57: The Family Office Navigator

Let's Talk Family Enterprise

In this episode, host Steve Legler speaks with Professor Peter Vogel of IMD Business School to discuss Vogel's recent book, Family Office Navigator. Together, they highlight the critical role advisors can play when business families consider setting up a family office or want to take a fresh look at what they currently have in place.

Welcome to Let’s Talk Family Enterprise, a podcast that explores the ideas, concepts, and models that best serve Family Enterprise Advisors in supporting their clients.

All views, information, and opinions expressed during this podcast are solely those of the individuals involved and do not necessarily represent those of Family Enterprise Canada.

Guest bio

Peter Vogel is a Professor of Family Business and Entrepreneurship. As an expert on family enterprises, he leads IMD’s work in this field as Director of the IMD Global Family Business Center and Debiopharm Chair of Family Philanthropy. He works with families, owners, boards, and executives of family enterprises and family offices around the world focusing on transformations, governance, ownership and leadership succession, wealth management, fostering entrepreneurialism and innovation within the system, and establishing professional boards and leadership teams.

You can learn more about Peter Vogel on the IMD website and LinkedIn.

Key Takeaways

[:26] Steve Legler welcomes Peter Vogel and asks him to talk a little bit about how he and his organisation became involved in the family business space.

[3:10] Peter touches on how family enterprises and offices are a worldwide trending challenge.

[5:24] The Navigator concept was built for enterprising families, Peter explains how it eventually grew to be used by advisory positions also.

[9:10] Setting up a family office is a complex process, but it can also be the ecosystem by which families can manage wealth effectively.

[13:00] Keeping in mind that family offices will evolve alongside the families that build them; the focus needs to be on what works for them.

[16:34] When it comes to thinking of family offices, who needs to be at the table?

[19:53] A family office has to be designed to work for the family, Peter explains how the downloadable .pdf framework can help achieve that.

[22:06] From the family office to other models, Peter explains why and how they are branching out into new frameworks.

[25:45] The how of a family office isn’t the starting point and Peter offers how advisors can better guide families through the learning process.

[28:27] Peter talks about the importance of experimenting, learning, and developing best practices for families.

[31:22] Peter shares his book recommendations as well as his advice for advisors.

[35:33] Steve thanks Peter Vogel for sharing so much of his expertise and closes this episode by reminding listeners to rate and subscribe.

If you enjoyed today’s episode, you can subscribe to Let’s Talk Family Enterprise on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, and other podcast apps. Please remember to share this episode with family, friends, and colleagues. Share your thoughts with us at [e-mail].

Mentioned in this episode

Peter’s recommendations:

Harvard Business Review Family Business Handbook: How to Build and Sustain a Successful, Enduring Enterprise, by Josh Baron and Rob Lachenauer

Africa Is Not a Country: Notes on a Bright Continent, by Dipo Faloyin

FEX podcast episode #23: “Family Business Ownership: Four Rooms and Five Rights, with Josh Baron”

The Family Office Navigator: Your Guide to Building a Multigenerational Family Office, by Peter Vogel and Mario Marconi

The Family Business Symposium will take place on May 27‒29, 2024 in Calgary.

More about Family Enterprise Canada

Family Enterprise Canada

FEC on Facebook

FEC on Twitter

FEC on LinkedIn