In The Lead 2024: Maximize Wealth Planning and Leadership Opportunities
November 12 - 14, 2024
Goldman Sachs hosted a community of dynamic women for its In the Lead event in Palm Beach, Florida. Over the course of two days, attendees engaged with speakers, peers, and Goldman Sachs executives on timely topics. Below are several key takeaways from the event. For more perspectives from our In the Lead event, read The Evolving Economic and Investing Environment.
Seizing Professional Opportunities
The power of your unique story
Desiree Gruber, founder and chief executive officer, Full Picture; Beth Hutchens, founder and creative director, FoundRae
Every brand and founder has their own exceptional story. Discovering and communicating that story can help entrepreneurs unlock new opportunities and feel more fulfilled.
Desiree Gruber encouraged entrepreneurs to resist centering their story around their job title. “We are slow to explain who we are because we get caught up in titles — I am a CEO, I am an executive vice president,” she said.
Instead, she advises clients to focus on their unique skill sets, strengths, passions, and the legacy they hope to leave. By honing in on these core attributes and bringing them to life through storytelling, you reveal your authentic self and deeper motivations. This clarity, Gruber explained, becomes a guiding light that inspires others to rally behind your vision.
Your story may change over time — let it. Alluding to Gruber’s advice, Beth Hutchens shared how she started to relate to herself more in terms of her skills rather than title, which gave her the confidence to start her new company. “I have these strong leadership skills and there are so many places I can apply them, like in this new business venture,” she said. “Whether I am CEO or not, I don’t lose the attributes that make me who I am.”
Planning your business exit
Syida Long, managing director, Goldman Sachs Family Office, Goldman Sachs; Cosmo Roe, head, Global Luxury and Beauty and global head, Consumer Technology, Goldman Sachs
"Over the next two years, M&A activity is expected to rise," said Cosmo Roe. As a result, more businesses may be considering or getting tapped for deals. If an exit is on your radar, early planning is key.
The decision to sell isn’t just economic, it’s personal. Before pursuing a deal, Roe suggested setting aside ample time to ask yourself some key questions: How much time do you want to continue to dedicate to the company? Are you looking to spend more time with your family? Are you looking to start a new company?
Some of your answers will determine the path forward and “have a huge impact on the kind of transaction you end up pursuing, or whether you decide to stay private or go public,” said Roe. “Not thinking through some of these objectives can really disrupt the deal and even cause it to lose momentum.”
Roe suggested bringing in consultants well in advance, including specialists who can complete a financial audit, review brand positioning, establish intellectual property protections, and more. “Work through these aspects to catch and solve any issues,” he said. “These early reviews will pay you back in spades on the other end of the transaction.”
Syida Long stressed that “it’s never too early to consider tax and estate planning for an exit. If you wait too long, it could not only interrupt the potential deal, but there is a point where it is too late to do it.” Starting early can help entrepreneurs maximize wealth transfer opportunities and tax efficiencies, like qualified small business stock.
Connect with your tax specialist and private wealth advisor to understand how certain estate planning and tax provisions could impact your unique situation.
Choose board positions strategically
Brenda Freeman, chief executive officer, Joyeux Advisory Group; board of directors, Avnet Inc.; independent board director, Caleres Inc.; independent board director, WM Technology Inc.; Ellen Kullman, executive chair, Carbon; retired chair and CEO, DuPont; board member, Goldman Sachs
Serving on a corporate board can be a rewarding experience and an opportunity to apply your unique expertise and perspectives in a different context. Before taking a position, it’s important to understand a company's needs, structure, and culture.
If you’re interested in serving on a board, Ellen Kullman suggested looking through the current board's skills matrix in their proxy statements, which can give you an idea of where you could fit. “They also help you understand how to talk about your brand in words the board uses and how you can present yourself in a way that is relevant to them,” she added.
Every company will have different expectations of board members. Kullman explained the important distinction between “nose in versus fingers in” when it comes to board involvement. “Nose in means you understand what's going on in the company, you advise, you ask really good questions, you get into great dialogue,” she said. “Fingers in means you have a more active role and start directing what you think the company should do.”
Brenda Freeman added that more established, legacy companies will often look for “nose in” board members who can take a 10,000-foot view, while startups may be looking for more involved guidance on building infrastructure and best practices. It’s crucial to know where those boundaries are for each company and feel good about operating within them.
Securing Your Future Legacy
Supercharging your philanthropy
Rob Kaplan, vice chairman, Goldman Sachs; chairman, Project ALS; co-chairman, Draper Richards Kaplan Foundation
“The problems of the world over the next 20 years are unlikely to be solved by governments,” said Rob Kaplan, when speaking about his best advice for philanthropists. “They've got to be solved by private philanthropists and nongovernmental organizations.”
In Kaplan’s experience, it’s best to center your philanthropy around causes that personally resonate. “The most important thing you need to figure out is what's your passion? What types of causes do you believe in?” For Kaplan, these questions have led him to connect with impactful organizations that need the help of a venture philanthropist.
Kaplan also recommends following an 80/20 rule for expending philanthropic resources. For 20% of his philanthropy, he provides only monetary support to organizations. With the remaining 80%, he uses both his time and business expertise to help a handful of organizations build their capabilities. “Each of you has tremendous skills. Your money is valuable, but bringing yourselves and your ability to coach and get involved, I think adds enormous value… You might give money to a range of different things. You might spend your time on only a few things.”
Taking a leadership position on a nonprofit board is one way to drive impact. When evaluating organizations, Kaplan says you should ask three questions:
1. Are they making an impact that you are excited about?
2. Is there a leader in place who is passionate about the cause and willing to learn?
3. Does the organization have a model for delivering value that gives it a chance to be sustainable?
Preserving wealth for the next generation
Syida Long, managing director, Goldman Sachs Family Office, Goldman Sachs; Stacy Mullaney, global head, Goldman Sachs Family Office and president, Goldman Sachs Trust Company NA, Goldman Sachs
With an estimated $30 trillion wealth transfer to the next generations already underway, families are increasingly focused on governance structures that can help create an enduring legacy.
Through tax efficiency, asset protection, and stewardship, Stacy Mullaney and Sydia Long have helped many clients preserve wealth across generations. They recommend considering trust structures as wealth transfer planning mechanisms that can provide both asset protection and wealth transfer tax savings. In addition, a professional trustee can deliver more permanent stewardship over assets and provide family members with a professional partner to oversee a family legacy.
“In selecting a professional trustee, families seek a partner to work alongside children and grandchildren, providing guidance and expertise in investment and financial management,” said Mullaney.
When implementing trusts over generations, Mullaney cautions against incorporating very specific language that seeks to fashion or control behavior, as trusts can last many generations, and specific terms may not be as applicable in the future with more flexibility desired. Instead, the use of a letter of wishes or family mission statement can be a way to explain the grantor’s intentions for a trust and articulate the legacy the grantor intends to leave behind. While these are nonbinding documents, they provide the trustee with both guidance and flexibility.
When possible, Mullaney recommends transparent communication with beneficiaries around estate planning. “Wealth inheritors become better stewards of wealth themselves if there has been a dialogue about the purpose of trusts, expectations for how trust assets are to be used, and a family’s values around the wealth,” she said.
Investment Strategy Group (“ISG”). The Investment Strategy Group, part of the Asset & Wealth Management business (“AWM”) of GS, focuses on asset allocation strategy formation and market analysis for GS Wealth Management. Any information that references ISG, including their model portfolios, represents the views of ISG, is not financial research and is not a product of GS Global Investment Research and may vary significantly from views expressed by individual portfolio management teams within AWM, or other groups at GS.
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