Peter Evans - Trusted Advisor to Legacy Families & Member of a 7th Generation Family Holding Company

04/24/22 • 53 min

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Peter Evans is an advisor, consultant, and speaker to legacy families, family offices, and multigenerational enterprises all around the world. Peter creates the opportunities where affluent families have the greatest chance of flourishing.

Peter is also part of a legacy family himself; he is a 5th generation member of a 7th generation American enterprise established in 1885. Peter married into this family and was astounded by the welcoming and inclusive nature of his wife's large family. The family enterprise is now a holding company with over 500 shareholders, all of whom are family members. Of particular interest are the Family Summits held annually, which are designed to re-engage family members, partake in family traditions and rituals, discuss philanthropy and reset for the year ahead.

Peter shares his experience of what it was like to join a well-established legacy family and how he has used this unique experience to pivot his career and help other legacy families flourish.

Standout Quotes:

"We can't really plan significantly for longer than 5-10 years, you just learn that along the way, things change; the world changes" - [Peter]
"I'm really interested in making sure that the family's values are aligned with their actions" - [Peter]
"To have some sort of formal way of telling stories, I think, is critical" - [Peter]
"The most important thing you'll do are these rituals" - [Peter]
"If we have the privilege of having wealth and means, we have an obligation to give back" - [Peter]

Key Takeaways:

Peter is the 5th generation member of a 7th generation American enterprise established in 1885. He is an adviser, consultant, and speaker to legacy families, family offices, and multigenerational enterprises globally. He became a part of the family when he married his wife and was included.
The company began as a group of lumber companies started by two brothers who liquidated everything after 45 years to invest with their partner, Friedrich Weyerhäuser in 1901. Peter's family had continued to be involved with the business as it expanded, although there were no male heirs in the second generation, till the 3rd generation. The family later started a private trust company in 1964, at which point they became the 3rd largest retailer of building materials in the US.
Today with diversification, they are now a holding company with over 500 shareholders, all of whom are family members. Peter's children are already involved with the family business actively and eagerly look forward to partaking in the annual family meetings.
The Family Summit: This annual family meeting usually runs over 3-5 days, on the same weekend every year, with activities like the coming-of-age ritual and elders’ ritual, Olympic games, business meetings, philanthropy group meetings, and talks by guest speakers. The goal is to make it so interesting that people want to come back.
Planning Never Stops; the family forms a long-range planning committee every 5 years to have a clean slate to think through everything. A pattern of liquidating a significant resource once every 20 years was also observed; this 'Generational Harvest' would provide liquidity to each shareholder, giving them the freedom to make their own investments.
The family investments today are largely in Real Estate, like residence halls or low-income housing units, all intentionally inclined towards 'doing well by doing good' which is a value the family holds.
Peter left his role as president of the family enterprise in 2003 and has since then helped other family enterprises manage their multigenerational interests. He believes families with vast amounts of capital can make decisions that affect millions of lives and works to ensure that these families act in accordance with their values. "I can hold a mirror up to you so that you can begin to see yourself, your family system, and your footprint in the world; the other thing I can do is open the window so that you can look out into the world and see how other families made choices during different transitions"
Peter's most satisfying work is sitting with family members and watching the interactions; his work is focused on helping build bridges in communication and relationships. His role is a position between being a business consultant, priest, and therapist all of which require a deep level of trust and respect. At its core, his work is about relationships.
Peter’s role as a 'Personne de confiance': This is a confidential advisor based on their trust, respect, and honesty. The way to get into that role is to come into the family that needs help, taking time to build trust and confidence. Very often Peter has to model a way of doing things like chairing a meeting, inclusion, and effective decision-making while keeping i...

Peter shares his experience of what it was like to join a well-established legacy family and how he has used this unique experience to pivot his career and help other legacy families flourish.

Standout Quotes:

"We can't really plan significantly for longer than 5-10 years, you just learn that along the way, things change; the world changes" - [Peter]
"I'm really interested in making sure that the family's values are aligned with their actions" - [Peter]
"To have some sort of formal way of telling stories, I think, is critical" - [Peter]
"The most important thing you'll do are these rituals" - [Peter]
"If we have the privilege of having wealth and means, we have an obligation to give back" - [Peter]

Key Takeaways:

Peter is the 5th generation member of a 7th generation American enterprise established in 1885. He is an adviser, consultant, and speaker to legacy families, family offices, and multigenerational enterprises globally. He became a part of the family when he married his wife and was included.
The company began as a group of lumber companies started by two brothers who liquidated everything after 45 years to invest with their partner, Friedrich Weyerhäuser in 1901. Peter's family had continued to be involved with the business as it expanded, although there were no male heirs in the second generation, till the 3rd generation. The family later started a private trust company in 1964, at which point they became the 3rd largest retailer of building materials in the US.
Today with diversification, they are now a holding company with over 500 shareholders, all of whom are family members. Peter's children are already involved with the family business actively and eagerly look forward to partaking in the annual family meetings.
The Family Summit: This annual family meeting usually runs over 3-5 days, on the same weekend every year, with activities like the coming-of-age ritual and elders’ ritual, Olympic games, business meetings, philanthropy group meetings, and talks by guest speakers. The goal is to make it so interesting that people want to come back.
Planning Never Stops; the family forms a long-range planning committee every 5 years to have a clean slate to think through everything. A pattern of liquidating a significant resource once every 20 years was also observed; this 'Generational Harvest' would provide liquidity to each shareholder, giving them the freedom to make their own investments.
The family investments today are largely in Real Estate, like residence halls or low-income housing units, all intentionally inclined towards 'doing well by doing good' which is a value the family holds.
Peter left his role as president of the family enterprise in 2003 and has since then helped other family enterprises manage their multigenerational interests. He believes families with vast amounts of capital can make decisions that affect millions of lives and works to ensure that these families act in accordance with their values. "I can hold a mirror up to you so that you can begin to see yourself, your family system, and your footprint in the world; the other thing I can do is open the window so that you can look out into the world and see how other families made choices during different transitions"
Peter's most satisfying work is sitting with family members and watching the interactions; his work is focused on helping build bridges in communication and relationships. His role is a position between being a business consultant, priest, and therapist all of which require a deep level of trust and respect. At its core, his work is about relationships.
Peter’s role as a 'Personne de confiance': This is a confidential advisor based on their trust, respect, and honesty. The way to get into that role is to come into the family that needs help, taking time to build trust and confidence. Very often Peter has to model a way of doing things like chairing a meeting, inclusion, and effective decision-making while keeping i...

Previous Episode

Srinath Rajam - Separating the Family Conglomerate After 111 Years

Srinath Rajam is a Director at TVS & Sons, Chairman at Kwik Patch, and one of the four sons of the high profile TVS group of companies. The TVS Group is a long-standing family business, running for over 110 years, which has interests in everything from auto components through to finance. Now after over a century in business, the TVS group has decided to amicably separate. Srinath talks about this historical event and how by keeping it amicable, it sets the stage for the next phase of growth.

Standout Quotes:

"The process of how you manage a company is not taught anywhere; the process for how you manage people is not taught anywhere so these are things you need to learn by watching" - [Srinath]
"Unless all of us are good human beings, we cannot work in a group" - [Srinath]
"If the family is not in one piece... the businesses are going to fall apart" - [Srinath]
"I don't worry about control, I worry about what's best for the business" - [Srinath]

Key Takeaways:

Srinath is a 4th generation member of the TVS and Sons Family. He talks about a historic date when the family will finally be breaking up the company and separating after 111 years. Unlike many families which split with resentment and animosity, this breakup is rather amicable which sets the stage for growth in the next phase.
The seeds for the separation started in 1974, although from the onset, at a point when the Founder of the company had his influence waning as a patriarch, there was already a lot of mistrust. It was in 1974 that it became clear that there was no future for the company to continue as one large family which is now manifesting.
Over the 48 years since the first conversation was had about splitting up, the company has lost opportunities to advance in IT, however, they were able to structure the core competence of the existing companies.
The first phase was in 1927 when the company became the dealer for GM in South India. The next phase was automotive component manufacturing which continues to be the most profitable aspect of the business. The third phase is a two-wheeler operation, which is the largest and most valuable company. Most recently, the supply chain has also been racked up, which is the TVS Supply Chain.
About the two-wheeler operation: in 1972, as a young teenager, Srinath had discovered what looked like an electric bicycle which his grand-uncle was creating as a cheap way for people to move around. The engineers had said it would not be possible, but he invested energy, time, and money in it based on his conviction. By 1978, he passed on 10 days before the company was opened. The group was also into all sorts of automotive industries.
The strategy for the separation was that whoever is managing will continue to look after business till the separation, then the valuation was done in 2014, and the difference would be settled in cash. The Indian legal system encourages families to have such a business understanding, which was not initially accepted by all 64 shareholders but with persuasion, they agreed to implement it. The company also has very strict requirements regarding competence and experience to join in the business such that family members are not guaranteed an automatic seat.
Some of these requirements for joining the family business include Graduation from an Ivy League school, a minimum of 3 years of work experience outside the family business with no help getting the job. These and more only qualify members to apply, after which a competency board will assign a mentor who looks after the possible future leaders, and then they can grow from there. These new family members entering into the business start with a small responsibility like one of the smaller subsidiaries and are mandated to only report to a professional, not their parents.
Based on these requirements, most family members are only qualified to apply by their early 30s, which is beneficial for the company because emotional maturity is also critical.
Although G4 wasn't particularly groomed for management, they intend to identify those things they lacked and make them available for G5. Since the process of managing companies or people is not taught anywhere, G5 has to be properly introduced by participating as observers in top review meetings. Most of the methods and practices being implemented to groom G5 are ideas from John Ward.
Even though many families apply all sorts of family governance structures, not many are successful, meaning those structures do not guarantee anything. The question is "How do you make this work?". The first requirement is trust; without trust, none of these things can work. Next is transparency, and the third is to be Just and Fair. People working together must be good people who like being around each other. Additi...

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Scott Peppet - Building a Family-Focused Office for Sam Zell

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Scott Peppet serves as the President of Chai Trust Company LLC, the private trust company that serves as the family office for Sam Zell and his family. Equity Group Investments, a division of Chai trust, provides investment management services on its behalf.

From 2000 to 2018, Scott was a professor of Law at the University of Chicago where he focused on Bargaining, Dispute Resolution, Translational Law, and the complexities of multigenerational family enterprises. Scott speaks regularly on Family Offices, Private Trust companies as well as Intergenerational Leadership while also maintaining an active website.

Scott is a G2 family member. He is Sam Zell's son-in-law, having married Sam's eldest daughter.

Standout Quotes:

"Business works on short wavelengths and family works on very long wavelengths" - [Peter Evans, Scott]
"What does it mean to try and help family members really develop and really take ownership, so they can figure out how to deploy what they have?" - [Scott]
"There are many different kinds of wealth... you probably aren't put on the earth to grow the financial capital, there's lots of professionals who can help you do that" - [Scott]
"Too often, the implicit message sent to family members is 'this system is really here to steward the money" - [Scott]
“Families rarely fail for taking too much risk, they fail for taking too little risk” - [Scott]
"My goal is to create a family-focused office, not a family office, and a trusted company, not a Trust company" - [Scott]
"If you want to succeed you have to have a family that understands what you're doing" - [Scott]

Key Takeaways:

Scott is the President of Chai Trust Company, LLC, the private trust company that serves as the family office for Sam Zell and his family. Equity Group Investments, a division of Chai trust, provides investment management services on its behalf. From 2000 to 2018, Scott was a professor of Law at the University of Chicago where he focused on Bargaining, Dispute Resolution, Translational Law, and the complexities of multigenerational family enterprises. He speaks on Family Offices, Private Trust companies as well as Intergenerational Leadership while also maintaining his active website. Scott is a G2 family member, as he is Sam Zell's son-in-law.
Scott got married to Sam's older daughter 20 years ago while he was already teaching as a Law professor. Since then he got increasingly curious about family enterprises till he fully transitioned into working in the family enterprise. After a few months of knowing each other, they started dating but Scott had no idea about her family wealth till she opened up about it.
About Sam Zell: Sam is a serial entrepreneur, who first built a business in Real Estate, following which he turned to distressed Corporate Investing in the 80s, and then in the 90s, he created some of the largest REITs in the US today. He has continued to work on REITs and corporate investing since then. He has done several businesses over the years. Sam is also known for his straight talk, always making his stand clear in any discussion. He is also very astute and broad in his thinking.
As a Law professor, Scott worked on conflict intervention with corporations all over the world. When he started having kids, he got curious about how the family wealth could be managed productively for the family, especially for the kids. Sam encouraged him to work on it. Some authors that stood out in Scott's study were Jay Hughes and John Davis.
Scott describes the family structure; at the time Scott joined the family, Sam was 59 years, his 3 children were in their 30s, and as of now, there are 9 grandchildren. There was a form of governance structure, a board with his 3 children which wasn't functional as Sam made most decisions. However, now there has been a need to rebuild the structure as the company has evolved and this has been a huge part of Scott's focus since he moved full-time into the family enterprise. He has had to put in a lot of work to fully understand how the family enterprise functions; to make things change in a family system that often moves very slowly, you have to know where you're going. It involves a combination of urgency and patience, while thinking long-term, steps need to be taken early and consistently. Most of the family members are not employees, some of them are on the board. There is one board with both independent and family directors.
The business continues to be eclectic, investing across all kinds of sectors, especially with the benefit of permanent long-term capital. At the same time, complex actions and deci...