Designing the organization chart around billionaire family responsibilities

Built on Chapter 2 of The Single Family Office by Richard C. Wilson. Full chapter text: FamilyOffices.com.

An organization chart should tell employees where a decision goes. A row of executive titles cannot do that if the family has never agreed who can approve work or resolve competing instructions. Build the chart from responsibilities, then decide which people and providers should hold them.

Chapter 2 describes the main executive functions within a single family office. Its useful lesson is the distinction between those functions. Historical asset thresholds should not determine the structure of a current billionaire family office.

Put the work beside the title

Write down the recurring responsibility attached to each position. The CEO may oversee staff and systems while the CIO handles investment recommendations. The CFO may coordinate financial reporting and cash planning. Confirm the actual assignment instead of assuming the title carries a universal definition.

Include the positions that serve operating businesses. A family may have substantial investment oversight work even when its liquid portfolio uses outside managers. Company reporting and ownership decisions need clear destinations within the office.

Show the authority that remains elsewhere

Some decisions belong to a trustee, company board, or other authorized person. Include those relationships in the explanation accompanying the chart. A staff reporting line does not transfer the legal authority held by another person or entity.

Have the relevant professionals confirm unclear boundaries. Employees need to know whom they ask for an instruction and which information that person requires. That is especially useful when several family branches share services while retaining separate ownership arrangements.

Connect outside firms to an internal owner

I caution that a family-office label can conceal divisions that do not communicate. Applied to the organization chart, that means showing who inside the office coordinates each external relationship and follows unresolved questions through to completion.

An outside accountant may prepare work while an internal employee gathers source records. Identify both responsibilities. Without that connection, each side can reasonably believe the other is waiting to act, and the family receives an incomplete result.

Examine combined roles honestly

One person can hold several responsibilities when capacity and competence support the arrangement. State the separate functions so the office can see what needs coverage during an absence. Combining titles should not make the underlying work disappear from management's view.

Also identify decisions that require independent checking. The person preparing a payment should not gain unrestricted approval authority merely because the office is small. Have qualified professionals help design the appropriate controls for the office's actual work.

Make the founder's role explicit

Decide how staff should handle direct requests from the founder. If those requests change priorities, the office leader needs to know. Otherwise, management can be held responsible for a work plan that employees have quietly been told to replace.

Give employees a respectful route for resolving conflicts. They should be able to explain the competing assignments and ask the authorized person to choose. That protects the founder's ability to change direction while making the consequences visible.

Add capacity only for a reason

A larger balance sheet can increase complexity, but its size alone does not specify the next hire. Look at unfinished work, specialist needs, and decisions delayed because nobody has sufficient capacity. Explain how the proposed position addresses one of those problems.

Compare a dedicated hire with a defined outside assignment. The family should understand what it gains and what it still needs to coordinate under either approach. The chart can show both options before management commits to the ongoing cost of a position.

Keep a usable version available

Update the chart when authority or responsibilities change. Give new employees an explanation of how requests move through the office and where they can raise uncertainty. A private diagram that only the principal understands offers little help to staff doing daily work.

Test the chart with a real pending decision. Ask who prepares the facts, who checks the work, and who can authorize the action. If the answers conflict, resolve that specific ambiguity and revise the description. The chart should make the next request easier to route.

Questions and answers

Does the office need more titles as wealth grows? Additional responsibility may require more capacity or expertise. Choose the structure from the work instead of reproducing another family's titles.

Should outside advisors appear on the chart? Show their relationship to the internal owner and the decisions they support. Keep their professional role distinct from employment reporting lines.

This page is general information, not legal advice. Family governance documents and dispute processes should be reviewed by a qualified attorney.