Jill Barber of CYMI Holdings on staying relevant to the family

CYMI Holdings is the family office of the Clay and Mary Mathile family, the former owners of pet food maker the Iams Company. Jill Barber has worked for the family office for 24 years and became president four years ago. In last week’s Q&A, she discussed the family office’s history, scope, and governance. This week’s looks at the evolution of the family office and how it remains aligned with the family.

How has this family office changed since you have been there?

Evolution is ongoing and always. The office has to evolve to remain relevant to the family. If you don’t, then why are they spending the money on you?

Today, we serve the first, second and third generations. Over half of the third generation weren’t even born when the Iams Company was sold. We went from being a founder’s office, where the G1s made decisions and the family office implemented them, to a much more collaborative partnership where we work together to define strategy and move forward. 

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We continue to challenge the services we’re offering, how we’re delivering them, what the needs and wants of the family are, and where we have expertise. Certain things are becoming more of a commodity. For example, we used to do all the tax returns in-house, and now we don’t. We’ve freed up our resources to do the things that others can’t. 

What hasn’t changed?

Clay Mathile was always very innovative, and that has stayed the same. We’re allowed to think differently. We’re allowed to make mistakes and try things that don’t work to get to the things that do. We’re still seen as an investment, not a cost center, investing in the various forms of capital that the family has. 

What are the forms of family capital you invest in?

We want to build a world-class family office that really helps the family members become the best versions of themselves. We’re looking at not only financial capital but the other forms of capital as well – social capital, human capital, and intellectual capital. 

We put the family member at the center of what we do, not the money. The money is in service of the person, and their goals and dreams and what they want to achieve and what their life is going to be like.

I think sometimes in the family office world, we can get that backward. We’ve taken the approach that the center of our universe is the family member. What do they need to be successful? We recognize that we cannot do this without the financial capital, but that’s just the foundation.

How do you make sure the family office and the family are aligned?

A huge portion of my job is to make sure we’re aligned, being in constant communication with the family — and, when I start hearing that we’re not doing what they want or need, addressing that to continue to evolve those services.

One way I keep in touch with the family: The G2s all meet monthly for a quick call that covers the family office, philanthropic endeavors, and family topics. I am on that call. 

Are you involved with the family’s philanthropy?

They have a family foundation with its own staff that does grantmaking, but the family office does invest the money and do all the back-office work. We collaborate a lot around the family and talk about strategy, but they have their own mission and they’re driving that. The family also has three operating foundations that run with complete autonomy. We’re there from an advisory standpoint if they need us, but they really run separately from us. 

How has your relationship with the family evolved?

The evolution has been first coming in and earning the respect of Clay and Mary, then getting to know the G2s as I developed our wealth advisory group. That really deepened the relationship we had with the second generation. 

And now they have asked me to take that on for the G3s. I hope the G3s see me very much as their advocate to help them navigate this next phase for them, with their parents and their grandparents. 

I think it is important to keep good boundaries with the family. I’m not a family member. If you do everything for them and are at their beck and call, that’s not healthy for anyone in that relationship. 

Under Clay and Mary, I was about getting all the technical stuff right. Under the G2s, I built a team to do that and looked at how to get to the next level. The family is very much about development and learning and growth and have afforded me many opportunities over the years to focus on my personal development. That’s why after 24 years, I’m still here. 

About the Author

Margaret Steen

Margaret Steen is the editor of FO Pro, The Family Office Professional. Based in Silicon Valley, she has written for Family Business Magazine for more than 15 years.


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