All in the Family: What the World's Biggest Family Offices Teach Us About Leadership with BanyanGlobal’s Stephan Roche

Since the establishment of the first family offices in the 19th century, there are now more than 8,000 single family offices globally. These offices hold over $5 trillion in total estimated wealth today, an amount expected to grow to over $9 trillion by 2030.

In today’s Redefiners episode, Marla Oates and Tomas Chamorro-Premuzic talk with Stephan Roche, a Partner with BanyanGlobal Family Business Advisors. His previous roles included CEO of Walton Enterprises – the philanthropic and private investment group for the Walton family – and COO of Cascade Asset Management – the private investment office for Bill Gates and the Gates Foundation. Stephan talks about the importance of purpose in a family office and how he navigates decision making with family members who may have a different perspective when it comes to the family wealth strategy. He shares his thoughts on the role of philanthropy and impact in a family office. And he talks about the importance of developing next generation leaders to ensure they’re ready to take on the leadership and governance roles of a family office.

We’ll also hear from Jeff Warren, a leadership advisor at Russell Reynolds Associates, who will share what truly distinguishes today’s most effective family office leaders—and why the role is more complex than ever.

Stephan Roche
Partner, BanyanGlobal Family Business Advisors

Stephan Roche joined BanyanGlobal as a Partner after more than a decade as a family office and investment executive. Whether as a strategy consultant, fintech entrepreneur, or family office leader, Stephan brings a passion for collaborating with others to solve the most challenging problems to achieve extraordinary results. Stephan’s expertise is in family governance, family office strategy, and family wealth stewardship.

In his capacity as a family office executive, Stephan served as CEO of Walton Enterprises, the family office for the Walton family, and as COO for Cascade Asset Management, the private investment office for Bill Gates and the Gates Foundation. He also served for a time as a Senior Banyan Affiliate prior to joining as a Partner.

Stephan participates in numerous family office and investment events as a keynote speaker, panelist and facilitator. He frequently speaks on topics ranging from family office leadership to stewarding wealth with purpose. He is an inaugural member of the Family Office Initiative advisory board for the University of Chicago’s Booth School of Business.

Stephan is the proud father of 26-year-old triplets and lives with his wife and two dogs in downtown Seattle, Washington.