Mark Somers is the co-founder of the Somers Partnership, an executive recruitment firm specializing in family offices and wealth management. With over 25 years in executive search, he works with global clients to attract and retain top talent. He is also the author of How to Work for a Billionaire, a guide for professionals who wish to embark on a career in a family office; and Family Office Fundamentals: Human Capital Matters: The Principals; Guide to Creating, Staffing and Future-Proofing your Family Office, which features insight and advice from 50 family office principals, professionals, academics, influencers and thought leaders from across the global family office ecosystem.
What are some of the greatest challenges you face in finding the right talent for family offices today? How have these challenges evolved over the past few years?
Over the two decades we have been recruiting in the family office sector, the landscape has become increasingly sophisticated, and this has given rise to two distinct challenges. First, there is an increased demand. This comes not just from the rise in numbers of family offices globally but also from the great transfer of wealth that is underway. With the next generation coming to the fore, we are seeing a lot of regenerating and restaffing within family offices as the next gen finds their parents’ advisers have become obsolete to their new needs.
Second, there is — and has always been — a scarcity of real talent. The skills needed to excel at serving a family are rarefied, and great family officers are uncommon and more in demand than ever.
At the same time as these two forces converging, talent has become more global, with seasoned family officers willing to move internationally from opportunity to opportunity.
What qualities and skills do you believe make a candidate a strong fit for a family office role? How do they differ from those sought in other financial sectors?
Working for a family office is not about simply maximizing financial returns. The defining distinction between a good family officer and a great one is their ability to apply the concept of stewardship. Longevity and good governance take on far more meaning when thinking in generational terms. Over the last 20 years, we have learned to look for family officers possessing at least the majority of the following qualities: stewardship, fiduciary mindset, appetite for higher purpose, humility, an enthusiasm for hard work, strength of character, diplomacy and emotional intelligence. All in addition to the relevant professional expertise for the role.
How does recruiting for family offices differ from recruiting for private equity firms or other financial institutions?
It is far easier to operate in private equity than it is in a family office, as there are fewer competing considerations to weigh. In a private equity firm, there is really just one driver — financial capital. Within a family office, every decision is weighed against five forms of capital: intellectual, human, social, spiritual, financial. When we look for candidates, we look for people who know why they want to work for a particular family office rather than somewhere else. We also ask the same questions of the family office because, from a recruitment perspective, the alignment of values far outweighs the rather more nebulous notion of culture fit.
What are the top trends you're seeing in family office recruitment, particularly regarding skill sets, roles or cultural fit?
I have worked in this sector for over 20 years, and it is apparent that [the next generation] has caused a shift in the values of family offices and a rebalancing of the importance of the various forms of capital. As well as more dynamic modes of communication to different stakeholder audiences, we are seeing increased need for family officers with global geopolitical awareness and the ability to work with or for neurodivergent principals. Specific roles that have emerged in recent years include those covering succession planning, interim roles that are project-specific and, of course, the increasing need for chief learning officers as families look to guide their children through a holistic educational journey.
Tell us about your experience managing compensation expectations for family office professionals. How do compensation structures differ from traditional financial firms, and how do you address any disparities?
Financial firms have easy-to-measure input and outputs, and their intentions are comparatively short-term. While family office compensation is, of course, normally expressed in financial capital, its determining factors are far broader, and the time frames for assessment are far longer. Every search we undertake requires us to assist in the creation of a bespoke compensation structure that will attract, incentivize and retain a trusted family officer. There is no universal solution, and we work with our family office clients to ensure the values and purpose of both the family and the family office align with the desired behaviors and output of the executive.