Gulf states, Hong Kong, Israel, Italy, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Singapore, Switzerland, the United Kingdom and the United States.

Whether you are a professional practising in the family office sphere, a family officer, a family member or a new entrant to this diverse and challenging arena, this comprehensive publication provides essential insight into all aspects of the family office world.

Abdullah Adib AlZamil
Managing director, Zamil Private Office
[email protected]
https://www.linkedin.com/in/abdullahalzamil/

Abdullah Adib AlZamil is managing director of the Zamil Private Office – the single family office of the Zamil family of Saudi Arabia. Their business was founded in 1920, with international investment activities beginning in the 1970s. Abdullah led the spinout of the investment activity into a fully staffed single family office, overseeing the migration to newly created corporate structures and the creation and implementation of governance tools and mechanisms. His role involves managing a substantial private equity and real estate portfolio, as well as managing the personal investments and family affairs of the Zamils.
Abdullah has a BSc in chemical engineering (2002) from KFUPM in Dhahran, Saudi Arabia and an MSc in management (2005) from Cass Business School, London. Before assuming his role, he worked at Jacobs Engineering in London as a consultant on the design of petrochemical processes and equipment. Abdullah is married with three children and is based in Bahrain.

Grania Baird
Partner, Farrer & Co
[email protected]
https://www.linkedin.com/in/grania-baird-8aab1116/

Grania Baird leads the financial services regulatory and funds practice at Farrer & Co. She has over 20 years of experience acting for clients across the sector, including asset managers, private banks and wealth managers. Grania’s practice covers advice on the complex legal and regulatory regime for financial services as well as advising on the set up and running of investment funds, in particular FCA authorised funds. Grania regularly speaks at seminars, webinars and other events on financial services law and regulation.

Melissa A Berman
President and CEO, Rockefeller Philanthropy Advisors
[email protected]
https://www.linkedin.com/in/melissa-berman-84643b187/

Melissa A Berman is the founding president and CEO of Rockefeller Philanthropy Advisors Inc, an innovative non-profit philanthropy service launched by the Rockefeller family in 2002. Rockefeller Philanthropy Advisors’ mission is to accelerate philanthropy in pursuit of a just world. Rockefeller Philanthropy Advisors annually manages or facilitates about $600 million in giving to more than 35 countries.
Under her leadership, Rockefeller Philanthropy Advisors developed and published the Philanthropy Roadmap donor guides with support from the Gates Foundation. She developed and leads Rockefeller Philanthropy’s research initiative, The Theory of the Foundation, for which she has written several publications.
Melissa is a board member of Rockefeller Philanthropy Advisors, Candid (the combined Foundation Center and Guidestar) and the Adrian Brinkerhoff Poetry Foundation. She is an adjunct professor at Columbia University’s Business School. Melissa holds a BA from Harvard University and a PhD from Stanford University.

Andrea Bolliger
Of counsel, Baker McKenzie
[email protected]
https://www.linkedin.com/in/andreabolliger/

Andrea Bolliger is an of counsel in Baker McKenzie’s Zurich office. He is a member of the firm’s tax and global wealth management practice groups. Since 2001, he has worked for leading international law firms in Zurich as well as for the Zurich Canton tax authorities. Andrea has more than 20 years of experience in all tax matters, both individual and corporate. His practice focuses on advising private clients on complex national and international tax planning, including relocation, estate planning and all aspects of wealth management. Further, he has broad experience in national and international corporate tax matters including restructurings, M&A, corporate finance, private equity and fund structuring (including crowdfunding and blockchain applications and initial coin offerings), and employee participation plans, as well as tax controversy.
Andrea regularly publishes articles and is engaged as a speaker in his field of practice.

David Bowen
Partner, family office leader UK&I, Ernst & Young LLP
[email protected]
https://www.linkedin.com/in/david-bowen-b5929516/

David Bowen leads EY’s UK and Ireland family office team, based out of London. He has extensive experience advising on the set-up, review and transformation, and institutionalisation and professionalisation of single family offices and wider organisational structures. His clients are both internationally mobile families, with multi-jurisdictional affairs and associated investment structures, and high-profile UK domestic families.
David has over 20 years’ experience in partnering with families with complex affairs, advising on the interaction between the family, their businesses and their wealth to ensure effective operation and governance of their entire organisational structure. He is a regular speaker at international conferences on the development and evolution of the family office industry.

Imogen Buchan-Smith
Director, private tax, Ernst & Young LLP
[email protected]
https://www.linkedin.com/in/imogen-buchan-smith/

Imogen Buchan-Smith is a UK-qualified tax and trust lawyer with over 15 years of experience in the private client advisory sector. Imogen advises individuals, family offices, trustees and financial institutions in relation to UK personal tax, trust and succession planning, and has particular experience of working with wealthy families with complex, multi-jurisdictional asset-holding structures and diverse tax profiles. Imogen specialises in complex lifetime tax, estate and succession planning for clients with multi-jurisdictional personal and business assets, including developing succession strategies in the context of both lifetime and death planning. Imogen is a member of the UK Law Society as well as STEP.

Mary Anne Bueschkens
Family office/private equity advisory services and corporate director
[email protected]
https://www.linkedin.com/in/mary-anne-bueschkens-mba-jdlaw-icd-d-15899a4a/

Mary Anne Bueschkens is a globally recognised attorney, business executive and corporate director with more than 25 years of experience leading and advising private client businesses, private equity, public/private companies and family foundations on international business structuring, business succession planning, M&A, governance, risk mitigation and transformational change, including a specific focus on accelerating action by businesses on climate change and diversity, equity and inclusion.
Mary Anne was a senior tax partner/head of the national tax group of a leading Canadian law firm before joining ABC Technologies, a public global auto manufacturer, in progressive positions of general counsel/president/CEO and vice-chair of the board.
She is on the board of Algoma Steel, a publicly traded steel producer, and the board of governors of the Royal Ontario Museum. She is also vicepresident/ Americas of the International Academy of Estate and Trust Law (TIAETL) and past chair of STEP Canada.

David Chee
Partner, WongPartnership LLP
[email protected]
https://www.linkedin.com/in/david-chee-970236/

In the private wealth space, David Chee works with and advises high-net-worth clients on all aspects of their wealth and succession planning needs, such as wealth transfer strategies from one generation to another, asset protection and preservation, family business succession, family governance, structured philanthropy and the establishment of family offices.
David also advises on the use of trusts in other areas such as philanthropy, investments, debt restructuring, employee benefit programmes, environmental restoration and rehabilitation projects.
In his charity and philanthropy practice, David advises on the establishment, governance and administration of charities and other non-profit or philanthropic entities.
David serves on the boards of a non-profit organisation and charity.

James M Coutré
Vice president, Fidelity Investments
[email protected]
https://www.linkedin.com/in/jcoutre/

James M Coutré is vice president of Insights & Connections for Fidelity Family Office Services, the division of Fidelity Investments® which provides custody, brokerage, investment and reporting services to family offices, ultra-wealthy families and the investment professionals who support them.
Jim is responsible for the oversight of Fidelity Family Office Services’ Insights & Connections programme, which offers perspectives and problem solving across a wide range of family matters and office matters to families and family office executives.
Prior to joining Fidelity in 2014, Jim was partner for The Philanthropic Initiative. In his role as a philanthropy adviser, he was responsible for helping families, foundations and corporations to increase the impact of their giving. Jim holds a BA in economics from Washington University in St Louis in 1994 and advanced certificates in family wealth advising and family business advising from the Family Firm Institute.

Bryony Cove
Partner, Farrer & Co
[email protected]
https://www.linkedin.com/in/bryony-cove-a1708837/

Bryony Cove is an experienced private client lawyer working with a broad range of UK and international clients, from individuals and families to trust companies and family businesses. At the core of her practice is helping clients and their families to put in place the most effective strategies to manage the long-term stability and integrity of their estates.
Bryony has extensive experience advising on all aspects of UK estate planning, including wills, trusts, lasting powers of attorney and family governance issues. She regularly advises on the administration of large and complex estates and international probate, and some contentious probate and trust matters. She also has a number of longstanding US/UK and European clients. She is often called upon to help families to resolve situations where legal crises have arisen as a result of deteriorating mental or physical health. Her practice includes strong elements of wealth stewardship, philanthropy and reputation management.

John Deverell
Founder, www.thepreparedmind.net
[email protected]
https://www.linkedin.com/in/john-deverell-cbe-3a2a028/

John Deverell CBE leads www.thepreparedmind.net, advising on leadership, governance, risk and crisis preparedness. As well as his support to family offices in the United Kingdom, he has worked for governments and companies around the world, including 15 years in the Middle East. Before establishing his own company, John served on the executive leadership team of FTSE- 100 global engineering company Invensys plc, with responsibility for resolving all emerging crises. He then worked for M:Communications, helping clients with reputational aspects. In his earlier career John served in the British Army. Among various assignments, he was deputy director of the US-led Iraq Survey Group – disproving pre-war intelligence on weapons of mass destruction – and was later the director of defence diplomacy in the Ministry of Defence. After that, he was the first British government servant since British Mandate days to live in the Palestinian territories.
He holds pro bono positions relating to the church, the Middle East and injured ex-servicemen.

Yacine Diallo
Partner, Charles Russell Speechlys SCS, Avocats à la Cour
[email protected]
https://www.linkedin.com/in/yacine-diallo-86615853/

Yacine Diallo advises a broad client base on a wide range of tax matters. He advises ultra-high-networth individuals (UHNWIs), international families, family offices and family-backed multinational groups on cross-border structuring issues, including the establishment of holding platforms and investment funds, as well as on M&A, real estate and venture capital transactions. He is usually involved in multifaceted family governance and wealth-planning topics. He also provides Luxembourg direct and indirect tax assistance to private equity and real estate investment funds. Yacine is a board member and general secretary of the Luxembourg Association of Family Offices.
He is also a member of the advisory committee of a Luxembourg single family office. Yacine is member of the International Bar Association and of the International Fiscal Association.

Keith Drewery
Director, KPMG Family Office
[email protected]
https://www.linkedin.com/in/keithdrewery/

Keith Drewery has worked for over 40 years in professional services firms and the wealth management industry. Among other things, this has involved being the head of a private client practice for an Australia-listed financial services provider and opening an office in Sydney on behalf of a leading multi-family office. Keith is currently a director in KPMG’s enterprise division based in Sydney, focused on the positioning of KPMG’s services with family offices. His work involves engaging with market participants and generating thought leadership to help drive market demand. Originally trained as a tax lawyer, Keith received a master’s in taxation from the University of Sydney. Born in the United Kingdom, he now lives in Sydney with his wife and three adult daughters.

Mary K Duke
Independent Advisor to Families
[email protected]
https://www.linkedin.com/in/mary-k-duke-4a23036/

Mary K Duke is an internationally recognised adviser to families navigating the complexities of substantial wealth. She is known for her deep understanding of the impact of trusts and generational dynamics on families.
Mary has an outstanding track record helping families around the world to leverage learning and governance to improve patterns of interaction, restore relationships and accelerate results across their family system. Her work is anchored in the facilitation of family meetings, coaching and mediation for family members, and strategic planning for their owned enterprises. Mary also acts for a few families as trustee and private trust company director, and serves on family office boards.
Previously, Mary served tours of duty in private client law and business consulting. She headed two private family offices and a leading bank’s global family wealth programme, including overseeing seven trust jurisdictions and a private bank. Mary lives with her husband Richard in Greenwich, Connecticut. They have three adult children and are newly minted grandparents.

Ori Ephraim
Founder and manager, O Ephraim Multi Family Office Services
[email protected]
https://www.linkedin.com/in/ori-ephraim-cpa-isr-tep-5a495312/

Ori Ephraim founded Ephraim Multi Family Office Services in 2002. The firm’s services include a comprehensive chief financial officer (CFO) service for high-net-worth clients, including investment advice in liquid and non-liquid investments, tax, accounting, liaison between auditors and lawyers for clients and serving as director in part of the client’s companies. Ori also serves as a court expert in the field of valuations for companies, and in economic disputes between businesses and between high-net-worth family members.
Ori holds an MA in economic and business administration (cum laude) and a BA in economics and accounting (cum laude), both from the Hebrew University in Jerusalem. In addition, he holds a diploma in international trust management from STEP. Ori is a licensed accountant in Israel and is a member of the Institute of Certified Public Accountants in Israel. Ori was an external lecturer for tax and accounting at the Hebrew University and at Bar Ilan University, and lectures widely in his areas of expertise. Prior to the founding of his firm, he served as CFO in several companies which traded on the Tel Aviv Stock Exchange TA 100.

Lyat Eyal
Partner, Aronson, Ronkin-Noor, Eyal Law Firm and Notary
[email protected]
https://www.linkedin.com/in/lyat-eyal-b4001b1b/

Lyat Eyal is a partner at Aronson, Ronkin-Noor, Eyal Law Firm and Notary, where she manages the private client practice, with a focus on international families and multi-jurisdictional cross-border estate planning issues, including trusts, wills, taxation of trusts and pre-immigration planning. Lyat also provides services in connection with probate and estate administration matters. Lyat was admitted to the New York State Bar in 1998 and to the Israel Bar in 2005. She is a member of STEP and the New York State Bar Association trusts and estates law and international sections; and a fellow at the American College of Trust and Estate Counsel and an academician at the TIAETL.
Lyat publishes regularly in distinguished professional publications and speaks at seminars and conferences internationally in her areas of expertise.

Joseph A Field
Senior counsel, Pillsbury Winthrop Shaw Pittman LLP
[email protected]
https://www.linkedin.com/in/joseph-a-field-2b6477/

Joseph (Joe) Field is a senior counsel in the private client group at Pillsbury. He holds degrees in politics from Princeton University and a JD from the Columbia University Law School. He has practised in Brussels, Paris, New York, London and Hong Kong. Joe ran the Asia offices of Withers for a number of years and has had considerable experience in working with international family offices and families, particularly with respect to cross-border issues.

Deirdre Fu
Partner, Withersworldwide
[email protected]
https://www.linkedin.com/in/deirdrefu/

Deirdre Fu is a partner in the private client and tax team. She focuses on trust and succession planning, and advises HNWIs and institutional trustees on wealth protection structuring and the importance of planning for incapacity. She also advises on taxation in Hong Kong for individuals and family investment holding vehicles, and related planning opportunities. She has also advised corporations on the establishment of employee share trusts.
Deirdre is listed as an ‘up-and-coming’ private wealth practitioner in Chambers High Net Worth 2021–2022 and has been recommended as a leading private client lawyer in Who’s Who Legal. She has also been recognised in Legal 500 Asia- Pacific 2019–2022, Citywealth’s 2019 Powerwomen List and Citywealth’s 2019 Leading Private Client Lawyers list.
She passed the STEP diploma on international trust management with distinction in 2014. She is qualified in the United Kingdom, Hong Kong and the Greater Bay Area of China.

Katie Graves
Partner, Withersworldwide
[email protected]
https://www.linkedin.com/in/katie-graves-69358032/

Katie Graves heads the private client and tax team. Her practice involves tax, trust and estate planning for wealthy international families. She has particular expertise in assisting clients with the establishment of private trust company structures and related fiduciary and governance issues, as well as the creation and ongoing running of single family offices. She also advises UK expatriates and Asian families with UK connections on their personal tax issues and trustees on a range of matters, including the consequences of holding UK assets or having UK resident beneficiaries.
Katie is named as a leading individual for private client/wealth management in Chambers High Net Worth 2016–2022 and Legal 500 2023 for private client. Under her leadership, the team has won Private Wealth Firm of the Year at the Asian Legal Business Hong Kong Law Awards for six consecutive years.

James Grubman
Owner, Family Wealth Consulting
[email protected]
https://www.linkedin.com/in/jim-grubman-80b4289/

Dr James Grubman is an internationally recognised senior consultant to multi-generational families of wealth and their advisers. Along with Dr Dennis Jaffe, he received the Outstanding Contribution to Thought Leadership award from Family Wealth Report (2021).
He has published the renowned books Strangers in Paradise: How Families Adapt to Wealth Across Generations (Family Wealth Consulting, 2013); Wealth 3.0: The Future of Family Wealth Advising (Family Wealth Consulting, 2023) with Dennis Jaffe and Kristin Keffeler, and Cross Cultures: How Global Families Navigate Change Across Generations (CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform, 2016) with Dennis Jaffe. Jim has been published in and quoted extensively by The Wall Street Journal, The New York Times, CNBC, The International Family Offices Journal and many other media. He helps lead the non-profit think tank The UHNW Institute, holds fellow status in the Family Firm Institute and the Purposeful Planning Institute, and is one of the very few psychologists in STEP. His global consulting practice, Family Wealth Consulting, is based in Boston, Massachusetts.

Rhian-Anwen Hamill
CEO, RAH Partners Ltd
[email protected]
https://www.linkedin.com/in/rhian-anwen-hamill-leadership-coaching-business-advisory/

Rhian-Anwen Hamill is the CEO of RAH Partners, a leadership advisory, search and business coaching organisation working with management teams and family groups to address the challenges of human capital in areas of strategy, culture, leadership, team and board effectiveness, succession and talent development.
After graduating from UWC Atlantic College and Fitzwilliam College, Cambridge, Rhian worked for many years in two US investment banks, leaving to become director of a major national arts project in her native Wales. She then held senior positions for 20 years in talent acquisition, building her own leading firm before moving to become a qualified executive coach with Meyler Campbell, The Tavistock Institute and the Kets de Vries Institute. She is a director of Cool Bananas, a Zambian agri-business.

Thomas J Handler
Partner, Handler Thayer LLP
[email protected]
https://www.linkedin.com/in/tomhandler/

Thomas J Handler is an advanced planning attorney and chair of the global family office practice at Chicago-based Handler Thayer LLP. He focuses on the analysis and structuring of sophisticated estate plans and family offices and taxation and business planning issues for business owners, executives, professional athletes, celebrities and family offices. He has extensive experience in the analysis, design and implementation of domestic and international business planning, financial and estate planning, asset protection, family office compliance and advanced tax planning strategies.
He has been named one of the top 15 wealth planners and top 100 attorneys in the United States, and was awarded the 2021 PAM Lifetime Achievement Award, the 2017 Family Wealth Alliance Leadership Award for Lifetime Achievement and the 2016 Excellence in Estate Planning Award. In 2015 he was named International Wealth Planning Lawyer of the Year and won the Michael J Brink Lifetime Achievement Award for Leadership & Service.

Barbara R Hauser
Independent family consultant
[email protected]
https://www.linkedin.com/in/barbara-hauser-843661b/

Barbara R Hauser has some 30 years of experience in the field of family governance. She is the author of International Family Governance: A Guide for Families and Their Advisors (Mesatop Press, 2009) and International Estate Planning: A Reference Guide (Juris Publishing Inc, 2nd edition, 2020). A graduate of Wellesley College and the University of Pennsylvania Law School, she had the honour of clerking at the US Supreme Court. Her recent PhD dissertation is on “The Benefits of Applying the Rule of Law in Family Governance” from the University of Zurich Law School. She is the president emeritus of the International Estate Planning Commission of the Union Internationale des Avocats. She is the founding editor of The International Family Offices Journal, published quarterly by Globe Law and Business. She has worked with families in a number of countries and cultures, including Saudi Arabia. She is on the 2024 Spear’s 500 list as a recognised expert in the family office field.

Perveen Hill
Senior associate, white collar defence and investigations team, Withersworldwide
[email protected]
https://www.linkedin.com/in/perveen-hill-1b418112a/

As a senior associate in the white-collar defence and investigations team at Withersworldwide, Perveen Hill is well versed at representing highprofile individuals involved in allegations of serious general crime and complex fraud, including money laundering, tax evasion and bribery and corruption. She has defended prosecutions brought by the Serious Fraud Office, the Crown Prosecution Service, the National Crime Agency and His Majesty’s Revenue & Customs. Due to the high-profile nature of these investigations, Perveen takes an empathetic approach to all cases and recognises the impact that such investigations have on reputation, family and professional life.
Additionally, Perveen frequently advises individuals and organisations in relation to allegations of harassment, communication offences and cyber-related offences. She is an experienced advocate and has expertise in representing those accused of committing serious criminal offences, including historic sexual offences. Perveen takes a strategic approach to cases and recognises the need to act swiftly to achieve the best outcome for her clients.

Xavier Isaac
Chief executive officer, Accuro
[email protected]
https://www.linkedin.com/in/xavier-isaac-3872662/

Xavier Isaac is a co-founder and CEO of Accuro Group. In 2017 he led the management buyout that galvanised Accuro as the independent, values-driven and award-winning business it is today. Xavier drives Accuro’s international strategy, mission and vision, and advises clients on estate planning, taxation, philanthropy and trusts, protecting families while supporting their positive contribution to the world. He is the treasurer of the Swiss Philanthropy Foundation and sits on the board of the Fondation Pacifique, a Swiss charity.
Xavier is an enthusiastic knight of the Confrérie des Chevaliers du Tastevin in Burgundy and a keen skier, and loves to spend time in the Swiss mountains with his family. He speaks French, English, Spanish and Dutch.
Xavier was included in the 2022 eprivateclient 50 Most Influential list; was named the 2022 Who’s Who Legal Private Client Trust and Advisory Professional of the Year; and featured as a top recommended expert in the Spear’s 500 2023.

Dennis T Jaffe
Senior research fellow, BanyanGlobal Family Business Advisors
[email protected]
https://www.linkedin.com/in/dennis-jaffe-a686286/

Dr Dennis T Jaffe, a San Francisco-based adviser to families about family business, governance, wealth and philanthropy, is senior research fellow at BanyanGlobal Family Business Advisors. He is an author of: Wealth 3.0: The Future of Family Wealth Advising; Borrowed from Your Grandchildren: The Evolution of 100-Year Family Enterprises; Finding Her Voice and Leaving a Legacy; Cross Cultures: How Global Families Negotiate Change Across Generations; Stewardship in your Family Enterprise: Developing Responsible Family Leadership Across Generations and Working with the Ones You Love.
The Family Firm Institute awarded him the 2017 International Award for service, and the 2005 Beckhard Award for service to the field. In 2020 he was awarded a special commendation as an individual thought leader in the field of wealth management by the Family Wealth Report. His global insights have led to teaching or consulting engagements in Asia, Europe, the Middle East and Latin America. He has a BA in philosophy, an MA in management and a PhD in sociology, all from Yale University; and he is professor emeritus of organisational systems and psychology at Saybrook University in San Francisco.

Raimund Kamp
Co-founder and partner, Guidato
[email protected]
https://www.linkedin.com/in/raimund-kamp-13a22210/

Raimund Kamp is the co-founder of Guidato, a multi-family office in the Netherlands. His special expertise relates to families which are in transition and the transfer of family business to the next generation.
Raimund holds degrees in tax and notary law from the Universiteit van Amsterdam. Together with his business partner, Marijke Kuijpers, and in cooperation with Nyenrode Business University, he carried out in-depth qualitative research in the Netherlands among 18 wealthy heirs, focusing on their upbringing and preparation for their inheritance and their experiences with inherited wealth. The results have published in The Golden Rucksack – Handbook for Wealthy Families.
He regularly speaks at international conferences and writes articles about family office topics, families and their business.

Josh Kanter
Founder, leafplanner; principal, Josh Kanter Wealth Advisory Services
[email protected]
https://www.linkedin.com/in/joshua-kanter/

Josh Kanter is the founder of leafplanner, a platform built to collect, organise and map information on families and family enterprises in a single-source manner, allowing the identification of blind spots; providing a tool for the education of family members and advisers; and providing families with a more effective, comprehensive and efficient succession of information.
Through Josh Kanter Wealth Advisory Services, Josh provides thoughtful, personalised multigenerational family wealth advisory services to his clients, including family meeting facilitation, structuring, governance, trust, estate and tax planning, ‘blind-spot’ review, philanthropy and more.
Josh began his career as a lawyer before leaving his practice to build and run his own family’s multi-generational, multi-branch family office for over 20 years. Josh is involved with numerous non-profit organisations and is a frequent speaker on family, family office, political, economic and philanthropic topics. Josh received his JD from the University of Chicago in 1987.

Alon Kaplan
Advocate and notary, Alon Kaplan Advocate & Notary
[email protected]
https://www.linkedin.com/in/dr-alon-kaplan-tep-0b05281/

Dr Alon Kaplan was admitted to the Israel Bar in 1970 and was appointed notary in 1989. He was admitted to the New York Bar in 1990, was licensed in Germany in 1991 and practised as a member of the Frankfurt Bar Association from 2010 to 2022. He was an adjunct lecturer at the Law Faculty of Tel Aviv University and lectured on its LLM programme. Alon is the founder of STEP Israel in 1998 and is currently its president. An academician of the TIAETL and a member of the American College of Trust and Estate Counsel, Alon also advised the Israeli Tax Authority on trust legislation. He is the author of Trusts & Estate Planning in Israel (Juris Publishing) and Trusts in Prime Jurisdictions (Globe Law and Business, fifth edition, 2019); and the co-editor of Life Cycle of a Family Business (Globe Law and Business, 2020).

Marijke Kuijpers
Co-founder and partner, Guidato
[email protected]
https://www.linkedin.com/in/marijke-kuijpers-1b774b/

Marijke Kuijpers studied business administration at Nyenrode Business University and financial economics at the Vrije Universiteit in Amsterdam. She has more than 20 years of experience in banking – mainly in investment consultancy and relationship management for UHNWI clients. Together with her business partner, Raimund Kamp, and in cooperation with Nyenrode Business University, she carried out in-depth qualitative research in the Netherlands among 18 wealthy heirs, focusing on their upbringing and preparation for their inheritance and their experiences with inherited wealth. The results have published in The Golden Rucksack – Handbook for Wealthy Families. Another of Marijke’s passions is teaching on finance and related topics.

Richard Lane
Partner, Farrer & Co
[email protected]
https://www.linkedin.com/in/rtclane/

Richard Lane is head of the family business sector at Farrer & Co. Richard acts for many families, family businesses and family offices and regularly advises on governance issues, such as structuring ownership through the transition to the next generation as well as in the event of family dispute or divorce. He enjoys long-term relationships with his clients and understands the nuances and challenges often inherent in planning ahead for family-owned operations. Increasingly, he also advises international families pursuing large-scale investments in the UK or overseas.
With relationships across multiple industry sectors, clients are able to draw on Richard’s ability to help them make useful connections, whether for fundraising or other business opportunities.

Lucinda Main
Partner, WeirFoulds LLP
[email protected]
https://www.linkedin.com/in/lucinda-lucy-main-18453914/

Lucinda (Lucy) Main is a partner and co-chair of the wills, trusts and estates practice group at WeirFoulds LLP, with a practice focusing on estate and trust planning and administration. She has been repeatedly recognised in the Canadian Legal Lexpert Directory as a leading practitioner in estate and personal tax planning, and by Best Lawyers in Canada as a leading lawyer in trusts and estates. Lucy frequently writes and co-authors articles for various publications. Her book Preparation of Wills and Powers of Attorney: First Interview to Final Report, fifth edition (Carswell) was published in 2022. She regularly presents at legal conferences, including for the Law Society of Ontario (formerly known as the Law Society of Upper Canada), the Ontario Bar Association, STEP, the International Association of Young Lawyers and the Canadian Tax Foundation. She is currently a member of the editorial board of Thomson Reuters’ Taxes & Wealth Management and a member of the board of governors for the Canadian Tax Foundation.

Asher Noor
Founder and chief executive, Odyssey SFO
[email protected]
https://www.linkedin.com/in/ashernoor/

Asher Noor is the founder and chief executive of Odyssey SFO, based in Melbourne, Australia, managing his family investments in traditional and alternative asset classes.
Previously, he spent more than two decades working in the Middle East and Singapore with leading financial institutions. His last job was as chief investment officer for a large multigenerational family office in Singapore. He has held board positions at several listed and private companies worldwide.
He is a chartered accountant, with an MBA from EDHEC Business School – France, and a qualified trust and estate practitioner, with certifications in the field of family enterprise. He has served on multiple editorial boards; has several publications to his name; has spoken at conferences around the world; and has won several awards in the field of finance and family offices.
He dedicates time to mentoring and has a strong interest in food and water security, Web 3.0 and history.

Winnie Qian Peng
Director, Roger King Center for Asian Family Business and Family Office, Hong Kong University of Science and Technology
[email protected]
https://www.linkedin.com/in/pengq/

Professor Winnie Qian Peng is the director of the Roger King Center for Asian Family Business and Family Office at the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology (HKUST). She is also a board member of the International Family Enterprise Research Academy, the largest membership association of family business scholars in the world. Winnie’s research articles have been published in academic journals as well as international and local media. She has written many case studies on Asian family businesses and family offices. Winnie teaches family business and family office courses at executive training programme, master’s and undergraduate levels in HKUST. She has also taught on family business and family office-related topics for family business owners, UHNWIs and senior executives in China and around the world. She received her bachelor’s degree in accounting from Tsinghua University and her PhD in finance from HKUST. She is also a graduate of the Harvard Business School Executive Education programme on private equity and venture capital.

Gina M Pereira
Managing director, clients, Meritus
[email protected]
https://www.linkedin.com/in/ginampereira/

Gina M Pereira is managing director at Meritus, a lawyer and a trusted adviser with 20 years of experience servicing private clients. She has a sophisticated international background and experience in law, wealth management, philanthropy, environmental, social and governance and impact investing.
Gina was recognised by STEP with the Private Client Award for Philanthropy Team of the Year in 2018/2019. She is a third-time presiding judge for the STEP Private Client Awards. Gina is a board member of the Global Alliance for Impact Lawyers, North America; serves as chair of STEP’s Thought Leadership Committee on the Responsible Stewardship of Wealth; and is a past co-chair of the Steering Committee for the Philanthropy Advisors Special Interest Group.
A well-recognised thought leader on topics impacting wealth owners such as responsible stewardship of wealth, philanthropy and responsible and impact investing, Gina is leading two social impact-driven legislative reform proposals in Bermuda and is a primary author of the STEP white paper, Family Office Dialogues on the Responsible Stewardship of Wealth: A Guide.

Maya Prabhu
Managing director, JP Morgan Private Bank
[email protected]
https://www.linkedin.com/in/maya-prabhu-b0660649/

Maya Prabhu helps individuals and families to articulate the goals for their wealth and guides them on strategies to hold, protect and transfer their wealth and to establish family offices. Her areas of focus include developing family governance and communication strategies; promoting next-generation engagement and development; and crafting effective and rewarding philanthropy strategies. Maya is experienced in working with families from a range of cultures. She is a member of the teaching faculty for the Family Firm Institute’s GEN courses and for STEP’s diploma in private client advising. Maya serves on the Governing Council of the University of Warwick and on the board of The Housing Collective, USA. She is a member of the firm’s management committee for the private bank in Europe, the Middle East and Africa.

Penelope Purdy
Founder, P2 Ink
[email protected]
https://www.linkedin.com/in/penelopepurdywriteeditmedia/

Penelope Purdy is an award-winning journalist with an academic background in intercultural communications. Her consulting firm focuses on strategic communications, media consulting, web content and blog writing. Previously, she was a communications officer with The Pew Charitable Trusts and director of communications for a cleanenergy non-profit focused on encouraging businesses and federal, state and local governments to improve energy efficiency. During her journalism career, Penelope served as an opinion columnist and member of the editorial board of the Denver Post; as managing editor of Colorado Business magazine; and in several other news media positions. She earned a bachelor’s degree with high honours from the University of Wyoming in journalism and a master’s degree in international and intercultural communications from the University of Denver, with an emphasis on Latin American culture and society. She is currently working on her third non-fiction book.

Simon Rees
Director of family office services, Farrer & Co
[email protected]
https://www.linkedin.com/in/simonreestrustee/

Simon Rees is director of family office services at Farrer & Co. He has looked after HNWIs and families for more than 40 years, working in international accountancy firms, law firms, private banking and trust companies. He focuses on advising UK and worldwide clients and family offices, with a particular emphasis on the Middle East. His work includes not only strategic advice – including on generational succession and family governance – but also support on a wide range of operational matters and wealth management issues, including trustee issues, private trust companies, wealth structuring, family governance, compliance and administration.
Simon has seen family issues from many perspectives, including acting as a trustee of family and charitable trusts. While the client is at the heart of his work, Simon’s career also enables him to appreciate the challenges faced by the client’s various advisers, which is key to delivering workable support and solutions.

Keith Robinson
Head of trusts and private wealth, Carey Olsen Bermuda Limited
[email protected]
https://www.linkedin.com/in/keith-l-robinson/

Keith Robinson is head of the trusts and private wealth practice of Carey Olsen Bermuda Limited. He has over 20 years’ experience in noncontentious and contentious trust and private wealth matters. He has particular expertise in high-value trust litigation and court-approved trust restructurings, often with a multijurisdictional element. He has represented family offices, trustees, beneficiaries, settlors and protectors in a range of cases before the Supreme Court of Bermuda, and has been involved in many major trust cases in Bermuda. He advises on a wide range of non-contentious Bermuda trust matters and also acts as a protector. He is recognised as a band one lawyer by Chambers High Net Worth Guide 2022 and The Legal 500, 2022 edition.

Tobias F Rohner
Partner, VISCHER
[email protected]
https://www.linkedin.com/in/tobias-f-rohner-6b38603/

Dr Tobias F Rohner, attorney-at-law and Swisscertified tax expert, is a partner and co-head of the tax team at VISCHER. Tobias has been practising for more than 16 years in the areas of national and international tax planning for corporations and HNWIs and has been consistently recommended by Chambers, Legal 500, International Tax Review and Best Lawyers among leading tax lawyers in Switzerland. He is a lecturer in tax law at Zurich University of Applied Sciences; a frequent speaker at leading national and international conferences; a member of the editorial board of tax law journal Zürcher Steuerpraxis; co-author of a commentary on Zurich tax law and co-author of the commentary on the Federal Direct Tax Act; and the author of over 60 publications. Further, he acts as a deputy judge at the Zurich Court of Tax Appeals.
Prior to joining VISCHER, Tobias was a partner with Baker McKenzie based in Zurich, and a member of the firm’s Europe, Middle East and Africa VAT steering committee.

Kirby Rosplock
CEO, Tamarind Partners and Tamarind Learning
[email protected]
https://www.linkedin.com/in/kirby-rosplock-phd-6283299/

Kirby Rosplock is the founder of Tamarind Partners Inc, a leading family office consultancy named Best Family Office Management Consultancy (2019 and 2023) and Best Family Wealth Counseling (2019 and 2022) by the Family Wealth Report. She is the chief learning officer/CEO of Tamarind Learning, an education platform for families, beneficiaries and their advisers which was named Best Specialty Service Provider (2022) by the Family Wealth Report. Kirby advises business-owning families and family offices on family governance, strategic planning, resources, learning and family enterprise continuity.
Kirby authored The Complete Family Office Handbook (2014 and 2021) and The Complete Direct Investing Handbook (2016). She received the Family Wealth Industry Thought Leadership Award (2018) from the Family Wealth Alliance and the Richard Beckhard Practice Award for lifetime achievement from the Family Firm Institute (2018). Kirby is dean of family office at the Purposeful Planning Institute, a fellow and faculty at the Family Office Real Estate Institute and cotrustee of the Harbeck Family Foundation.

Nicola Saccardo
Partner, Charles Russell Speechlys
[email protected]
https://www.linkedin.com/in/nicola-saccardo-07479b12b/

Nicola Saccardo is a partner at Charles Russell Speechlys. He is admitted to practise in Italy as a lawyer and chartered accountant and in England and Wales as a solicitor. His area of expertise is Italian tax law, with a focus on taxation of trusts, estates and HNWIs; relocation of HNWIs to and from Italy; estate tax planning; and international and EU tax law. He is the chair of the Tax Committee of the TIAETL; a member of the International Estate Planning Committee of the American College of Trust and Estate Counsel; and the chair of the International Client Global Special Interest Group Steering Committee of STEP. He is the editor of the International Family Offices Journal and Global Mobility of Ultra-High- Net-Worth Individuals, both published by Globe Law and Business Limited and STEP.
He is ranked as a leading expert in several legal directories. Chambers HNW has described him as “one of the key players in this area in terms of cross-border situations”, “extremely competent with high technical skills. He is very pragmatic and has a great knowledge of tax issues”, “a great international tax lawyer - technically superb”, “able to pull together the tax and succession advice seamlessly, which was just phenomenal” and “the leading Italy private client lawyer”.

Jo Sanders
Partner, media and reputation team, Withersworldwide
[email protected]
https://www.linkedin.com/in/jo-sanders-39560814/

Jo Sanders is a partner at Withersworldwide, leading the UK media and reputation team. With 20 years of experience looking after the reputations and privacy of some of the world’s best-known individuals and businesses, Jo advises clients prior to the publication or broadcast of stories concerning them; and post-publication where media or online content is inaccurate, intrusive or harassing.
Originally a journalist, Jo focuses her practice on libel, misuse of private information and breach of confidence, media regulatory codes, and protection from harassment. Reflecting the expansion of the global trade in information, her work regularly includes contentious data privacy disputes, including litigation over data subject access rights and data breach compensation claims.
Praised for her “clear understanding of the modern media environment”, Jo and her team are recognised in legal directories including Chambers & Partners, Legal 500 and Spear’s.

Caroline Thompson
Senior associate, media and reputation team, Withersworldwide
[email protected]
https://www.linkedin.com/in/caroline-thompson-99942b40/

Caroline Thompson is a senior associate in the media and reputation team at Withersworldwide. She has over a decade of experience in advising and representing domestic and international clients facing reputational challenges. She specialises in information disputes including breach of confidence, misuse of private information, defamation, malicious falsehood, data protection, harassment and blackmail. Many of Caroline’s clients are in the public eye and she provides advice both prior to and, where appropriate, after the publication or broadcast of stories relating to them. Caroline is part of a specialist group at Withersworldwide focusing on families and family offices, and regularly collaborates with colleagues providing legal expertise at the highest level on trusts, tax, art, philanthropy, real estate, tech, employment, family, commercial disputes, immigration, investigations and corporate law.
Caroline also acts for claimants and defendants in professional negligence disputes, and understands the professional and personal impact of such claims. She was named a Rising Star in the Spear’s 2023 Reputation & Privacy Lawyers index and is also recognised in the Legal 500 directory for her work both in reputation and privacy, and in the field of professional negligence.

Andrea Tratnik
Partner, Beard Winter LLP
[email protected]
https://www.linkedin.com/in/andrea-tratnik-tep-ba393340/

Andrea Tratnik is a trust and estate planning lawyer and a partner at Beard Winter LLP in Toronto. She holds a JD and has earned her TEP designation from STEP.
Andrea assists domestic and international clients with their estate and trust planning and administration needs. In her practice, she routinely works with family offices and financial planners in implementing their wealth management plans for clients. She also advises privately held companies and their owners on a variety of corporate transactions and succession planning strategies.
Andrea has written several articles on taxation, trusts and estates law for Canadian and global publications.

Ronald Varney
Principal, Ronald Varney Fine Art Advisors
[email protected]
https://www.linkedin.com/in/ronald-varney-2a460112/

Ronald Varney is the principal of Ronald Varney Fine Art Advisors in New York. After working in banking and the film industry, he started his career in the art market in 1989 at Sotheby’s, where he was senior vice president of business development and was actively involved with estates and major private collections. He began his own firm in 2002, primarily advising families and their advisers throughout the United States and Europe on a wide range of art-related issues, including the acquisition and sale of art privately as well as at auction. He has written extensively on the arts for Esquire, Smithsonian, The Harvard Business Review, The Wall Street Journal, The International Family Office Journal and other publications. His firm has repeatedly been honoured as the winner in the category of “Art & Private Collections” at the annual Family Wealth Report Awards in New York. He is a trustee of the Delaware Art Museum.

Timothy J Volk
Founder and principal, T Volk & Company
[email protected]
https://www.linkedin.com/in/timothyjvolk/

Timothy J Volk is the founder and principal of T Volk & Company, a boutique advisory firm that specialises in assisting families and their advisers. He is a certified financial planner, an experienced business executive and a seasoned board member with deep expertise in wealth management, real estate, mortgage banking and insurance. Timothy has been a board member or has held key leadership positions with several not-for-profit organisations: Collaboration for Families Flourishing (board member); Abzyme Research Foundation (NYC); National Symphony Orchestra at the Kennedy Center; Children’s Hospital at University of Illinois; Aspen Center for Integral Health; Colorado Mortgage Lenders Association; and United Way of Laramie County, Wyoming (campaign chairman and board member). He earned a master’s degree in business administration from Lesley University in Cambridge, Massachusetts, and a bachelor’s degree in finance from Oregon State University. He and his husband reside in Chicago.

Leslie Voth
Chairman, chief executive officer and president, Pitcairn
[email protected]
https://www.linkedin.com/in/leslievoth/

Having led Pitcairn’s transformation from a single family office into a leading multi-family office, Leslie Voth has a unique perspective on managing the inevitable change that all families must navigate to achieve multi-generational success. She believes that prosperous families and successful family offices must focus on people as much as portfolios. This guiding principle – coupled with her immense industry experience, invaluable insights and fearless leadership skills – has contributed to the long-term growth of this century-old firm and its families.
Leslie has received multiple industry accolades over the years. In 2018, she was awarded “Multi- Family Office Executive” by Family Wealth Alliance and was named “Family Office Leader of the Year” by Family Office Review in 2015. She also received the top honour of “Women in Wealth Management” by Family Wealth Report in 2014 and 2018 for her individual contributions to the wealth management industry.

Simon Wong
Partner, Withersworldwide
[email protected]
https://www.linkedin.com/in/simon-wong-aba85a74/

Simon Wong is a partner in the corporate team. He is specialised in investment management and regulatory matters. He covers a full range of investment funds, including private equity, credit, real estate, infrastructure, aviation, venture capital, hedge, crypto and digital assets, representing both investment managers and investors in Asia. He also advises on financial regulations and other legal issues applicable to investment managers. Simon is qualified in Hong Kong, New York and New South Wales, and has experience advising on fund offering in Hong Kong, China, the United States and Australia.
Simon was recognised as a “Next Generation Lawyer” for investment funds in Hong Kong by Legal 500 Asia Pacific for 2017, 2018 and 2019.

Marie-Thérèse Yates
Managing director, JP Morgan Private Bank
[email protected]
https://www.linkedin.com/in/marie-th%C3%A9r%C3%A8se-yates/

Marie-Thérèse Yates leads the Swiss wealth advisory practice at JP Morgan Private Bank. She supports the bank’s clients and their advisers with legal, tax, strategy and family governance matters. Her areas of focus include family offices, wealth structuring, succession planning, philanthropy, and next-generation engagement and development.
Prior to joining JP Morgan, Marie-Thérèse headed the single family office of a European family; previously, she was a partner with Baker McKenzie based in Zurich, and a member of the firm’s Europe, Middle East and Africa wealth management steering committee. Marie-Thérèse holds a JD from the University of Virginia School of Law and a BA in literature and classics from Princeton University.

Wei Zhang
Partner, Withersworldwide
[email protected]
https://www.linkedin.com/in/wei-zhang-8b11911b/

Wei Zhang is a partner in the private client and tax team. She focuses on sophisticated tax and wealth planning matters for HNWIs, their families and fiduciaries, as well as on the structuring and implementation of employee share trusts for companies.
She also provides advice in relation to US connection planning matters for individuals and the creation and administration of wealth planning structures for multi-generational families.
Wei was named as a leading private wealth practitioner in Chambers HNW 2021–2022 and has also been recognised as a leading individual in tax and trusts in Legal 500 2020–2023 and ALB Asia’s Top 15 Private Wealth Lawyers 2022. She was nominated as “One to Watch” in Legal Week’s Private Client Global Elite ranking in 2019.

Barbara R Hauser

Nicola Saccardo