Family Office Leadership

Back in the early 2000s, our family was grateful to my grandfather for establishing one of the first structured single family offices (SFO) in India- Patni Family Office. Not only it helped in managing the family business’s sale proceeds in the years to come but also gave us all a learning of a lifetime on the benefits of having a SFO- from planning, growing & managing wealth to resolving conflicts, strategically involving women and NXGs of the family in wealth division, tax planning and much more. Being a global Campden Wealth member, I also gained insights from their knowledge forums that shed light on various aspects of family office and family wealth management. They also enabled and facilitated peer-to-peer networking with other global families, which further enhanced by knowledge about SFOs.

I kick-started my single family office RAAY Global in 2011 with the appointment of a separate and a dedicated Chief Investment Officer. Together, we set wealth objectives, yearly allocations, trust for children, family foundation- RAAY Foundation and even created funds for direct investments in technology start-ups via Nirvana Venture Advisors, The Hive, Idea Spring Capital.

My journey to establishing RAAY Global made me realize that when setting up a family office, selecting the leadership is a complex as well as sensitive task. It is important for the CIO to understand the Principal’s wealth objectives, risk appetite, succession plan, and wealth vision. Most of the times, Families prefer a family member to manage wealth/funds than hiring a professional CIO. While confidentiality is assured with a family member CIO, on-boarding a professional has its own set of advantages too. This thought process differs with the generation of family office leaders as does the wealth objectives. Balancing these opinions is vital for the success of a family office.

Through our #CampdenInteractiveSeries, I had the opportunity to interact with a Principal- Ramesh Ramakrishnan, Chairman, Transworld Group and a NextGen who is also the CIO of his single family office -Yash Poddar. The candid conversations captured their respective journeys in establishing a family office, deciding on wealth objectives, appointing a CIO and much more. While Ramesh has on-boarded a professional to take care of his family office functions & investments, Yash on the other hand has the prime role of actively running the family office.

Watch these episodes and understand how families can bridge generational gap in family office set-up.

Family Office Leadership- Principal's perspective by Ramesh Ramakrishnan

Family Office Leadership- NXG's perspective by Yash Poddar