Linda Mack of Mack International was invited to speak at the Deloitte National Family Office Forum on March 3, 2022, in Westlake Texas

Linda Mack of Mack International was invited to speak at the Deloitte National Family Office Forum on March 3, 2022, in Westlake, Texas on ‘Understanding the Latest Trends in Family Office Talent Recruiting and Retention.’

CHICAGO (PRWEB) APRIL 03, 2022 – Linda Mack of Mack International was invited to speak at the Deloitte National Family Office Forum on March 3, 2022, in Westlake, Texas. The forum was held at Deloitte University’s Leadership Center March 2-4. The session was entitled, ‘Understanding the Latest Trends in Family Office Recruiting and Retention.’ Linda focused on key trends Mack International is seeing in the market, a proven process to ensure success in attracting and retaining C-suite leadership, and best practices in addressing challenges facing Family Offices. She also discussed the Family Office of the future.

According to Linda, the biggest trend over the last 20 years is family offices and family investment firms becoming more strategic and professional in terms of systems and operating platforms. “Increased access to information and an intensified competitive market are two key drivers requiring family offices to implement more formalized, clearly defined strategies in recruiting and retaining key talent.”

Linda explained. “While the majority of offices are looking for someone with the requisite skills and experience, culture fit within the family is the predominant predictor of future success. Most family offices seek long term relationships with their executives spanning 15-20 years. Leaders who align with a family office culture are poised to shape and set the stage for future generations. This is difficult to assess without the right process.”

Linda shared a six-step process developed by Mack International to help families to clearly define the role and ideal candidate profile to attract and retain C-suite leadership. “The process has enabled our clients to be 100% successful in consistently identifying and hiring the best talent for them,” said Linda. There was great interest given the competitive and challenging landscape family offices are facing.

Compensation plays a significant role and continues to be a hot topic for Family Offices. Candidates expect to be offered seriously competitive packages including long term incentives. Linda encourages families to view every person they hire as a return on investment. “If you are seeking top notch talent, a long term commitment and specific skills and attributes, it is not a cost, but a value-add. The content of the job will benchmark the compensation range and total package. Boundaries put on compensation ranges can have significant implications on your ability to recruit the best candidate. Being thoughtful about your goals and objectives and tie incentives to those performance metrics. Long term incentives should align with family philosophy and culture.” Linda emphasized that once you find the ideal leader, consider how you will stimulate and motivate that individual. Compensation is important but factors such as apportioning resources and authority commensurate with accountability as well as formalized governance and succession plans are also crucial to both attracting and retaining talent.    

Linda described the “family office of the future” as “evolving.” “Successful family offices recognize the future is now. They are proactive, strategic and continue to strengthen their value proposition. They are leveraging technology for both efficiency and effectiveness. The focus on value-add and return on investment will continue to grow.” Linda spoke about the profile of effective leaders as evolving both in skill level and personal characteristics. “The best strategic leaders are expert generalists who not only have knowledge across the horizontal spectrum but also understand the interconnectivity between each. Nothing happens in isolation and each decision has implications across multiple disciplines.” She emphasized the importance of identifying candidates with both a high IQ and high EQ. Strong business acumen, critical thinking, strategic approach to issues, and being an ‘expert generalist’ are all necessary. But so are key personal attributes inspiring inclusion, collaboration, and trust. Linda cited an interesting statistic reported in the 2021 compensation survey reflecting the large percentage increase in female CEOs in family offices.

The session closed with Linda in an interactive discussion with the audience including post pandemic challenges. “The candidate supply is low and the pressure for hybrid/remote working environments is adding a new element to the equation, forcing everyone to be more agile.”

Linda thanked Deloitte for the invitation to speak. “I sincerely enjoyed the opportunity to participate in Deloitte’s National Family Office Forum. The facility is amazing. It was a privilege.”