Future-Proofing Your Family Business: The Multifaceted Role of Family Offices in Business Success

The Secret Thoughts of CEO's Podcast

Richard Wolkowitz is Founder of Xylogenesis | Family Office Advisory and serves as a family advisor with 25+ years of first-hand, inner working experience of multiple family offices (of all types). Rich’s background is in law, business, independent board of director service, management, operations, financial services, and professional service firm leadership with a focus on serving multigenerational families and their full business and life continuum of needs.

Rich began his legal career in The White House, and then joined an AM 100 law firm where he was an Equity Partner, Chair of the firm’s Hiring Committee, and practiced international and domestic M&A and business transactions, serving as outside general counsel and consigliere to public, PE/VC-backed, and family enterprises.

Rich then joined his own family’s third-generation enterprise before managing two different single-family offices as non-family leader. Prior to founding Xylogenesis | Family Office Advisory, Rich managed a global family business consulting firm. He now consults for family offices, whether existing or in concept, supporting the family and their family office staff, and team of multidisciplinary trusted advisors. Rich graduated from the Georgetown University Law Center (LL.M, International Transactions and Comparative Law with distinction), Gonzaga University School of Law (JD, cum laude and Editor of The Law Review), and University of Illinois – Champaign-Urbana (BS, Agriculture Economics with honors) and resides in a suburb of St. Louis, Missouri.

What You’ll Learn

● When to establish a “family office.”

● What the boundaries should be in family businesses.

● Xylogenesis as a metaphor for a family business.

● What the most progressive family offices are doing today.

Timestamps

· [04:51] Rich’s background.

· [08:56] Establishing a family office.

· [11:35] Family-employee boundaries.

· [13:49] Legal exposures of family offices.

· [18:35] Leveraging resources to grow.

· [24:25] The process of Xylogenesis.

· [31:01] Important questions to ask family members.

· [34:32] When to look for a family office.

· [41:44] What the most progressive family offices are thinking today?

· [46:12] When to reach out to Xylogenesis.

Memorable Quotes

· “Continuity for the sake of continuity isn’t the right reason.” – Richard Wolkowitz [07:52]

· “If you’re mixing business and personal, that can jeopardize your licensure.” – Richard Wolkowitz [16:11]

· “Life is short. Life may not continue like with thought.” – Richard Wolkowitz [45:11]

Social Media

Richard Wolkowitz.

Xylogenesis | Family Office Advisory.

Websites

xylogenesis.com.