Staffing and Recruitment

Choosing family leaders for the family office requires clarity and care. Experts stress clear criteria, development paths and a focus on judgment, values and emotional intelligence over technical checklists.

Single-family offices’ lean operating models and unique interpersonal dynamics can be a hard sell for some hires. Likewise, their smaller structure tends to leave fewer opportunities for career advancement, making retention tricky as well. To address these challenges, many family offices are taking a more intentional approach to talent development.

Every new hire in a family office has a story behind it: Why did the family office decide to fill this role? How did they decide whether it should go to a family member or a professional staff member? And why did the person who was hired choose to take the position? Josh Miller recently left his role leading a large single-family office to become the first non-family CEO of Minot's Light Management Inc., a single-family office located near Boston. He talks about why the move was right for him and for his new employer.

John Benevides, president and CEO of SFO Briar Hall LLC, highlights the transition in family office staffing towards leaders with sector knowledge and cultural alignment, and the increasing challenge of securing such talent amid generational shifts and integrating AI.

According to Todd Hohauser, his father was “talking about culture and fit before it was cool” when he founded retained executive search firm Harvey Hohauser & Associates in 1986. Hohauser, who today is CEO, and his colleague Sam Frank, vice president of executive search, talk about hiring for family offices — in particular, the importance of culture and fit.