Building on a Legacy Spanning Decades, Mack International is unveiling Mack 2.0: Introducing a New Leadership Team Set to Shape the Future of the Family Office Industry
WEST PALM BEACH, Fla., Oct. 22, 2024 /PRNewswire-PRWeb/ -- Since its founding in 2002, Mack International has partnered with families across America to find the human capital they need to succeed.
This goes far beyond finding professionals well-versed in wealth and estate management, tax, accounting, or trust structuring. It means taking the time, sometimes years, to understand each family—their culture, their narrative, and, of course, their legacy.
A large part of this role has been to consult with families about the importance of succession planning. This includes hiring for longevity and bringing the next generation on board. As Founder Linda Mack often proclaims, succession planning is the key to creating a sustainable, high-achieving organization. As a firm, we decided it was time to take our own advice.
Introducing Mack 2.0
It is with great excitement that we announce Brian Adams has been made Partner at Mack International. He will lead the firm alongside Linda Mack, marking a new era of growth for the business, which we are referring to as Mack 2.0.
Linda has transformed the industry. She started conducting family office executive searches when the term "family office" was barely used in the marketplace. In the decades that have followed, family offices have become institutionalized and global functions, yet their inherent idiosyncratic nature, due to family dynamics, continues to demand a boutique provider—one that can spend ample time understanding their unique cultures and the personalities from which they are derived.
Brian is a next-generation family office thought leader with a passion for helping families succeed. Bringing him on as a Partner will ensure that Mack International continues to be the premier boutique C-suite executive search firm for family offices for decades to come.
Brian's Journey
Brian, a former practicing attorney, has an eclectic professional background that spans commercial real estate, private equity, venture capital, business development, and digital marketing.
He has supported the firm for some time, assisting with mandates, joining conversations, and working with the team to understand our purpose and narrative. Brian's new role as Partner will allow him to craft a lasting legacy for the firm, something he has already helped clients achieve through his podcast, The Mack Podcast.
Brian's vast and diverse experience across the family office landscape represents a strategic and pivotal step for Mack International, reflecting the generational shift in leadership, transfer of wealth, and professionalization of family offices taking place across America.
As Linda has expounded upon: "There is a seismic shift in family office leadership demographics coming in the next 20 years. Succession planning is key to sustaining a legacy, yet some ignore the urgency of preparing in advance. Brian is part of the next generation. He is committed to leading and sustaining Mack International for the next 25 years. Families should be thinking the same way.
"They should be actively encouraging their Next Gens to be involved in committees—governance, search, investment—mentoring and supporting their development to be strong leaders in these roles. When you take the time to involve the younger generation in meaningful ways, you have a natural flow of stewardship—an ongoing and smooth evolution instead of a crisis.
"I spent a great deal of time searching for a Partner, one who would one day be my successor. That person needed to be steeped in family office, something that takes upwards of 10 years to achieve. They needed to comprehend why, for instance, you need to speak with the next generation even if they are not yet a trustee or on the search committee. You need to understand not just the internal legal or trust structure but the motivations behind why those structures were put in place. It's about understanding the narrative behind each family—how they created their wealth, their why, and their purpose.
"Recruiting for a family office is more art than science, and Brian brings with him an intimate knowledge of professionalized families. I am excited to see our vision of Mack 2.0 come to life."
A Strategic Partnership
Brian and Linda first met many years ago at an Institute of Private Investors (IPI) event when Brian knew little of family office, private equity, or executive search. A confluence of events led them to reconnect at another IPI event over a decade later, where they discovered not only a shared passion for supporting family offices but also an aligned interest in creating a legacy for Mack International.
Brian said: "I was approached by another firm to start their family office executive search function. Before making a decision, I consulted with a number of significant families and trusted service providers who work with institutional-level family offices and whom I greatly respect. I asked them about the opportunity, and every single person came back and said the same thing: Linda Mack is the best.
"When you talk to people in the industry and ask them who they look to for family office search, Linda is everybody's first answer. To have that reputation, consistency, and brand for over two decades is truly remarkable.
"I attended an IPI event in 2023 and met Linda again. As any inveterate YPO'er would, I asked for her experience share. We soon found an aligned interest in creating a legacy for Mack International, and that's where Mack 2.0 was born.
"Linda was seeking a person to continue her legacy who, above all else, understood the family office world. As a board member of my own family's vehicle, I am both understanding and empathetic toward the role and its requirements."
The Vision for Mack 2.0
Brian continued: "For our family office and for the families we work with, it's not just about wealth preservation. It's about cultivating a cohesive family dynamic with relationships that are deep, bilateral, and empathetic, and finding the right executives who understand that as well. At Mack, our value systems differ from those of larger, more institutionalized firms that tend to be cut and dried. We help our clients create an environment with shared lineage and culture.
"This is what really differentiates us in the market as we focus on more than competency. Every candidate that we put forward will have the exceptional skills and experience needed to succeed, but most importantly, they will be the right culture fit for the family. They will fit perfectly within the family's culture, their value systems will be aligned, and their philosophies shared. A family office is an extension of a family, and this person needs to compliment that dynamic for years to come. We have built a process that lets us get it right the first time, every time.
"Family offices are their own islands, and they have very few safe harbors where they can meet other family offices without being sold to. That's what I love about this business. I don't have a product to sell. Instead, I solve a very specific problem, and as a result, I get to know the family and their staff incredibly well. This allows me to make some really powerful and strategic relationships and connections.
"Families crave highly curated peer-to-peer safe harbor networking opportunities where nobody is putting a PowerPoint up on the wall or talking about the next investment. Mack, as a firm, is focused on solving the people problems faced by family offices and cultivating a community and safe space for the families we work with to connect with other individuals who can solve the other pieces of the puzzle. That's what the evolution of Mack International is about—building upon Linda's legacy while providing even greater value to those in our network."
Looking Ahead
Mack 2.0 is focused on continuing the remarkable work that Linda has achieved with family offices across America by offering true thought leadership, powerful connections, and guidance to the family office community.
In the coming months, expect to see a host of insights from Mack International on everything from creative compensation structuring and hiring for cultural fit to professionalizing your family office and growing wealth within America. Brian will also commence a series of intimate group dinners and curated networking events for family office principals and executives across the country.
To find out more about Mack's legacy in the making or to discover how we can assist with your family office needs, please visit our website http://www.mackinternational.com. We look forward to continuing to serve the family office community with the same dedication and expertise that has defined Mack International for over two decades.
Media Contact
Lilly Marks, Mack International, 9196372838, [email protected], www.mackinternational.com
Isabel Bolt, Mack International, 8173015461, [email protected], www.mackinternational.com
SOURCE Mack International
Share this article