Regional Member Briefing - Chicago - June 7, 2016

Overview

Tuesday, June 7, 2016 - 11:30am to 1:30pm
Join us for a lively exchange of information and ideas with your peers over lunch at this FOX Regional Member Briefing.
 
Attendance is included with membership, but advance registration is required.

Recommended for: 
FOX Members

Location

Maggiano's Little Italy
516 N. Clark Street
Chicago  Illinois  60654
United States
  • Agenda
  • Speakers
  • FOX Facilitators
11:30 am     Network/Welcome
 
12:00 pm     Lunch and Presentation/Q&A
 

Presentation:

Cohesion Isn’t Just for Families!
Speakers: James “Jim” A. Leopardo, Chief Executive Officer, Leopardo Construction, Inc., Hoffman Estates, Illinois; Jonathan “Wade” Etheredge, Family Estate Manager & CIO, K&S Holdings, LLC, Greenfield, Indiana, and Tye J. Klooster, Partner, Katten Muchin Rosenman LLP, Chicago, Illinois
Moderator: Dennis R. Wright, Managing Director, Wellspring Associates 
 
The need for unity and teamwork among a family’s inner circle of advisors is clear and a minimum standard, right? Everyone on your team is aware of the “big picture,” aren’t they? Not necessarily. When family ties don’t act as a bond for your advisory team, what should you expect? How do you know? This panel discussion will focus on how to build a multidisciplinary team with strong working relationships focused on YOU!
 
 
1:00 pm       Peer dialogue
 
1:30 pm         Adjourn

J. Wade Etheredge, Family Estate Manager & CIO, K & S Holdings, LLC

J. Wade Etheredge is an accomplished executive with a dynamic background in business administration, operations and financial management.  He served in a CFO-COO capacity with multiple rapid growth companies as a results driven leader.  Executive positions include Lee & Ryan, Inc., Chesapeake Construction, LLC and Citi Group.
 
Wade is currently the Family Office Executive and Chief Investment Officer for K&S Holdings, LLC in Indianapolis providing executive leadership for five office staff.  He started the family office after the family’s liquidity event.  Having served in a CFO-COO capacity, he moved to the personal side after the sale.  Activities include financial and operational oversight of residual business entities in addition to tax planning, investment oversight, risk management and estate planning for family members.
 

Tye J. Klooster, Partner, Katten Muchin Rosenman LLP

Tye J. Klooster represents high-net-worth individuals, including business owners, entrepreneurs, executives and equity fund principals, in wealth transfer and estate planning matters. Tye is experienced in designing and implementing sophisticated and personalized estate plans with a focus on leveraging use of gift, estate and GST exemptions. 
 
Tye’s practice also involves advising clients regarding asset protection techniques and business owners concerning business succession planning. He also represents fiduciaries in the administration of estates and trusts, the formation and operation of private foundations and sophisticated charitable giving techniques.
 

James A. Leopardo, Chief Executive Officer, Leopardo Companies, Inc.

In 1979, entrepreneur James “Jim” Leopardo started his own construction firm in Chicago and soon made an impressive impact on the industry.  Under Jim’s leadership, Leopardo Companies, Inc. has grown into one of the nation’s largest 300 contractors with more than 400 employees. 
 
A pioneer in the construction industry, Leopardo has won numerous honors and awards, including the coveted Interior Contractor of the Year Award at the Chicago Commercial Real Estate Awards four of the last 10 years. He has also received several Project of the Year Awards.  Jim was inducted into Midwest Real Estate News’ Commercial Real Estate Hall of Fame in 2010 and was featured in the Crain’s Chicago Business 2015 list of Who’s Who in Chicago.
 

Dennis R. Wright, Managing Director, Wellspring Associates

Dennis is a principal and managing director of Wellspring Associates with over 20 years of experience assisting affluent, multi-generational families, family offices, and their advisors. In addition to practicing Wealth Integration™ in Atlanta, he oversees principle operations for Wellspring in Savannah, Georgia and Chicago, Illinois.
 
Dennis holds the Accredited Estate Planner® designation as well as Chartered Financial Consultant® and Chartered Life Underwriter® designations from The American College. Dennis is an active member of the Atlanta and Savannah Estate Planning Councils, a guest speaker for the Fiduciary Law Section of the Georgia Bar and Georgia Society of CPAs.  He also serves on the FOX Thought Leaders Council.  Dennis prides himself on working closely with select law, accounting and financial services firms.
 

Sandra Ditore, Senior Business Development Manager

Sandra Ditore, Senior Business Development Manager for Family Office Exchange (FOX) which is a leading provider of research, advice and education to families of exceptional wealth. FOX serves more than 350 ultra-wealthy families and 150 multi-family offices and advisory firms across 20 countries. In her role, Ms. Ditore is responsible for identifying prospective family and advisor members, assessing their needs and priorities, and ensuring they have a deep understanding of the benefits of FOX membership. In addition to new member acquisitions, Ms. Ditore is responsible for identifying and securing sponsorship for FOX forums and educational workshops. 
 
Ms. Ditore has more than 20 years of experience in sales and marketing. Before joining FOX in 2002, Ms. Ditore was a senior account manager for a Chicago-based healthcare communications firm, where she developed marketing strategies for global pharmaceutical brands. Prior to this, she held research and marketing positions at several Wall Street investment banking firms, including Drexel Burnham Lambert, Dean Witter Reynolds, and Dillon Read & Co. 
 

Ruth Easterling, Managing Director, Member Services

Ruth Easterling is Managing Director, Member Services, for Family Office Exchange (FOX). In her role, she provides relationship management for family and advisor members by aligning FOX services with the unique needs of each member. Ms. Easterling also co-moderates the Private Family Trust Company Network and works with the team at FOX to develop relevant programming and insight to the Network. 
 
Prior to her current responsibilities, Ms. Easterling led all of the firm’s member services activities, and oversaw the delivery of conferences, educational forums, webinars, website resources and member communications annually. She has overseen marketing and drove the redesign and brand initiative that differentiates FOX today.
 
Under Ms. Easterling’s direction, FOX has integrated member feedback processes through satisfaction surveys and advisory boards to guide the development of new programs and services. She played a lead role in the design and delivery of the first comprehensive program for Wealth Owners, known as the FOX Learning Academy.
 
Prior to joining FOX, Ms. Easterling worked with the professional services firm Smith, Bucklin & Associates, which provides association management and consulting services to more than 180 associations. She served as executive director to professional associations ranging in size from 300 to 4,000 members. In this capacity, Ms. Easterling re-engineered membership structures and planning processes to better enable organizations to maximize their potential through efficient governance structures and member participation. In addition to client service, Ms. Easterling often consulted with international and national organizations on strategic planning and governance design.