“Ensuring the Legacy of Family Business Through Relational Governance”

For more than twenty years, Francesco “Franco” Lombardo has been a family business advisor and facilitator to some of the world’s most diverse and wealthiest families. He set up Veritage, his global advisory firm that exclusively focuses on building relational governance.  

Franco uses his Safe Space™ model to empower families to show up authentically and to express their feelings surrounding money and relationships. Passionate about nurturing the next generation of family-owned businesses, Franco is the cocreator, and one of the leading facilitators of the Scone Project and Maasai Project, Ensuring the Legacy of Family Business an interactive next-generation leadership development program for business families. As founder and host of INFLUENCE - a gathering of the globe’s highest net-worth families representing their family businesses, Franco facilitates a custom-curated program designed to deepen familial relationships.  

The author of five books, Franco also hosts the podcast “Safe Space with Francesco Lombardo” - a show for Family Business Leaders and Next Gens. Franco has delivered presentations for the Milken Institute, Campden Wealth and family Business Conferences, Institutional Investor, Tiger21, various YPO/WPO global chapters. He has also been featured in the award-winning Spear’s Magazine and was described as ‘The Truth Agent’ by CEO Magazine. More recently Franco was inducted into the Family Business United Family Business Hall of Fame, which "recognizes the exceptional contribution of individuals and their work in advancing the field of family business."  

Scott Terrio, BA, QIC, CPCA, has been a regular author at Macleans and Canadian Business magazines and a listed columnist for Moneysense, focusing on consumer debt issues. He is a frequent media commentator, appearing on BNN Bloomberg TV, CBC and various radio broadcasts. He has contributed to such publications as The Globe and Mail, The Toronto Star, The National Post and The Walrus, among others.

In his decade in the insolvency industry and now as Head of Consumer Insolvency
at Hoyes Michalos Hoyes, Scott has met with and filed well over 8,000 clients,
primarily consumers. He brings his previous background in sales, marketing and
business development to making clients feel as comfortable as possible in
guidance through various options and tactics, and in trusting advice and solutions
under difficult circumstances.

His professional experience includes the following:

• Ontario Ministry of Ag, Food & Rural Affairs, 1993-1996
• John Deere Canada, 1996-2010
• Cooper & Co. Ltd. Licensed Insolvency Trustee, 2010-2018
• Hoyes, Michalos & Associates, 2018-Present

Richard James Deacon is an award winning Private Office Real Estate Advisor with the world’s #1 luxury real estate firm Engel & Völkers. Richard is the Co-founder of TIGER 21 Canada, an exclusive and highly private investor education organization for ultra-high net worth families. TIGER 21 has over 1100 members across the globe with collective assets in excess of $135B. TIGER’s mission is to help members improve their investment acumen, tackle common issues of wealth preservation, manage family-related challenges, understand estate planning options, philanthropic endeavors and legacy impact. And of course manage their extensive real estate portfolios. Richard also had a 20 year career in media and advertising, working with the billionaire Thomson family and The Globe and Mail.

Richard was inducted into Engel & Volkers Private office in 2021 in only his fourth year as a Realtor, given that EV PO requires 3 years of consecutive performance to become a PO Advisor, Richard is likely the only Advisor to have ever made PO in the first 4 years of their career.

Richard has an international background with 28 years of global luxury sales and marketing experience and today specializes in helping his clients with buying and selling some of the most iconic properties across Canada's #1 wine region, the Okanagan Valley. The Association of Interior Realtors Board area covers the snow caps of the Rocky Mtns to the east, the rolling hills of ranch country to the west and the arid desert of the south that borders Washington State.

Richard is a passionate and connected philanthropist and his list of volunteer involvements include his role as; Past-President of the National Advertising Benevolent Society, being inducted into the Canadian Advertising Hall of Honor in Toronto, as a Past Director of the acclaimed Children’s Charity Arts Umbrella, as a national judge for the Courage to Come Back Awards, a Mentor of the Year awardee in the Vancouver Board of Trade Leaders of Tomorrow program, as past Chair of a capital campaign for the Union Gospel Mission’s Women and Children’s Ministry, Past- President of the Nicola Valley Food Bank and Campaign Cabinet member for the University of British Columbia’s Business Families Centre.

Dr. Tom Deans is the author of three books on the subject of family
wealth transfers. His first book, Every Family’s Business: 12
Common Sense Questions to Protect Your Wealth, remains the
best-selling family business book of all-time and was selected by The
New York Times as one of the top-ten books business owners should
read. The book has sold more than 1.5 million copies worldwide.

His second book, Willing Wisdom: Seven Questions Successful
Families Ask, reached #2 on the Globe and Mail’s best-sellers List.
The book has received critical acclaim for its controversial
explanation of why 15 million Canadians do not have a legal will.
Willing Wisdom continues to stir debate on the merits of disclosing a
will with intended beneficiaries.

In May 2024, Dr. Deans released The Happy Inheritor: How
Successful Families Prepare Heirs and Transfer Wealth, the third
and final book in his Family Wealth Trilogy.

The book examines how many successful families transfer wealth
with the help of their advisor through the use of facilitated family
meetings to bring predictability and transparency to their estate plans.
For families who struggle with this process, the book offers insights
into why. This ground-breaking book reinforces the importance of
family philanthropy in preparing the next generation for the $300
million that is inherited every day by Canadians.

Having delivered more than 2000 speeches in 28 countries, he is
regarded as the preeminent thought-leader on the subject of inter-
generational wealth transfers.

With his family selling businesses for more than $100 million, prepare
to unlearn everything you thought you knew about transitioning family
wealth.

Deans is a graduate Mount Allison University, McMaster University
and earned a Ph.D. from the University of Warwick in England.

His books and speeches aren’t just about money and clever tax
plans. They’re about giving people the confidence, inspiration and
the tools to begin important family conversations about the last taboo
– money.

To learn more about Dr. Deans and his books, visit
https://www.thomaswilliamdeans.com/.

Judi Cunningham is the founder of Trella Advisory Group, a consulting firm that works with family enterprises and families of wealth. She holds a Master’s in Family Systems Counseling and over 25 years of experience working with complex enterprising families. Judi is known for her innovative educational initiatives. She pioneered the Family Enterprise Advisor Program, establishing global standards for professional advisors.  Judi serves as the Chair of the Board for the Purposeful Planning Institute which helps advisors serve families of wealth. 

Ben Rabidoux is the founder of North Cove Advisors, a boutique research covering Canadian housing, macroeconomic, and household credit trends. North Cove Advisors is consistently ranked in the top 5 for Canadian economic research by Brendan Wood International, as voted upon by institutional investors.

Ben also leads the research teams at Edge Realty Analytics, which provides similar research and advisory services to real estate professionals.

He is a frequent commentator on all matters related to housing and household credit, having been featured in nearly every major Canadian media publication as well as a number of business publications internationally.

Lorne MacLean, K.C. (King’s Counsel) is the founder of top-rated MacLean Law and one of Canada’s most experienced and highly rated family lawyers dedicated to family law and divorce in British Columbia.

MacLean has been chosen as a top 25 Canadian Lawyer and a BC Leading Business BIV BC 500 winner in the field of complex and high net worth divorce and family law. His firm was just selected by Canadian lawyer Magazine and Lexpert as a 2023 and 2024 Family law Firm of The Year Awardee of Excellence.

MacLean has set the highest record for interim spousal and child support at over $100,000 a month, the highest record for permanent spousal and child support at over $116,000 a month, the highest fines record for B.C. , set the precedent for international Mareva injunctions, the highest special costs record at $1.5 million, and one of the largest retroactive child support awards in favour of a husband, dismissal of a wife’s spousal support in a high net worth long marriage and he won the leading Canadian case on child custody and the maximum contact principle in Young v. Young in the Supreme Court of Canada.

Lorne has successfully protected clients’ rights since 1983 in the field of high net worth and complex family law disputes, dealing with issues such as spousal and child support, property division, child custody and parenting time and responsibilities disputes, guardianship and access, and marriage-like relationships.

Lorne MacLean, K.C. lives life to the fullest, loves running and weightlifting, jazz music, strategy games, and travelling with his family. He especially loves to find the “hidden gems” in the cities he visits on his world travels. Along with keeping his mind sharp, Lorne is avid about keeping physically healthy with boot camps and cross-fit, half marathons and biking.

Jennifer Risher is an author, speaker, philanthropist, and investor on a mission to move money out of the taboo category and help us have much-needed conversations. Her book, “We Need to Talk: A Memoir About Wealth,” explores the impact of wealth on identity and relationships.

In sharing her story, Jennifer aims to validate the emotional complexities of money and help those with wealth move out of guilt, shame, or a desire to keep money hidden and into meaning, joy, and purpose.

Jennifer was born in Seattle, Washington, grew up in Oregon, and graduated from Connecticut College. She joined Microsoft in 1991 where she worked as a recruiter and then as a product manager. As an extra-fortunate beneficiary of the dot-com boom, she believes abundance can drive change and fuel action — and that we need to be putting more philanthropic dollars to work now.

In 2020, Jennifer and her husband, David, launched #HalfMyDAF to inspire more charitable giving. Over the last four years, they’ve contributed millions in matching funds, rallied donors and nonprofits, and created a community that has moved over $50 million to nonprofits. With the goal of creating more economic, gender and racial equity, Jennifer has also been investing with women-of-color fund managers.

Jennifer and David live in San Francisco, where David is CEO of Lyft. Jennifer loves playing and watching tennis and spending time with her two twenty-something daughters. She is on the board of Women Moving Millions and is a member of Women Donors Network and Solidaire.

Andrew is co-founder and Chief Executive Officer of Neo Financial — a leading Canadian fintech company that’s transforming how Canadians earn, save, and spend money. Founded in 2019, Neo has raised more than $299 million in funding, employs more than 700 people in Calgary and Winnipeg, and has been recognized as Canada’s top tech startup by LinkedIn. In addition to serving more than a million customers, Neo powers financial solutions for leading brands including Tim Hortons, Hudson’s Bay, and Cathay Pacific. Prior to Neo, Andrew co-founded SkipTheDishes, which was acquired for $200 million in 2016. Originally from Saskatchewan, Andrew now lives in Calgary.

⦁    Kim is a Chartered Accountant, Registered Trust and Estate Practitioner and a tax specialist practicing in Calgary as the CEO / Director Canadian Tax Advisory with Moodys Private Client Law LLP / Moodys Private Client LLP and Moodys Tax (a division of Moodys Private Client Law LLP).

⦁    Kim also recently branched out through his professional corporation to put more energy into some of his “passion projects” involving public speaking, coaching, leadership studies, taxation policy and economics / public policy.

⦁    His main area of expertise is tax and estate planning for the owner- manager of private corporations, executives, professional athletes, and other high net worth individuals. Kim obtained his Bachelor of Management degree from The University of Lethbridge in 1992 and his CA designation from The Institute of Chartered Accountants of Alberta in 1994.

⦁    The antithesis of the status quo, Kim is driven to innovate new and better ways to do things for the clients he serves and other professionals in tax. His relentless obsession with getting to know everything in the Tax Act makes him a highly sought-out resource for peers and clients. In March 2020, Kim published his first book, Making Life Less Taxing: Pay Attention To Your Taxes So You Can Pay Less Tax and Build a Strong, Smarter Canada – an Amazon bestseller in a number of categories.

⦁    Kim is a Past Chair and Past Deputy Chair of the Board, Past Treasurer, as well as Past Chair of the Technical Committee for the Society of Trust and Estate Practitioners of Canada (“STEP”). In addition, Kim is a past Chair of

the Board of Governors for the Canadian Tax Foundation. He is also a member and past Co-Chair of the CBA/CPA Canada Joint Committee on Taxation. Kim is a co-founder of the Tax Specialist Group – an association of tax specialist firms across Canada founded in 1999.

⦁    Kim is a recipient of the Queen Elizabeth II Diamond Jubilee Medal (2012), the Business in Calgary 2012 Leader of Tomorrow Award, and in 2013 was conferred the Fellow of the Chartered Accountants of Alberta designation. He is also a recipient of the STEP Founders Award for Outstanding Achievement which was conferred in 2013. Kim participates on many non- profit / charitable boards to ensure that his experience can advance the causes of the organizations that are important to him. For example, in 2021, he was one of the co-founders of a new think-tank - The Aristotle Foundation - and was installed as its original Chair and he continues to serve in that position today.

⦁    Deciding years ago that sleep was highly overrated, Kim makes time to share his immense knowledge through writing, lecturing, teaching, and being an active, national leader in the tax profession. In 2016, he fulfilled his long-standing goal of receiving admission into law school but his busy schedule made him realize that completing law school might have to be in his next life. Kim’s unique ability is being a loyal, transparent, and honest intellectual rebel who always does the right thing. His passion to lead, teach, never settle, and both seek and speak the truth aid in his contributions to the tax landscape. Kim desires to be an inspirational example for those around him to continuously grow.

⦁    Kim is married to Vivian and they have four sons – Alexander, Lucas, Jacob and Benjamin.