The Family Office Association (“TFOA”) is one of the world’s best-kept secrets for family office professionals. This exclusive, non-commercial professional network provides family office executives and their principals with access to two of the most valuable assets that anyone in the rarefied world of the ultra-wealthy can have: knowledge and trusted relationships. Under the leadership of entrepreneur and financier, Marc J. Sharpe, for the past twenty years, TFOA has been organizing unique private networking opportunities and an exclusive annual family office symposium, which has featured speakers such as David Bonderman of TPG, Lotus 1-2-3 founder Mitch Kapor, and Ken Hersh, the President and CEO of the George W. Bush Presidential Center, among many others.
The organization that would grow into TFOA came about as the result of a chance meeting at the offices of Houston, Texas-based law firm Vinson & Elkins in 2007. A group of single family office executives met there and instantly hit it off, realizing they could greatly benefit from sharing knowledge and resources on a regular basis. Mr. Sharpe, who was the CIO of a multi-generational Houston, TX based family office at the time, immediately understood that family office professionals needed a private and safe place to pursue networking away from the prying eyes of service providers and fund managers, who tend to gather at the usual commercial family office conferences. As a result, he began laying the groundwork for TFOA, designing the organization’s annual symposium on the structure of ancient Greek symposia, which included educational conversation convened under Chatham House rules.
Sharpe has since dedicated his time to raising awareness of the best practices for family office leadership through his role as an adjunct professor at Rice University and Southern Methodist University, where he teaches an MBA class called “The Entrepreneurial Family Office”. He has also made efforts to be a thought leader in the field through the multiple whitepapers he has written about family office issues, which are all available on the TFOA website (www.tfoa.info).
Mr. Sharpe’s qualifications and long career in business, finance, and entrepreneurship, have uniquely prepared him to manage such an organization. A graduate of Oxford and Cambridge University, the British-born businessman initially immigrated to the United States to work as an investment banker with Wasserstein, Perella & Co. Later, as a Fulbright scholar, he pursued post-graduate education and earned his MBA from Harvard University and then went on to gain work experience at a variety of top-notch investment firms, including Goldman Sachs. This experience prepared him for a career in the family office world and gave him unique insights into the thoughts, goals, and concerns that characterize the day-to-day life of family office executives.
This year, TFOA will host its 10th annual single family office symposium in Texas, at Space Center Houston. As in prior year’s, over a one hundred single family office CIO’s, CEO’s, Presidents, and Principals are expected to attend and they will be joined by a world class line-up of speakers who will address the audience on a broad range of topics.
In addition to its signature symposium, TFOA also provides year-round access in the form of intimate roundtables, tailored discussions, and member-only events. These small settings allow for thoughtful discussion of timely issues, ranging from wealth and legacy preservation to impact investing. Through its growing network of family offices and thought leaders, TFOA is committed to building a community in which family offices can navigate complex and sophisticated issues with confidence and discretion.
One of Sharpe’s guiding principles for TFOA is “conscious capitalism,” which ties in neatly with his current role as an Operating Partner at Satori Capital, a multi-strategy investment firm based in Texas. The core ethos of conscious capitalism is creating enormous value for all stakeholders, rather than simply pursuing short term profits. This is partly the reason why TFOA has never tried to monetize its members or convert to a for-profit strategy. Instead it donates profits from its annual symposium to worthy charities.
Despite its exclusivity, TFOA continues to grow its membership. And if this pace continues it will have a chance to fulfill Sharpe’s vision of becoming a rival to the World Economic Forum in terms of influence and prestige. By focusing on fostering relationships, sharing knowledge, and long-term value creation, this private community of the world’s wealthiest families is gradually becoming the most trusted hub for the global family office executives.
Written in partnership with Tom White
