What makes Banyan different from other family business advisors? First, our clients are the full group of owners, not just the patriarch or matriarch. Second, though we are established thought leaders – we’ve synthesized what we’ve learned in our work into published articles and the Harvard Business Review Family Business Handbook, – we are always learning from our clients, customizing our practice for each client, and sharing these ideas with other family businesses. Finally, we are not here to tell our clients what to do, rather we help our clients understand options and implications so they can control their own destiny through thoughtful decision-making.

“We help our clients take control of their own destiny. We don’t tell them what to do.”

Rob Lachenauer

Co-Founder & Partner

Family business advisors help families navigate succession planning process. They help families structure a process that is impartial and supports them as they think about the decisions they need to make as they move a business from one generation to the next. They help families identify the questions that need to be answered, help facilitate meetings, help mitigate conflict when that becomes an issue. Many families are going through the succession planning process for the first time so they don’t have the tools to navigate through it on their own, which is why having an advisor who has helped families through this process before can be incredibly valuable.

“Many families find themselves in positions where they need advisor because they don’t quite have all the tools they need to navigate the succession planning process which, by definition, they are going through typically for the first time.”

Omar Romman

Partner

Many families in business together are able to successfully navigate the transition process on their own, but it is a high stakes process and one that you only go through once per generation, so it’s important to get it right. Outside advisors can bring value through their experience working with other families who have successfully navigated this process.

“It’s a high-stakes process. You’re only going through it once per generation, so there’s a benefit to getting it right.”

Omar Romman

Partner

Many families believe that if no one in the next generation wants to work in the business, that means the end. Families often expect and assume that if you’re not working in the business, then why do you still own the business? At Banyan, we deeply believe in the power of ownership, and we believe that if you get ownership right, working in the business can be important, but it’s not everything. Owners can play different roles and still be effective owners, they don’t necessarily need to be an “operator”, someone who is working in the business day in and day out. If you decide you want to continue to own it together, you can set up a governance in a structure so that you can continue to own it without the next generation working in the business.

“The core question is: do you want to own it together? And if you decide you do want to own it together, then you can set up a governance structure so that you can continue to own it without the next generation working in the business.”

Nick Di Loreto

Partner

Family business owners should be choosing to stay together because they want to. It should be a choice. If they make it a choice, they will probably stay together longer because they have discussed (and should continually discuss) and agreed upon the answer to the question: Why should we continue to own this together?

“Family business owners should stay together because they want to.”

Vladimir Barbieri

Partner