Linda Mack and Brian Adams of Mack International joined a panel on Family Office Compensation and Talent: 2025 Trends and Planning hosted by Katten's New York office on May 6, 2025
WEST PALM BEACH, Fla., June 23, 2025 /PRNewswire/ — Linda Mack, Founder and President of Mack International and Brian Adams, Partner, Mack International participated in Katten's Family Office practice for a panel exploring 2025 Trends and Planning on Compensation and Talent on May 6 in New York. They were joined by Mitchel Pahl, Partner, Katten; Saul Rudo, Partner and Co-Chair for Family Offices, Katten; and Trish Botoff, Managing Principal, Botoff Consulting. The panelists explored current compensation strategies, long-term incentive (LTI) structures, and evolving talent management approaches utilized by family offices to attract and retain good talent. The event was held in Katten's New York City offices with a live audience. A virtual option was made available and recorded. Key topics were as follows:
The Increasing Prevalence of LTI Plans
A handout was distributed by Trish Botoff to those in attendance featuring data points from the 2024 survey done by Botoff Consulting. The comprehensive data represented 450 firms. Highlights included the prevalence of LTI plans being used. Over the past 10 years there has been a significant increase, from 40% to 54%, in the number of Family Offices using LTIs. Those with an AUM of $2.5B or more, 72%. Family Investment firms' use of LTIs rose to 62% with 86% of firms with AUM over $2.5B reporting use of LTI plans. Deferred incentive compensation, co-investment, and carried interest were the top three LTIs used in the market. Trish noted that for the first time since they began collecting data on use of LTI plans in 2015, co-investment opportunity (57%) surpassed deferred incentive compensation (56%) as most prevalent LTI plan type.
Recruitment and Retention Strategies in Response to Current Market Dynamics
According to Linda Mack the current market dynamics that have been anticipated for years are on the rise as baby boomers begin transitioning leadership to the next generation. 'Effective succession strategies are critical for both retiring executives as well as new leaders…'.
Brian Adams believes the situation is 'acute'. 'There has been real role and responsibility 'creep'. The leader who performed several key roles has left a gap. There is frequently a need to backfill one person with two or three people. The scope and expectations of the executive has increased dramatically, and the family office must consider whether to insource or outsource various services'.
The Evolving Responsibilities and Positioning of Family Office Executives
Linda commented about key trends and challenges her firm has observed in attracting and retaining key executives. 'Boomer 'transitions' are fueling heightened demand for succession and leadership strategies in the C-Suite and throughout the Family Office. The challenge is finding the individual who not only has the requisite skills for the position but is also the right culture fit. Family Offices are typically seeking a 10-15 year tenure, and the relationship with the family is a very personal one. Aligning with the culture is paramount for success.'
Linda explained the key role is an 'Expert Generalist'—the leader who is knowledgeable across the full spectrum of wealth management disciplines and has a profound understanding of the interrelationships between all of them, regardless of whether the service is delivered in-house or via an outsourced provider. 'Since no decisions are made in isolation, it's important that the leader has the peripheral vision to see across the entire spectrum and deep down into each vertical to ensure everything is in sync and coordinated to meet family objectives'.
Brian added that hyper specialization makes finding an Expert Generalist a real challenge. 'Rotational programs which led to a broader general knowledge have gone away. As a result there is little exposure to cross training. Once you identify a qualified Expert Generalist, an additional challenge is finding the right Culture fit. That is the 'stickiness' component that helps the new leader in aligning with the tribe and in plugging into the community and the family's values and interests. If relocation is necessary, it can pose its own issues depending on the candidate's family situation'.
Trends in Recruiting
In light of intense competition for talent, the panel agreed that Family Offices are becoming more professional and strategic in their approach to searching for key executives. It requires a strategic and comprehensive process.
Linda and Brian credit their intentional approach, deep network and proprietary 360 assessment process as critical components to a successful search. 'It allows us to acquire a deep understanding of how the family has evolved to where they are today, and their vision, goals and objectives for the future. We are then able to help them gain clarity, consensus and alignment around the definition of the position and ideal candidate that will enable them to be successful. The 'magic' in a search is three-fold: First, there must be clarity, consensus and alignment about the 'bulls' eye' and specifically what the family is looking for. Second, it is critical to have access to the universe of potential candidates, and third, the ability to effectively assess both position and culture fit'.
Building a Family Office—Where to Start?
'The approach to building a family office would be analogous to building a house,' said Linda. 'You would never build it room by room without an overall plan or blueprint.' Linda emphasized three key decision that need to be made up front:
Determining for whom you are you building the office Defining the scope of clients to be served by the office Deciding what scope of services will be offered to the Family Office's clients and which will be provided directly by the office versus those to be outsourced
Brian added that approximately 25% of Mack International's searches are for Principals/Families establishing a Family Office for the first time. Typically the first hire is an Expert Generalist—the classic leader of a family office.
The audience asked about 'virtual family offices.' Brian commented. 'There is a lot of interest and curiosity about Family Offices with first generation entrepreneurs particularly the idea of a 'virtual' Family Office. 'There is a notion that virtual platforms an provide the same scope of services of more traditional Family Office, however this means that the Expert Generalist must bring a much higher level of expertise to manage and run processes and be totally accountable. That candidate is difficult to find.'
Family Offices Building Investment Teams
There is a talent migration from institutional firms to the Family Offices and their private investment firms. Brian described the Family Office as being 'an asset class of its own'. 'Family offices are recognized as increasingly attractive to institutional talent. Reasons include the fact that they have long term patient capital and in many cases are much more flexible than traditional private equity, venture capital, or asset manager firms'.
The audience, both live and virtual, was interactive, offering great questions and comments. All appreciated the insights gained from comprehensive industry survey data presented and actionable perspectives provided tailored to family offices of varying sizes and investment focuses.
For the full recording click here to view and listen.
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.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Malay Mail
2 days ago
- Malay Mail
Putrajaya: Workers in Petronas staff cuts getting compensation, transition support
KUALA LUMPUR, July 31 — All 5,000 Petronas staff affected by a recent restructuring exercise have been compensated with separation packages and are receiving support through a structured transition programme, the government confirmed today. In a written parliamentary reply to Jerai MP Sabri Azit, Minister in the Prime Minister's Department (Law and Institutional Reform) Datuk Seri Azalina Othman Said disclosed that the state oil firm has set up two panels for this matter. 'Petronas has established a Transition Council and a Human Capital Development Committee to ensure fair and organised redeployment of staff, in line with labour laws and industrial best practices,' she said. She said the support programme includes career coaching, emotional support, skills training, financial planning, and job placement assistance, with cooperation from Socso, government-linked companies (GLCs), and Petronas' own entrepreneurship initiatives. Azalina added that the restructuring is part of Petronas' transformation strategy to remain competitive amid the global energy transition and will not affect its contributions to government revenue or national development plans. Last month, financial news agency Bloomberg reported that Petronas would cut about 10 per cent of its workforce as part of a major restructuring to reduce costs amid falling crude oil prices. At the time, Petronas CEO Tan Sri Tengku Muhammad Taufik Aziz was also reported as saying that the company would implement a hiring and promotion freeze until the end of 2026. Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim had previously commented on the matter, noting that many of the affected staff were employed on a contract basis.
Free Malaysia Today
4 days ago
- Free Malaysia Today
Spousal maintenance does not include career-related losses, court rules
The law does not guarantee the preservation of an identical standard of living following divorce or separation, says Justice Evrol Mariette Peters. KUALA LUMPUR : The High Court here has dismissed a wife's bid for interim spousal maintenance, ruling that her claim was premised on compensation for career-related setbacks rather than legitimate financial support under family law. Justice Evrol Mariette Peters said the wife had attempted to 'test the waters' in a bid to see how much she could secure from the court, a move the judge described as 'disingenuous'. 'I was compelled to remind all parties that divorce or separation is neither a lottery windfall nor a revenue-generating exercise,' Peters noted in her 23-page judgment, explaining that matrimonial proceedings were 'a legal process to address the breakdown of a marital relationship, not a means for personal enrichment'. The couple, now in their mid-60s, was married in 1987 and have three adult children. The wife brought judicial separation proceedings in 2022 and sought maintenance, which was rejected by the court in 2023. The husband then filed for divorce, which saw the wife renew her claim for interim support pending resolution of both actions. The duo are co-founders of a highly successful company and have had a long history of business collaboration, with the wife playing an active management role until 2018. Peters, who was promoted to the Court of Appeal on Monday, found that the wife did not meet the legal 'means and needs' threshold set by law for maintenance. '(The wife) was gainfully employed throughout the marriage. She maintained a steady and reliable income stream, and consistently demonstrated a strong earning capacity,' the judgment read. 'This clearly indicated that she was financially independent and capable of supporting herself without reliance on the Petitioner.' The court also took into account her substantial financial portfolio, which included assets held in the US. Significantly, Peters drew attention to the nature of the wife's claim, which stemmed from her alleged loss of salary, bonuses, allowances and EPF contributions. The wife had argued that she had suffered these losses due to the husband's influence over the companies which had led to her losing her entitlement to remuneration since April last year. 'Her claim was formulated as a form of compensation or restitution for career-related losses rather than traditional maintenance under the law,' Peters wrote. The judge said the claim as framed was legally unsustainable. Interim maintenance, she said, is intended to address genuine financial vulnerability following marital breakdown—not to redress employment grievances or replicate prior luxuries. 'It must be emphasised that the law does not guarantee the preservation of an identical standard of living following divorce or separation,' the judge said. 'It is not the court's role to preserve opulence but to avoid a sudden or unjustifiable deterioration in the standard of living of the spouse seeking support.' Peters also found that the wife's application was weakened by the absence of documentation showing actual expenses or evidence of consistent financial support from the husband during the marriage. 'Her claim for an exorbitant amount, premised solely on the lifestyle enjoyed during the marriage, was neither proportionate nor supported by the principles governing spousal maintenance,' said Peters.
Free Malaysia Today
20-07-2025
- Free Malaysia Today
Veteran journalist awarded six-figure payout in WhatsApp contract dispute
The sessions court has ordered Siva Kumar Ganapathy to pay journalist Frankie D'Cruz over RM200,000 for failure to honour promised editor's income and unpaid retainers. KUALA LUMPUR : The sessions court has ordered Siva Kumar Ganapathy, who claimed a Sarawak government mandate to launch a state election news portal in 2021, to pay journalist Frankie D'Cruz over RM200,000 for failure to honour promised editor's income and unpaid retainers. This sum, in compensation for four months' lost editor's income and unpaid retainers, underscores the binding force of their WhatsApp‑formed employment contract. Judge Halilah Suboh handed down the judgment on July 17, allowing all claims on the basis of the balance of probabilities. The judge accepted that a valid contract was formed via WhatsApp between Siva Kumar, purporting to head and D'Cruz for the editor position ahead of the 2021 Sarawak state elections. She noted that D'Cruz had turned down a competing offer from a Canadian media company in reliance on the defendant's assurances. The court also found that Siva Kumar expressly conditioned D'Cruz's appointment as editor upon acquiring a 3% equity stake in Double Solaris Sdn. Bhd. Relying on these assurances, D'Cruz paid RM39,585 to secure that shareholding, only to have the defendant subsequently renege on both the equity arrangement and the promised editorial role. Siva Kumar also appointed D'Cruz as a project consultant under his company, Asia PR Sdn Bhd, by letter dated August 22, 2019. The court directed Siva Kumar to remit RM129,640 to compensate for four months of lost editor's income (calculated at RM32,410 per month from February to May 2020), as well as RM21,000 in outstanding retainer fees for work performed between October 2019 and January 2020. In addition, the judgment provides for interest at 5% per annum from the date the suit was filed until full settlement, award of RM20,000 toward D'Cruz's legal costs, and payment of all court costs according to scale and practice. D'Cruz's counsel Haaziq Pillay hailed the decision as an affirmation that media professionals will not be left uncompensated for work and commitments made in good faith. He said the successful claim emphasises the enforceability of digital communications in forming binding contracts under Section 10(1) of the Contracts Act 1950.
