Finley Team Supports Inaugural Alberta Family Office Conference

This past fall, the Finley Team was honoured to support the Inaugural Alberta Family Office & High Net Worth Conference held at the Ranchmen’s Club in Calgary, Alberta. Rebecca Finley-Schidlowsky MC’ed the event that welcomed over 100 family members and associates from across Western Canada. The demand was so overwhelming that additional tables and chairs had to be added to the room! Notable speakers from the day included Alison Sunstrum (CEO of CNSRV-X Inc.), Remi Schmaltz (Founder & General Partner, Koan Agtech Capital), Margaret-Jean Mannix (Chairman, Viridian Family Office), Adam Pekarsky (Founding Partner, Pekarsky & Co.), Glen Clark (Former President & COO, The Jim Pattison Group), Danielle Saputo (Advisory. Author, Owner, 3rd Generation, President Danuto Holdings), Dr. Richard Sutton (Professor, Department of Computing Science, University of Alberta).

Alberta Steering Committee Members (l-r): Corey Janssen, Tina Naqvi-Rota, Dr. Donna Finley, Rebecca Finley-Schidlowsky, and Kim Collins.

The day covered a variety of topics including exciting opportunities for investing in agriculture (Alberta’s second largest industry!), the possibility of hiring an independent Executor (instead of leaving this task up to a family member), stories from families, transitioning from Family Management to Non Family Business… to name a few.

Dr. Donna Finley tackled the important topic of Family Governance through her chat “Setting Families up for Multi-Generational Success”. Donna highlighted common misperceptions in distinguishing between a ‘Family Business’ and a ‘Family Office’. Conducting a deeper dive, Donna carried participants through four key areas of Family Office governance, an understanding of Family Office cultural archetypes, and core characteristics of a “Business Family”, all which are foundational elements for multi-generational success.

The Next Generation Panel included Aliya Naqvi-Rota, Jeff Shon, and Phoebe Heard (Haskayne).

A highlight of the day was the Next Generation Panel led by Rebecca. This panel invited three Next Gens (the next generation in a Family Business and/or Family Office) which included Aliya Naqvi-Rota, Jeff Shon, and Phoebe Heard (Haskayne).

As the up-and-coming generation within families, Next Gens frequently face pressure, anxiety, and challenges that are not always understood by older generations. These Next Gens shared their stories and strategies to help families better engage and set this generation up for success.