The Family Office Initiative at the University of Chicago Booth School of Business is the preeminent hub for family office leaders across the globe.

The Chicago Booth Family Office Initiative was launched in October 2024 with a mission to build a world class center serving to answer the key questions of family office leaders to enable them to build world class organizations, with world class talent to lead them. We draw on the strengths and differentiated value of the University of Chicago, Chicago Booth, and the network of leaders who make up this community. Every event and program we host is sponsorship-free and solicitation-free, so that conversations can stay candid, practical, and built on trust.

The Future of Your Family Office

Build a world-class family office with clarity and confidence.

Robert (Bobby) A. Stover Jr. Joins as Inaugural Executive Director

Bobby serves as the Family Office Initiative’s inaugural executive director. He comes to Booth as a respected global thought leader, being recognized as a Family Capital Top 50 Global Family Advisor (2024) and Top 100 Global Family Influencer (2022). He has more than 30 years of experience advising family enterprises and family offices. In 2025, he retired from Ernst & Young, LLP as co-global and Americas family enterprise and family office leader.

Gift from Anthony Pritzker Family Foundation to Booth’s Family Office Initiative

In recognition of this gift, the initiative’s faculty directorship will be known as the Anthony Pritzker Family Foundation - Family Office Initiative Director.

Booth Donors

Recap: Family Office Summit May 13–14, 2026

Family Office Initiative successfully hosted its second annual Family Office Summit on May 13–14, 2026, at the David Rubenstein Forum on the University of Chicago campus and the Obama Presidential Center. Centered on the theme “Innovating and Navigating the Family Office,” the summit convened more than 170 family office leaders, Chicago Booth faculty, and fellow practitioners, reflecting the Family Office Initiative’s rapid growth and expanding reach.

Building on the success of the inaugural summit, the 2026 program expanded to offer a richer experience, with four breakout sessions, deeper technical content, and a digital attendee hub launched ahead of the event. A highlight was an exclusive evening tour and dinner at the Obama Presidential Center, where the Family Office Initiative was the first outside group extended this privilege, a distinction that speaks to the initiative’s growing stature across Chicago’s civic and academic institutions.

Booth students also played a meaningful role in the summit’s success. Through a dedicated student meet-and-greet with the Family Office Council, students from Booth and the College had the unique opportunity to engage directly with industry leaders and gain firsthand insights into the world of family offices.

This milestone event marked a significant step forward for the Family Office Initiative, which welcomed Bobby Stover, former Americas Family Enterprise and Family Office Leader at EY, as its inaugural executive director. With international expansion beginning with a mini summit in November 12, 2026, at The Hong Kong Jockey Club University of Chicago Academic Complex | The University of Chicago Francis and Rose Yuen Campus in Hong Kong, and the third annual US Family Office Summit returning to Chicago on May 12-13, 2027, the initiative is well positioned for continued global engagement, collaborative learning, and research-driven thought leadership in the family office space.

Our Commitment to Current and Future Practitioners

The FOI is a new initiative at Chicago Booth. Our goal is to establish Booth’s Family Office Initiative as a world leader in family office research, education, and network, becoming a regular resource for family office leaders. Here’s how:

Four business people shaking hands and smiling

Connecting Family Office Leaders to Each Other

We bring current and future family office leaders together in many ways, including by organizing events where they can connect, learn, and network with each other, as well as through our Family Office Initiative Council. The council is a global network that features dozens of top practitioners in the sector, as well as Booth faculty members. Current and future family office practitioners can leverage our Family Office Initiative Council to learn, network, and grow.

Outside of the Chicago Booth Harper Center

Supporting Curriculum at Booth

We’ve developed a new course for MBA students—The Family Office. The course, available to MBA students starting in Winter 2025, will provide students with insights into the different roles that family offices play, effective leadership, the structure of these offices, the defining goals for investment and distribution, and other important topics. Additional MBA classes and Executive Education programs will be available in the future. Offerings could potentially cover family psychology and dynamics, risk management, asset allocation, governance, and leadership, among other topics.

People pointing at printed out business documents on a table

Furthering Groundbreaking Research

The family office sector has seen significant growth in the last two decades, making it a prime opportunity for scholars and top institutions of higher learning to study. Booth’s renowned faculty have already begun to formulate early strategies around some of the most important topics in the family office sector. In the coming years, and with the support of the Family Office Initiative, Booth faculty will continue to investigate this space and publish groundbreaking research that will impact and benefit the sector in profound ways. Booth faculty members will leverage the Family Office Initiative Council members for research, and share findings with members as well.

Our Booth Team

Robert (Bobby) Stover

Executive Director

Malorie Flemming

Senior Associate Director, Strategy and Operations

Jasmine Xiao

Assistant Director, Events and Programs

Booth Faculty in this Area

Emanuele Colonnelli

Joseph L. Gidwitz Professor of Finance and Entrepreneurship

John C. Heaton

Myron S. Scholes Distinguished Service Professor of Finance and Anthony Pritzker Family Foundation - Family Office Initiative Director

Steven Neil Kaplan

Neubauer Family Distinguished Service Professor of Entrepreneurship and Finance and Kessenich E.P. Faculty Director at the Polsky Center for Entrepreneurship and Innovation

Pascal Noel

Gagan and Sunaina Singh Professor of Finance and Kathryn and Grant Swick Faculty Scholar

Eric Zwick

Joel F. Gemunder Professor of Economics and Finance

Family Office Initiative Steering Committee

Andreas Angelopoulos, ’02
Former Senior Advisor
Pritzker Alternative Strategies

Paul Carbone, AB ’83
Co-Founder, President, and Chairman of the Investment Committee
Pritzker Alternative Strategies,
Co–Founder and Vice Chairman
Pritzker Private Capital,
Trustee and Head of Family Office Initiative Steering Committee

Emanuele Colonnelli
Joseph L. Gidwitz Professor of Finance and Entrepreneurship
Chicago Booth

Ronald Diamond
Founder and Chairman
Diamond Wealth

Stuart Lucas
Co-Managing Partner
Wealth Strategist Partners

Quan Mac, '05
Co-Chief Executive Officer, Co-Chief Investment Officer
Bostwick Investment Consulting

Michael Montgomery
Chief Executive Officer and Chief Investment Officer
Marshall Street Capital, Inc.

Stephan Roche
Partner, specialized advisory firm
Former CEO, Walton Enterprises

Bill Woodson
Managing Director and Co-Head
The Cynosure Group

Alex Dexeus, ’23
Vice President – Operations Management
Pritzker Private Capital

Malorie Flemming
Senior Associate Director, Strategy and Operations
Chicago Booth

John C. Heaton
Myron S. Scholes Distinguished Service Professor of Finance and
Anthony Pritzker Family Foundation - Family Office Initiative Director
Chicago Booth

Steven Neil Kaplan
Neubauer Family Distinguished Service Professor of Entrepreneurship and Finance and Kessenich E.P. Faculty Director at the Polsky Center for Entrepreneurship and Innovation
Chicago Booth

Connect with Us

Sign up to receive emails from the Family Office Initiative, including updates on research, resources, and insights.

Join our Mailing List

Questions? Here’s How to Contact Us.

If you have any questions about Booth’s Family Office Initiative, please don’t hesitate to reach out. We would like to hear from you.

Contact Us

Support the Family Office Initiative

We invite you to join in supporting our work.

Make Your Gift

Family Office Initiative

Supporting the education, research, and network needs of current and future family office leaders throughout the world.