Linda Mack and Brian Adams were Featured on Family Enterprise USA’s Webcast – Secure Top Talent: 2025 Family Office Hiring Trends Unveiled

Linda Mack and Brian Adams of Mack International were featured on a March 28th webcast sponsored by Family Enterprise USA on the evolving landscape of family offices based upon a talent predictions article for 2025.

WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. , March 17, 2025 —

Linda Mack and Brian Adams of Mack International were featured on a March 28th webcast sponsored by Family Enterprise USA on Talent Predictions for 2025. The webcast discussed the evolving landscape of family offices, particularly regarding talent acquisition, outsourcing, and generational transitions. Pat Soldano, President of Family Enterprise USA was the moderator. Following is the synopsis of the key points which were the premise of an article authored in January written by Linda Mack and Brian Adams.

Outsourcing the Chief Investment Officer Role

Since the cost of building an in-house investment team is significant, families with less than $1B in assets usually outsource CIO models to access top-tier talent and share costs. Brian stated, “This is a good option for those not in investments. Despite the urge to bring investment in-house, we caution about keeping that team “fed” with fresh capital. Today we are seeing internal investment teams bringing on third party capital or joining other families.” According to both Linda and Brian, the decision to outsource depends on the family’s priorities, budget, and values. The family office must determine what matters most to them and declare which roles should be holistic or “a la carte.” Brian is a proponent of families going to market with a “rolling RFP” to assess what 3rd party options are available along with their costs and capabilities.

Other Outsourced Services usually include estate planning and specialized legal counsel. General counsel roles are increasingly being insourced as a “first pair of eyes” making legal assessments and subsequently engaging outside expertise.

The future of the virtual family office

Linda commented that virtual family offices are becoming more common, especially among next-generation members. “There are tradeoffs”, said Linda. “They offer cost savings and flexibility but require a strong “Expert Generalist” to coordinate external providers and functional areas. Someone needs see across the entire spectrum to coordinate all external providers and understand how they are interrelated.” Brian talked about the two biggest challenges being technology and talent. “While technology allows for less overhead, it increases the communication and reporting requirements for those in senior leadership. Many find it is a much bigger job than they expected.”

Next-generation involvement

Next-generation family members are taking more visible roles in family offices. Linda and Brian noted that the challenge is multiple generations simultaneously working together. “The younger generations are highly visible,” said Linda. “A generation ago, people were hidden and private. Today, social media has raised security concerns like targeting—including cyber threats and physical safety.” Pat mentioned that a recent survey has shown risks have tripled in the last year. Brian talked about the role of a Chief Risk Officer. “These are generally a third party solution because of the technically concise and evolving world of cyber security.” All agreed cyber security is a growing threat to family offices and should be a high priority.

Apart from security issues, Linda stressed the importance of family values being passed down to the next generation. “The communication of family values should be early and frequent. This is crucial for the successful transfer of wealth. Family Offices must look for opportunities for storytelling and shared experiences to help instill family values”. Brian discussed what he termed “multi modal digestion”. “The older generations must meet the rising generations where they are by being flexible in what communication channels they are using. Understanding the venues and experiential creation is almost as important as the content. Engage first, then impart values.”

Looking to the future for C-suite executives

“We look at human capital as ROI,” said Linda. “In terms of future leadership we are seeing the market asking for more sophisticated, strategic and proactive executives with high EQ and IQ. Someone who has a solid business acumen, great communication skills and is tech savvy. They also want a leader who is well networked, so they know where to go for resources and best practices.”

As the demographic shift between generations continues, the role of Expert Generalist is in high demand followed by the CFO and CIO. “The Expert Generalist should always be insourced. Every family should have a trusted person that is unconflicted and solely concerned with the family’s best interest,” said Linda.

Both Linda and Brian agreed that candidate demand – moving from institutional to the private market is trending up. “More leaders are attracted to Family Offices. Some larger groups and firms have repeatedly disappointed people. The ability to work with a family and be of service through a Family Office is appealing,” said Brian. “There is a big misconception that the world is run by the public market, when in reality it is private enterprise responsible for the majority of our GDP, employment and entrepreneurship.”

Linda was asked for her parting words, to which she replied—”I love the family office market and the private family business market. I think this country was built on private family businesses and to me that is where job opportunities are and where the source of tremendous philanthropy lives. We love what we do to help guide and sustain families into future generations.”

The full webcast can be viewed on the following link:
Secure Top Talent: 2025 Family Office Hiring Trends Unveiled – Family Enterprise USA

About Mack International LLC

Mack International is the premier boutique firm that specializes in providing retained C-suite executive search and strategic human capital consulting solutions to family office, investment firm and enterprise clients on a national and international basis. Clients range from first generation business enterprise owning wealth creators to multi-generational families of six or more generations. Headquartered in West Palm Beach, Florida, clients also include multi-client family offices and select investment and wealth management firms that serve family offices and ultra-high net worth clients. In addition to its executive search services, Mack International provides customized strategic human capital/talent management consulting solutions. The scope of consulting services includes succession planning, governance, next generation engagement, compensation practices, and performance metrics. 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.