2019 FOX Private Trust Company Fundamentals Workshop

Amantha Butler
Head of Fiduciary, Family Office, BNY Mellon Wealth Management

Amantha Butler is the Head of Fiduciary for BNY Mellon Wealth Management Family Office. In this role, she oversees the provision of fiduciary services for BNY Mellon Family Office. She has over 15 years of experience in fiduciary oversight and administration, and advising clients on the intergenerational transfer of wealth and control.

Prior to joining BNY Mellon, she led the fiduciary team of a private trust company, where she was responsible for fiduciary oversight of various trusts as well as governance for the trust company and other entities. Prior to this, she spent 8 years in private practice, both in the private client group of Goulston & Storrs and the trusts and estates department at Patterson, Belknap and Webb & Tyler.

Amantha received her Bachelor’s degree in Political Science from Amherst College and her Juris Doctor degree, magna cum laude, from Cornell University. 

Rob Galloway
Partner, Baker Hostetler LLP

Rob Galloway is a national Team Leader for Baker Hostetler’s Private Wealth Group. In this role, he provides counsel to the firm’s wealthiest and most prominent fiduciary and family clients.

Mr. Galloway works closely with family offices, private trust companies, bank trustees, and privately held companies to bring creative solutions to complicated tax and fiduciary issues. He understands that lasting client relationships are built on trust, collaboration, and a sensitive approach to family and business issues.
 

Ryan Harding
President, Garden Trust Company and Managing Director, IFO Group, LLC

Ryan M. Harding is the President of Garden Trust Company and Managing Director of the IFO Group, LLC, in Detroit, Michigan.

Previously, Ryan was a partner in the Private Client Practice Group of McDermott Will & Emery LLP, where his practice focused on the formation and operation of family offices and private trust companies, particularly with respect to governance and succession planning for family and closely held businesses.  He also represented clients on complex estate administration and sophisticated tax and wealth transfer planning, as well as contested tax and probate matters.

Ryan is a frequent author and speaker on the creation and operation of private trust companies, trust administration and investments, family businesses and succession planning, and professional responsibility and ethics in estate planning.

Ryan graduated from the University of Notre Dame with a B.A. in Government and a B.B.A. in Accountancy.  He then received his law degree from the University of Michigan.  He is a fellow of the American College of Trust and Estate Counsel.

Richard Johnson
Partner, Waller Lansden Dortch & Davis, LLP

For nearly 30 years, large family‐owned and closely held businesses, high net worth individuals, family offices including their private family trust companies, and tax‐exempt organizations have sought out Richard Johnson to provide practical tax, business, and estate and trust planning solutions.

These clients rely on Mr. Johnson to provide practical tax and business planning solutions. Clients benefit from Mr. Johnson's vast experience with S‐corporations, LLCs, private trust companies, and partnership law which, when combined with strategic tax planning, helps minimize corporate and personal tax liabilities on both the state and federal levels.

Mr. Johnson organizes and advises private family trust companies in Nashville, Tennessee. He formed the first private family trust company under Tennessee law and has been responsible for forming more than half of Tennessee's private family trust companies. He helped draft new legislation updating Tennessee’s private trust company law, which greatly expanded the definition of a private family trust company to make Tennessee’s private trust company statutes more attractive than those in other states. The updated law now provides the family the option to allow the family’s business to own the private trust company as a wholly owned subsidiary.

Mr. Johnson works with wealthy individuals, families, and their family offices to structure their assets and ownership interests to keep wealth in the family and to foster the use of that wealth to perpetuate the family's values and purposes.

Laura Liang
Vice President of Operations and Accounting, Duncan Family Office / Dan L Duncan Foundation

Laura Liang is a Vice President of Operations and Accounting for the Dan L Duncan Family Office and the Chief Grants Officer for the Dan L Duncan Foundation both based in Houston, Texas. Laura has worked in this family office since its formal inception in 2000. Laura led the task to form the Duncan Family’s private trust company, and continues to oversee operations serving as Vice President, Director, and a member of the Audit Committee. The private trust company was chartered in Tennessee in December of 2015.

In addition to her duties in the various Duncan Family entities, Laura serves on the board of the Private Investor Coalition, and has served on the Advisory Committee for the Southeast Family Office Forum.

Laura has an accounting degree from Western Illinois University and lives in Houston, Texas with her husband, two college age, and two high school age children and their 11 year old lab Lexie.

Diane Malarik
Managing Director, COO, Moreland Management Company

Diane Malarik is the COO and Managing Director of Moreland Management Company, a single family office serving four generations of the Leonard C. Horvitz family in Mayfield Heights, Ohio. Diane also serves as Vice President of Laurel Fiduciary Corporation, a private trust company in Jackson, Wyoming.  

Prior to joining Moreland Management Company in 2007, Ms. Malarik worked for IMG, the premier sports marketing firm where she held various senior management positions in Corporate Finance during her 13 year tenure. Before joining IMG, she was an audit manager at PriceWaterhouseCoopers in Cleveland, Ohio.

Ms. Malarik is a CPA and a member of the AICPA and the Ohio Society of CPAs. She received a Bachelor of Science degree in Accounting from Lake Erie College.

Miles Padgett
Partner, Kozusko Harris Vetter Wareh Duncan LLP

Miles Padgett focuses on tax, business and regulatory planning for family offices and their family member clients, tax planning for managers of private equity and other investment funds, and on the chartering and management of private and retail trust companies for highly successful, strategic families and domestic and international financial institutions. Mr. Padgett routinely writes and speaks on the topics of family governance, wealth management, and structuring and regulatory matters.

In addition to being a lawyer, Mr. Padgett spent over 5 years as an investment consultant focusing on asset allocation and manager search and selection.

Mr. Padgett earned a Bachelor of Arts degree, with distinction, from Cornell University and a Juris Doctor degree from Vanderbilt University, where he was a member of the Vanderbilt Journal of Transnational Law.

Bob Puck
Retired President and CEO, WLD Enterprises, a Single Family Office

Until his recent retirement, Robert J. Puck served as President and CEO of a Florida based single family office. Mr. Puck was in the Family Office industry for more than 30 years. During that time, he established and managed two single family offices for investment based families. These offices provided a broad range of services including investment management and advice, trust administration, financial reporting, risk management, foundation management, tax planning and compliance, estate planning, Private Trust Company management, etc. He also has significant experience with family generational transition planning.

Carleen Schreder
Partner/Owner, Levin Schreder & Carey

Carleen focuses her practice on estate tax and income tax planning, working with both U.S. and international clients. She works extensively with families on multiple strategies for wealth transfer while minimizing taxes. She is experienced in the formation and operation of private trust companies to administer trusts for a client’s family and is an officer of two such companies. She advises on charitable planning, including private foundations, charitable trusts, and donor advised funds.

Ms. Schreder has also handled tax controversies, including estate tax and income tax audits and litigation. She works with many clients, particularly in the real estate area, to structure loans, investments, and sales or exchanges in order to maximize the deductibility of available losses, and defer income taxation as appropriate. She represents family owned businesses and helps them with succession planning, governance, and implementation of techniques to minimize gift and estate tax on transferring interests to the next generation.

Ms. Schreder is recognized as a Leading Lawyer in Tax Law as well as Trust, Will, and Estate Planning Law by the Illinois Leading Lawyers Network. In addition to her legal work, she has been recognized by her peers for her community achievements. She was a recipient of the Chicago Bar Foundation’s Maurice Weigle Award as an Outstanding Young Lawyer in Chicago. She has been recognized by Illinois Super Lawyer® in Estate Planning and Probate. Ms. Schreder is active in several social service and support organizations which have included leadership positions with the Chicago Foundation for Women, Chicago Legal Advocacy for Incarcerated Mothers, and Chicago Abused Women Coalition.

David Spohngellert
President, United Continental Corporation

For 30 years, David has worn many hats in his capacity as a family office executive. As a fourth generation family member, he is currently the President of United Continental Corporation (“UCC”) – the service office for his multi-generational extended family. 

David is also President of I J Trust Company, LLC (“IJTC”); a South Dakota private trust company established in 2004.  

UCC and IJTC provide investment, tax, estate planning, risk management, trustee, and other services to third, fourth and fifth generation family members – currently including 100 households.

Prior to joining the family office, David worked for US Trust Company for five years working in a bond fund administration.

David received an MBA in Finance from Fordham University in 1989 and a BA in Economics from Carleton College in 1983.

David lives in New York City with his wife and four sons.

Matt Tobin
COO, Managing Director, and Legal Counsel, South Dakota Trust Company LLC

Matt Tobin is Chief Operating Officer and Managing Director for South Dakota Trust Company LLC in Sioux Falls, South Dakota. His primary responsibilities include business management, legal, risk management, human resources, and public relations/legislation.

Mr. Tobin also serves as President of SDTC Services LLC, which is also located in Sioux Falls, South Dakota. SDTC Services LLC provides consulting services to the non-depository trust company industry. As President, he is primarily responsible for managing the Company’s Private and Public Trust Company client relationships. Mr. Tobin serves as a Board of Director and committee member for several private and public trust companies, and has experience and specialized knowledge in the areas of trust company management, organization, compliance, and fiduciary standards. Mr. Tobin also serves as the Director of the SDTC Foundation, and he is a Board of Director member for the South Dakota Trust Association.

Family Office Exchange Presenters

Sara Hamilton
Founder and CEO, Family Office Exchange

Sara Hamilton is the founder and chief executive officer of Family Office Exchange (FOX). Sara is a recognized visionary and credited with professionalizing the family office industry. Sara founded FOX in 1989 as a peer network for family office executives. Within 10 years, FOX could see that families needed help with their enterprise vision, managing financial transitions, and educating family members on responsible ownership.

Today, Sara provides strategic direction for FOX and leads the development of new programs and services supporting family enterprises, family office executives, and wealth advisory firms in more than 27 countries. FOX has built a unique team of professionals serving multi-generational families, led by 15 technical experts who are supported by a dedicated team of 30 additional employees based in Chicago, New York, San Francisco, Sydney, and Madrid.

Sara is the co-author of Family Legacy and Leadership: Preserving True Family Wealth in Challenging Times. She also serves on the executive education faculty of the University of Chicago Booth School of Business, where she is an adjunct faculty member for their Private Wealth Management course. She is on the founding boards for the International Private Directors Association and the Foundation for Gender Equality.

Ruth Easterling
Managing Director, Member Services, Family Office Exchange

Ruth Easterling is managing director of member services for Family Office Exchange (FOX). In her role, she works with family and advisor members to understand their objectives and provides guidance to help address their unique needs through the resources available at FOX. Ruth also moderates the Private Trust Company Network and works with the team at FOX to develop programming and insights for the Network. Ruth has held multiple roles at FOX including leading FOX member services, supervising the delivery of learning programs, and overseeing marketing to drive the redesign and brand initiatives that differentiate FOX today.

Prior to joining FOX, Ruth worked with the professional services firm Smith, Bucklin & Associates, which provides 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, reengineering membership structures and planning processes to better enable organizations to maximize their potential through efficient governance structures and member participation. In addition, Ruth often consulted with international and national organizations on strategic planning and governance design.

Ruth holds a B.A. degree in Management and Leadership from Judson College.