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The U.S. family office market is evolving, and recent activity among wealth management firms points to an important development: building a family office offering is increasingly about more than adding services. It is about building the specialized leadership and talent infrastructure to deliver them.
Americana Partners’ recent launch of its Family Office Group illustrates the trend. The Houston-based RIA combined a Southern California ultra-high-net-worth practice with its acquisition of NRT Consulting to establish a dedicated multi-family office practice with plans to expand nationally. The group is designed to coordinate areas including business ownership, liquidity events, taxes, estate planning, lending and philanthropy.
For the family office executive recruitment market, the more important question is what this evolution means for talent.
Family Office Talent Is Becoming More Specialized
Talent is already a significant operating challenge for family offices.
Bank of America’s 2025 Family Office Study, based on 335 U.S. family office decision-makers, found that 21% identified attracting talent and 22% identified retaining employees as future-planning challenges. The study was conducted in May and June 2025 and included executive-level decision-makers at family offices serving single or multiple unrelated families. Bank of America: 2025 Family Office Study
Campden Wealth and AlTi’s 2025 Family Office Operational Excellence Report similarly found that 70% of participating family offices reported difficulty hiring, while 65% were concerned about retaining key staff. The research surveyed 146 family offices across North America, Europe and Asia-Pacific, including 82 respondents from North America, between November 2024 and March 2025. Campden Wealth: 2025 Family Office Operational Excellence Report.
These findings point to an important distinction: family office recruitment is not simply a search for qualified professionals. It is a search for the right professional for a particular family office.
That distinction becomes increasingly important as family offices and multi-family offices expand their capabilities.
The Executive Profile Has to Fit the Organization
Family offices can differ substantially in their investment activities, operating structures, governance, family involvement and use of outside expertise. Campden’s research examines areas including investments, governance, next-generation engagement, talent, outsourcing and technology. Campden Wealth: 2025 Family Office Operational Excellence Report
From an executive recruitment perspective, that means a title alone tells only part of the story.
A Chief Operating Officer, Chief Investment Officer, CFO or senior family-office executive may have an impressive background, but the relevant question is whether that individual’s experience aligns with the responsibilities, structure and expectations of the particular organization.
This is where specialized family office executive recruitment becomes especially valuable.
Dossier Search approaches family office executive recruitment with that same emphasis on alignment. Its family office practice focuses on placing the senior leadership layer of a family office, including C-level executives, directors and senior professionals, with attention to the organization’s needs and the confidential nature of family office searches. Dossier Search: Employers and Family Office Executive Search
Where the Family Office Talent Market Goes Next
- Leadership: As family-office structures become more sophisticated, the need for executives who can provide structure, coordination and accountability becomes increasingly important.
- Investment expertise: Investment oversight remains a foundational family-office function, while offices are also navigating increasingly sophisticated portfolios and investment structures.
- Specialized operating expertise: Tax, estate planning, accounting, governance and other functions increasingly require coordination between internal leaders and outside specialists.
- Succession and next-generation leadership: Generational transition is another significant consideration. Bank of America reports that 60% of family offices expect to hand leadership to the next generation within the coming decade.
For executive search firms specializing in family offices, the implication is straightforward: the search has to begin with the organization and the family, not simply the job title.
The growth of the family office sector is creating increasingly nuanced talent requirements. Identifying the right executive depends not only on technical qualifications, but on understanding the environment in which that executive will operate.
Dossier Search’s broader executive leadership talent practice reflects this focus on identifying executives whose experience and leadership approach align with the organizations they join. Dossier Search: Employers and Executive Leadership Talent
The next chapter of family office growth is therefore not only about new platforms, acquisitions or services. It is also about the people capable of building and leading them.
Frequently Asked Questions
What talent do family offices need?
Family offices need specialized leadership and talent that aligns with their particular structure, responsibilities and expectations. Key areas identified in this article include leadership, investment expertise, specialized operating expertise, and succession and next-generation leadership.
Why is family office executive recruitment becoming more specialized?
Family offices can differ substantially in their investment activities, operating structures, governance, family involvement and use of outside expertise. As a result, the right executive depends not only on technical qualifications, but also on whether the individual’s experience aligns with the particular organization.
What are the biggest talent challenges facing family offices?
Attracting and retaining employees are significant talent challenges. Bank of America’s 2025 Family Office Study found that 21% of U.S. family office decision-makers identified attracting talent as a future-planning challenge, while 22% identified retaining employees. Campden Wealth and AlTi’s 2025 Family Office Operational Excellence Report found that 70% of participating family offices reported difficulty hiring and 65% were concerned about retaining key staff.
What should family offices consider when hiring executives?
Family offices should consider whether an executive’s experience aligns with the organization’s responsibilities, structure and expectations. The relevant question is not simply whether a candidate has an impressive background, but whether that background fits the environment in which the executive will operate.
Find the Right Family Office Talent
As family offices expand their capabilities, the right leadership talent can help build the structure needed to support that growth. Dossier Search works with organizations on senior leadership and executive searches, including family office and investment roles. Dossier Search: Employers and Family Office Executive Search
Connect with Dossier Search to discuss your family office executive recruitment needs.
Sources
Dossier is an affiliate firm of Pocketbook Agency, an award-winning boutique recruitment firm placing exceptional, high-level administrative and support roles across the US in both corporate and domestic settings. Pocketbook is recognized by Forbes as one of America’s Best Professional Recruiting Firms for 2024, 2025 & 2026, as well as by Business Insider America’s Top Recruiting Firms and Inc Magazine’s PowerParter’s List. For additional inquiries, please reach out to Hello@dossiersearch.com.
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