Sneak Peek: How Family Offices Use Chiefs of Staff as Strategic Linchpins
In an upcoming Special Report, we will share insights on how the Chief of Staff role is vital in private, complex environments and how it works in the family office setting. Here is a snapshot of what you will find in the larger report.
Key Opportunities
Many family offices thrive on shared values and long-term vision, and they also often encounter unique opportunities not typically found in non-family enterprises, such as:
Leveraging close family and business relationships to create alignment and a decision-making paradigm that benefits both the family and the business while also ensuring clear, objective business goals are maintained.
Strengthening succession planning and leadership development to nurture and guide the next generation of leaders, building a robust and smooth succession process.
Adapting to new markets and technologies by embracing the opportunity to modernize and innovate in a more streamlined capacity, introducing new markets, technologies and governance models that keep the business competitive.
Enhancing communication and accountability between family members to improve both personal and business relationships and efficiencies.
Maximizing control over the timing, type, industry, conditions and nature of investments, as reported in PwC’s Global Family Office Deals Study: From Wealth to Purpose – How family offices are transforming to balance growth and stability.
Scaling the business without compromising family values with strategies that allow for sustainable growth while preserving the core values and culture that make the business unique and true to its origins.
Proactively managing conflict by viewing tension as an opportunity to enhance collaboration and strengthen relationships by resolving issues in a way that aligns with both business goals and family harmony.
Increasingly managing global portfolios, navigating international markets and operating across multiple jurisdictions.
A Chief of Staff can help alleviate these pain points by providing professional guidance, streamlining operations and acting as a neutral, strategic thought partner.
Why Chief of Staff for Family Offices
Leadership roles like a Chief of Staff are emerging more often in family offices for multiple reasons, according to organizational experts.
Family offices are often private, complex environments. Each one’s purpose and priorities are bespoke, which means that their leadership structure and team members must also be highly customized to align. While all family offices are different, one thing that is common among them is that their needs evolve over time, both due to the changing composition of the family over time and because family office principals tend to be savvy, opportunistic business operators who are able and willing to modify course as new opportunities emerge.
Both reasons combined make a great family office leadership structure likely to include experts in specific areas of interest for the principal family, such as biotech investing, commodities trading, commercial real estate investments, etc. Too, at least one strategic partner is typically on board to serve the organization’s more ambiguous, amorphous elements.
A Chief of Staff is the greatest resource that a family office can seek when looking for this executive strategic partner role.
When pursuing the ideal Chief of Staff, the search is most often tailored to align with identifying the optimal strategic partner to suit the unique priorities and needs of the individual family. While foundational areas of expertise differ significantly, each of these Chiefs of Staff is prepared to holistically serve the family’s highest priorities.
As a few examples, several Chiefs of Staff in family offices considered in this organizational consult have remarkably diverse backgrounds. One is a Booth MBA with a background in international humanitarian work at a large family office. Another is a JD/MBA with primary expertise in estate planning. Yet another has deep knowledge of art history, while another’s experience spans marketing, entertainment, consulting, startups and nearly a decade of experience with another family office.
One Chief of Staff we consulted shares the family office they support consists of a family that is deeply involved in their operating business. As a result, the Chief of Staff responsibilities span both managing the family’s interests and supporting the principal in the role of CEO of a financial services firm. They support estate planning, asset management, investments, philanthropic engagements and multigenerational legacy planning. While the Chief of Staff may not be a deep expert in any of these areas individually, they are generally responsible for overseeing the strategy around each and the management of the network of talented subject matter experts who advise in these same areas. It is this diversity coupled with a lack of internal subject matter experts that allows for the development of trusted partnerships and relationships, which are particularly critical to this role.
The upshot: there is great flexibility and breadth in the Chief of Staff role, which adapts to meet the multifaceted needs of unique family offices.
For families looking to ensure the long-term success of their office, now is the time to consider the transformative impact of a Chief of Staff. Investing in this role is a strategic move, a commitment to sustainable growth and the next right step to creating a lasting legacy. Find your Chief of Staff.
Get your copy of our most recent eBook, Special Report: How Family Offices Use Chiefs of Staff as Strategic Linchpins. In this special report, we share even deeper insights from experts on how the role is vital in private, complex environments and how it works in the family office setting. Coming Q2 2025.
Vannin Chief of Staff, founded in 2020, is a premier talent partner with a focus on roles supporting the CEO. We have a proven track record of helping executives find the right talent, full-time or fractionally, and up-level their talent via our proprietary advisory program. Vannin Chief of Staff has served over 150 clients globally, including Shopify, Orange Theory, Cordis, Lilac Solutions, GRIN, Propelus, WALR, Wish for Wheels and more. Get details at vanninchiefofstaff.com.