Transitions in the Family Council

Abstract

Ronaldo had done a great job as the first chairman of Garcia family’s family council. Not only had he built trust among his large family, but they were doing things that even a few years ago would not have been possible. Among the group’s accomplishments under his leadership were the support and staffing of a strong independent board to govern the company, the start of annual family meetings to strengthen relationships among cousins previously distant from each other, and clarity around the family’s employment expectations for those interested in working in the business. In addition, the family council was in the process of beginning to gain unity around the concept of a formal family office instead of the current informal family office that was run out of the main operating company. Ronaldo had much to show for his efforts over the past three years. But the Garcia family had initially adopted a policy that the family council chair should be replaced every three years to allow fresh ideas and new energy to emerge. Ronaldo was concerned that the new family council chair may not share his vision for the family office and feared that the family’s progress could be stunted if the new leader was ineffective. Tomorrow morning at the family association meeting, the family would elect a new family council chair and his term would end.