Embracing Diversity and Neurodiversity in Family Office Leadership: A Blueprint for Inclusive Wealth Stewardship in a New Era of Conscious Capital
Ultra-high-net-worth family offices thrive on discretion and precision, shaping legacies with meticulous care, yet one critical conversation has been strikingly absent: diversity and neurodiversity.
As the global landscape of wealth evolves, with billionaires emerging from diverse backgrounds at an unprecedented pace, family offices must reflect the world they serve. Not as a nod to modernity, but as a necessity for long-term relevance, resilience, and reverence.
Drawing on insights from Family Office Fundamentals: Human Capital Matters by Mark Somers, let’s look at how embracing diversity and neurodiversity in family office leadership not only fosters inclusivity but also drives innovation, competitiveness, and generational legacy.
As a wealth psychology coach, family wealth dynamics advisor and succession & family governance consultant working with UHNWI and families, I’ve seen firsthand the transformative power of diverse teams, and the urgent need to normalize this conversation.
I offer an exploration of what leadership could look like when it becomes more reflective of the actual world we live in.
The Changing Face of Wealth
The billionaire class is no longer a monolith. Over the past decade, wealth creation has accelerated across cultures, ethnicities, and geographies. From tech entrepreneurs in Asia to a second-generation real estate moguls from Lagos, the UHNW demographic is diversifying rapidly. McKinsey’s 2024 report on global wealth trends notes that the number of billionaires worldwide has grown by 7% annually since 2015, with significant representation from underrepresented groups, including women, new-money wealth ecosystems and people of color. This shift demands family offices that mirror the world’s complexity…culturally, cognitively, and creatively.
Diversity in family offices extends beyond ethnicity or gender. Neurodiversity-the recognition that individuals with conditions like autism, ADHD, or dyslexia process the world differently-is emerging as a critical lens. As Somers highlights in his groundbreaking book, family offices must adapt to support neurodivergent principals and professionals, whose unique perspectives can enhance decision-making and innovation.
Far from a deficit neurodiversity, in my opinion, is not only a different way of learning, problem-solving, and seeing the world…it’s a strength that can be utilized in a global economy that rewards and almost demands unconventional thinking.
And yet, behind the boardroom doors of most family offices? The cast remains the same. Homogeneous.
Predictable.
And sometimes outdated.
But wealth stewardship, at its highest level, isn’t about preservation alone. It’s about progression.
It’s about aligning your capital infrastructure with the future your family is building.
Not just the past it was born from.
Neurodiversity in Family Office Leadership: Reframing the Narrative
Neurodiversity is not a disease; it’s a natural variation in human cognition. In family offices, where principals and their heirs often shape the organization’s culture, neurodivergent individuals bring unique strengths: hyper-focus, pattern recognition, and creative problem-solving. Somers emphasizes that family offices could benefit from tailoring recruitment and governance to accommodate neurodivergent needs, ensuring leaders feel supported rather than marginalized.
For example, a principal with ADHD might excel at rapid decision-making in high-stakes investments but require more structured communication to thrive in governance roles.
For UHNW families, supporting neurodivergent heirs is critical to succession planning. Millennials and Gen Z are coming of age with both capital( wealth transfer) and consciousness. And many of them are unapologetically vocal about their neurodivergence. Not as a liability, but as a lens.
Family offices should foster environments where these heirs can lead authentically. This might mean offering flexible governance models, such as advisory councils that allow young leaders to contribute ideas without rigid structures, or providing coaching to build confidence in their unique cognitive styles. Allowing the next gen build culture, not just inherit it.
My work with legacy families has involved helping next-generation leaders embrace their neurodiversity as a competitive edge, ensuring they steward wealth with purpose and resilience in their own unique way. To be clear I am not a psychologist and I do not diagnose. But for those who identify as neurodivergent , I support them in utilizing their super power.
Diversity as a Strategic Advantage
Beyond neurodiversity, cultural and gender diversity in family office teams is a strategic imperative. Somers argues that diverse leadership enhances performance by bringing varied perspectives to complex challenges, from global investments to family dynamics. Yet, many family offices remain homogenous, with leadership teams that lack representation of women, LGBTQIA+ leaders , people of color, or diverse ethnicities.
As an African-American woman and one of the few in my space coaching/advising UHNWI and families at this level , I’ve seen how my presence in family office leadership brings fresh insights, whether navigating cultural nuances in global markets or fostering trust with diverse stakeholders.
Hiring diverse teams isn’t just about optics of filling a quota, or tonkenism; it’s about competitiveness. A 2023 Deloitte study found that organizations with diverse leadership are 25% more likely to outperform financially, thanks to broader perspectives and innovation. For family offices, this translates to better risk management, more creative investment strategies, and stronger alignment with a globalized world.
Consider a family office managing assets across Asia, Africa, and Europe. How could a monocultural team possibly navigate the geopolitical nuance, cultural etiquette, and emotional tenor of those regions?
A team with diverse cultural backgrounds can navigate local regulations, build relationships, and anticipate market shifts more effectively than a homogenous one.
Women, in particular, are still underrepresented in family office leadership. Despite managing significant wealth, UBS’s 2024 Wealth Report notes that women control 32% of global UHNW wealth, female executives remain scarce in C-suite roles. This is not because they’re unqualified. It’s because the infrastructure was never built to recognize their qualifications.
Emotional intelligence, intuitive foresight, multi-dimensional decision making, these are often labeled “soft skills.”
Somers advocates for hiring more women, citing their proven ability to balance EQ with strategic acumen, a critical skill in family offices where personal and financial matters intertwine. My own experience as a trailblazer in this space underscores the value of women of color, whose perspectives can bridge cultural gaps and challenge traditional assumptions, enriching the family office’s mission.
Building Inclusive Family Offices: Practical Steps
To embrace diversity and neurodiversity, UHNW families must rethink recruitment, culture, and governance. Here are actionable strategies, inspired by Somers and my own practice:
Tailor Recruitment for Diversity: Partner with specialized recruiters like The Somers Partnership to source diverse candidates, prioritizing EQ, cultural alignment, and global perspectives. Also don’t be afraid to ask colleagues, associates and friends for referrals.
Support Neurodivergent Leaders: Implement flexible workflows, such as clear agendas or asynchronous communication, to accommodate neurodivergent principals and staff. Offer non-traditional forms of coaching/advising/support to empower heirs, helping them leverage their cognitive strengths for leadership.
Foster a Culture of Inclusion: Create governance structures, like Next Gen Councils, that amplify diverse voices, including those of women and minorities. One way I do this with my Clients is by Encouraging reverse mentorship, where younger, diverse family members share insights with senior leaders.
Invest in Diversity Training: Although our world may not honor this, especially our current administration in the USA, equip family and staff with training on cultural competence and neurodiversity awareness to reduce biases and build trust. This ensures teams can navigate the complexities of serving global UHNW families. DEI is not a box to check off or nice to have, it’s the reality and way of our world.
The Global Imperative of Inclusive Leadership
The world is diverse—and so is wealth. As billionaires emerge from every corner of the globe, family offices must begin reflect this reality to remain relevant. A family office that embraces diversity and neurodiversity isn’t just inclusive; it’s forward-thinking, competitive, and resilient. It signals to heirs, stakeholders, and the world that the family values innovation and humanity over tradition alone.
For UHNW families, let this be is a call to action: build family offices that mirror the world’s richness in thought, culture, and perspective.
As Somers reminds us: Human capital is the bedrock of enduring wealth.
And in this new era, the most powerful family offices will be the ones that reflect not just wealth, but the world. By championing diversity, we not only honor the present but also secure a legacy that thrives in a dynamic, interconnected future.