Governance & Board Structure
A Family Council That Gives Every Generation a Voice
Well-structured, well-facilitated forums where the family aligns on its shared future — separate from, and in support of, the business.
What is a family council?
A family council is the formal forum through which a business-owning family discusses ownership, values and its relationship to the enterprise. It represents the family, not the company: the board governs the business, while the council gives the family a structured, representative voice.
How We Advise on Family Councils
01 — Charter & Membership Design
Who sits on the council, how they're chosen, and what authority it holds. Representation is the question families get wrong most often — a council that speaks for one branch stops being a council within a year.
02 — Meeting Design & Facilitation
Agendas, cadence and neutral facilitation that keep meetings productive. Councils rarely fail because the family stopped caring; they fail because the meetings became formless and people stopped attending.
03 — Council–Board Interface
A clear link between the family council, the board and the family office. Without a defined channel, the council either drifts into managing the business or is ignored by it.
Who this is for
- Growing families with expanding branches
- Families preparing the next generation for future ownership roles
- Families whose informal gatherings no longer reach decisions
Our Process
Council Design
Defining purpose, membership and the authority the council will hold.
Charter Drafting
Setting terms of reference, cadence and decision rules in writing.
Facilitated Launch
Running the first meetings until the family can run them itself.
Review & Handover
Evaluation, refinement, and transition to family-led facilitation.
Have a question?
Answers to what business-owning families most often ask before their first conversation with us.
A board governs the company and owes its duties to the company. A family council represents the family, and its remit is ownership, values, communication and the family's relationship with the business. Families need both, and the boundary between them should be written down rather than assumed.
Most councils meet quarterly, with one longer annual assembly for the wider family. Cadence matters less than consistency — a council that meets twice a year reliably outperforms one that plans monthly meetings and cancels half of them.
Membership usually reflects branch representation and generation, with defined terms and a route for the next generation to join. The design should suit the family's actual size and geography rather than copying another family's structure.
Design Your Family Council
Every conversation is confidential. Nothing discussed leaves the room.