John C. Heaton
Myron S. Scholes Distinguished Service Professor of Finance and Anthony Pritzker Family Foundation - Family Office Initiative Director
John C. Heaton
The Future of Your Family Office
Build a world-class family office with clarity and confidence.
The Future of Your Family Office combines rigorous academic insight with practical, customized application based on deep experience. This highly selective program equips senior family office leaders—both family and senior non-family executives—to develop a comprehensive, actionable strategic and operating plan for their family office—a blueprint that aligns purpose, governance, capital strategy, and execution.
The program is designed to empower family enterprise leaders with the network, frameworks, tools, and strategic clarity needed to lead or launch a world-class family office. The mornings will consist of engaging and interwoven lectures on relevant topics; the afternoons are organized around jam sessions designed to provoke your creative, sometimes uncomfortable, thinking about how to optimize a family office while expressing the values central to family glue and community engagement.
Over the course of five days, you will develop a draft strategic and operating plan for your family office—including its purpose, capabilities, duration, governance structure, capital allocation principles, and implementation roadmap. You will be guided by a highly experienced faculty with over 300 combined years of experience working in and on behalf of single-family offices. You will also have the opportunity to gain valuable peer insights from your fellow family office leaders navigating similar opportunities and challenges.
By attending this program, you will explore key themes in:
Family Purpose, Values, and Governance
- Articulate your family’s purpose and values—and translate them into governance structures and decision rights.
- Establish clarity around roles, authority, and accountability.
Boards, Councils, and Organizational Design
- Design boards, councils, and committees that support effective oversight and collaboration.
- Build governance mechanisms that reflect the family’s strategic priorities.
Capital Strategy and Portfolio Alignment
- Map your capital strategy across operating companies, investment portfolios, and philanthropic initiatives.
- Align capital deployment with long-term family objectives.
Integrated Tax, Estate, and Investment Planning
- Bring tax, estate, and investment considerations together into one coherent strategic framework.
- Support continuity, growth, and risk management across generations.
Institutional-Grade Infrastructure and Operations
- Build the systems, technology, and controls required for a professionalized family office.
- Strengthen processes that enhance transparency, efficiency, and stewardship.
Talent Strategy and Leadership Development
- Recruit, develop, and incentivize exceptional talent to lead and manage the family office.
- Establish career paths, performance expectations, and succession approaches.
Family Communication and Conflict Management
- Strengthen communication, trust, and alignment across generations.
- Apply proven frameworks to navigate conflict and facilitate productive dialogue.
Philanthropy and Social Impact
- Define your family’s philanthropic vision and impact strategy.
- Integrate giving and legacy into the broader family enterprise.
Who Should Attend
This program is designed for mid- to senior-level executives from new or established family offices—especially those navigating generational transitions, liquidity events, complex governance challenges, or questions of purpose and strategy. Ideal participants include:
- Family principals and next-gen leaders
- CEOs, COOs, and senior non-family executives within family enterprises
- Leaders preparing to formalize or relaunch a family office
The program excludes external advisors unless invited by a participating family.
Faculty Teaching This Program
At Booth, our distinguished faculty exemplify dedication and expertise, bringing deep passion to their teaching. Their steadfast commitment extends beyond traditional instruction, focusing on empowering every Executive Education participant, across all programs and global campuses, to achieve their professional and leadership goals.
Stuart E. Lucas
Co-Managing Partner, Wealth Strategist Partners, LLC
Stuart E. Lucas
Stephan Roche
Partner, BanyanGlobal
Stephan RocheProgram Design
Engage with leading Booth faculty and global experts in family enterprise strategy, governance, behavioral science, investment, estate planning, and philanthropy.
Intimate breakout sessions with a shared case study. Each group is instructed to make the case for a specific form of family office. Then all groups convene to defend their position. We want to make you ask and answer important questions in family enterprise design that often go unaddressed.
Participate in highly interactive, cross-functional working sessions tailored to each family’s objectives, culminating in a draft strategic and operating plan for your family office.
Admission and Application Requirements
Admission is selective and based on a successful application.
Our application includes a series of short essay questions that offer insight into your professional experience, family enterprise, and wealth management goals. These responses also help confirm key eligibility requirements—such as beneficial ownership of financial assets exceeding $250 million—and ensure strong alignment with the program’s objectives and cohort.
To foster meaningful dialogue and a high-quality learning experience, we maintain a confidential, solicitation-free environment for all attendees. Participation is intentionally limited to support this standard and ensure conversations remain private and productive.
We want you to feel confident and informed when applying. We recommend you view the policy before beginning your application. View executive education payment policy here.
Upcoming Sessions
Program dates are subject to change.
Check back here soon for updates on how to obtain the brochure, application information, and more.
Keep me informed
Submit the form below to be among the first to receive updates and program details. We’ll contact you as soon as program dates and application specifics are available.
All fields required.
Share This Page with Your Network
Inform your peers and coworkers about this program.
Frequently Asked Questions
In this section, you’ll find answers to frequently asked questions about Chicago Booth Executive Education programs.
Frequently Asked Questions