Our Practice
We won’t tell you what to do.
We’ll help you decide where you want to go and how to get there.
We listen first. Then, we work with you to design a path forward.
We admire our clients, whether they be founder-led or among the largest family enterprises in the world, for their impact on their communities, their ability to evolve over generations, and their deep commitment to both their family business and business family. We only work for the full group of owners, helping them navigate the most important decisions they face.
Family Business
We have helped hundreds of family enterprises in more than 20 countries on six continents work through their challenges. Our clients operate across a wide range of industries, but what they all have in common is owning a family business they care deeply about.
COMMON QUESTIONS
Why do you own this business together? How do you decide what success looks like for your family?
How can a large, diverse group of family owners continue to steer the business?
What does it mean to be an effective owner—and how do you prepare the Next Gen to step up?
How do you manage conflict when you have fundamentally different positions? What is the way out when you’re “stuck”?
How we can help
Every family business is unique. Our services are highly customized to the specific needs and challenges of each family and their family business. Before we make any recommendations, we must get to know you first.
We work for the owners as a whole, as opposed to advocating for the interests of any one individual or group. Much of our work centers around establishing forums for owners to make effective ownership decisions together, such as agreeing on a dividend policy, drafting a buy/sell agreement, or helping to design an effective board of directors.
In a family business, ‘’Everything is on steroids. Governance. The internal politics. It’s so much more stressful than running another type of company. But after working with Banyan, my stress level is 10 times less than it was 2 years ago.’’
Family CEO
Family Office
Family Offices come in all shapes and sizes. They face many of the same questions as a family-owned operating business, though they have some unique challenges.
COMMON QUESTIONS
Why do you want to do this together?
What is our collective definition of success?
How will the structure of the family office support our vision of success?
How will you ensure fairness between how you deliver services and how you fund your family office?
How will we transition the family office to the next generation?
How we can help
We recognize that the set of choices family offices must make can be challenging.
Our work focuses on supporting owners of family offices as they contemplate the decisions they face, such as preparing for a transition from one generation to the next or helping them discover or renew the purpose of their family office. We help develop the owner strategy and organization required to serve a new generation while continuing to meet the needs of the senior generation. We also ensure that a system of governance is in place to allow for effective decision-making and that the vision for the family office is aligned.
“It is much easier to rally around a company your family has owned for decades than a portfolio of stocks and bonds. You better agree on why you want to do it together.”
Head of a Family Office
Family Philanthropy
Family Philanthropy can provide a new opportunity for next generation members to engage with their family enterprise. Just as with any other asset, it’s important for the family owners to be aligned on the mission and vision of the family philanthropy, whether it is a local or global focus, dedicated to one or two causes or many, proactive or reactionary.
COMMON QUESTIONS
How do you ensure that your family’s philanthropic efforts will thrive?
How can you refresh the purpose of your family foundation or philanthropic efforts to meet the evolving goals of the different generations of Owners?
How can you involve the next generation in your philanthropic efforts to foster a connection to the family values and enable meaningful collaboration?
As you plan for the next generation to step up, what considerations do you have to think through to transition your family philanthropy?
How we can help
We can guide your efforts to design the strategy, governance, and talent required to achieve your philanthropic vision.
Our process starts by working with you to identify the objectives of your philanthropy, starting with a better understanding of what change in society you would like to help bring about. But the most successful families we have worked also consider the value of their philanthropy through another lens–they think about what impact they want to have on their own family, such as developing the next generation or maintaining family unity. It’s possible for your philanthropy to serve both the world and your family well.
“Banyan helped us to organize what we wanted to do philanthropically. Now we have a shared mission and vision for our foundation.”
Family Foundation Leader
