Linda Mack of Mack International participated in the Inaugural Annual UHNW Institute Conference in partnership with Family Wealth Report on June 8

Linda Mack of Mack International participated as a panelist discussing ‘Family Offices—Challenges and Developments’ in the Inaugural Annual UHNW Institute Conference in partnership with Family Wealth Report on June 8.

CHICAGO, July 8, 2021 —

On June 8 and 9 The UNHW Institute in conjunction with Family Wealth Report held their Inaugural Conference. As part of their education initiative, senior thought leaders in the family wealth sector were invited to present their ideas, strategies, and best practices. The event drew together the collective wisdom of the Institute’s faculty, leadership, and members to learn more about the ten domains model—a conceptual framework developed by the Institute to better understand the issues facing ultra-high-net-worth (UHNW) families and the full range of skills and services required to serve their needs. The event fulfilled one of the core missions of the Institute which is to be a think tank engaged in learning and leadership.    

Linda Mack was invited to participate in a session entitled ‘Family Offices—Challenges and Developments’. The panel was moderated by Bill Woodson, Executive Vice President of Boston Private and focused on stories from the field on the evolution of the single-family office. They explored the ways families and the executives leading their offices can embrace change to deal with today’s challenges and serve future generations. Other panelists included Michelle Clements, President, Synergy Trust Partners, Dennis Jaffe, Senior Research Fellow, Banyan Global Family Business Advisors, Tom Handler, Chairman, Advanced Planning and Family Office Group, Handler Thayer, and Barbara Hauser, International Family Governance | Global Speaker & Workshops | Family Offices | Boards.

A successful hire requires that the candidate not only has the requisite skills and competencies to perform the job, but they also need to meet the “culture fit” requirements to be successful and effective.

Bill Woodson introduced the session by emphasizing the importance of the family office as an emerging client segment. He explained that more than 18,000 families globally have $250M and represent significant influence. “They want operational and leadership best practices,” he said. “They want to collaborate and co-invest. The UHNW Institute wants to help deliver the advice they seek.” As a global thought leader, Linda was asked to present on family office executive recruiting and compensation trends.

Linda cited an increasingly competitive market and greater access to information as two of the factors requiring family offices and family investment firms to keep pace in the recruiting, compensation, and retention arena. Formalized recruitment and retention strategies along with employment agreements representing sophisticated arrangements with candidates are becoming more prevalent.

“Once the strategy and key objectives in the business plan are clearly defined and personal characteristics and attributes necessary for success clarified, a picture of the ideal candidate emerges and the recruiting, assessment and selection process can begin.”

But Linda emphasized that most family office searches fail because they don’t recognize a basic truth: A successful hire requires that the candidate not only has the requisite skills and competencies to perform the job, but they also need to meet the “culture fit” requirements to be successful and effective. “Academic credentials, experience, and accomplishments constitute but a subset of the selection criteria applied. It is of paramount importance that values, philosophies, leadership style and other personal attributes that comprise culture fit match as well.” In addition, performance expectations, metrics for success and a comprehensive onboarding process are critical toward establishing and supporting the new leader’s authority and growth.

Compensation trends and reward systems are a very important part of the competitive landscape, but benchmarking and relevant data continues to be a challenge. “Apart from bonuses and annual incentives, there is an ever-increasing use of long-term incentives (LTI). Some Family Offices offer multiple LTIs. Retention related incentives for key executives are also becoming more prevalent. Successful Family Offices understand the critical role of carefully designing a compensation plan that drives behaviours leading to results aligned with family objectives,” said Linda. “It’s important to test whatever plan you design to insure it is incentivising the behaviour you want.” In addition to competitive compensation, resources needed to achieve the business mandate, authority commensurate with accountability, personal and professional growth opportunities, sound governance, and transparent family leadership transitions/succession are all key retention strategies.

The session underscored that having a well-defined, comprehensive process to identify, recruit, assess, hire and onboard the ideal candidate is essential.

About Mack International LLC

Mack International is the premier, a boutique retained executive search and strategic management/human capital consulting firm serving national and international clients in the family office, family business enterprise and the wealth management industries on a national and international basis. Founded in 2002, the firm has achieved an exceptional track record of success as evidenced by its unmatched industry expertise, in-depth market knowledge and unparalleled track record of success. Founder and President, Linda C. Mack has established proprietary methodologies such as the Mack 360© and is credited for having coined the term “expert generalist” in the industry.