Prepared Exclusively for FFI Members
Announcing the 2025 FFI Global Conference, October 29–31
March 28, 2025
T
oday we are pleased to announce the program for the 2025 Global Conference, “Where Legacies Meet Innovations.” The 2025 conference will be held at the Marriott Long Wharf from October 29 to 31. Suffolk University Law School is joining us as the 2025 Academic Host.
The program has been designed by the 2025 Conference Program Committee, co-chaired by FFI Fellow Dennis Jaffe and Karen Dillon from BanyanGlobal Family Business Advisors.
Please join this global community of thought leaders to learn, reflect, and engage as together we explore the intersection of legacies with innovations in an iconic Boston setting.
Presenters and program subject to change.
The 2025 program has “something for everyone”—new topics, new presenters, new members. Below we have highlighted some of the first-time presenters at the 2025 FFI Conference—new to the conference but experienced in the family enterprise field.
Thursday, October 30
New Presenters This Year
- Maggi Alexander, TPI
- Balancing Legacy and New Generations in Family Philanthropy
- Jessica McGawley, Dallington
- A New Playbook for Advisors: Rising Gen, Rising Challenges
- Tommy Phun, Pyxis Maritime Pte. Ltd.
- Pioneering Sustainable Maritime Solutions: The Pyxis Story
- Christopher Smart, Arbroath Group
- All Geopolitics Is Local: A Brief Guide to the Rest of the Decade for Family Offices and Their Advisors
- Mitchell Spearman, Gifts of a Lifetime, LLC
- Igniting Engagement: Strategies for Transformational Family Learning

Maggi Alexander
TPI

Jessica McGawley
Dallington

Tommy Phun
Pyxis Maritime Pte. Ltd.

Christopher Smart
Arbroath Group

Mitchell Spearman
Gifts of a Lifetime, LLC
Friday, October 31
New Presenters This Year
- Basma Al Zamil, Lansberg Gersick Advisors
- A Sustainable Legacy: A Case Study of the Al Zamil Family
- Maryann Bell, Wingspan Legacy Partners
- Confronting the Unspoken: How Difficult Conversations Foster Governance, Innovation, and Legacy in Family Enterprises
- Dennis Oteng, Venture Raven
- Africa: Where Tribalism, Faith, Caste, and Innovation Conjoin
- Johannes Rettig, PwC
- The Dual Imperative: Balancing Legacy and Innovation in Family Office Investments
- Kristina von Trapp Frame and Walter Frame, von Trapp Family Lodge
- How Do You Solve A Problem Like Succession? The von Trapp Family’s Journey from “The Sound of Music” to Microbrewing and Frisbee Golf

Basma Al Zamil
Lansberg Gersick Advisors

Maryann Bell
Wingspan Legacy Partners

Dennis Oteng
Venture Raven

Johannes Rettig
PwC

Kristina von Trapp Frame
von Trapp Family Lodge

Walter Frame
von Trapp Family Lodge
Joining the first-time presenters are more than 30 seasoned presenters—all in all, 55+ presenters and 30+ breakout sessions over two days. Together with the attendees, they will provide insights, theories and models, inspiration, and much more at the 2025 conference.
Please note that the pre-conference sessions, plenary, keynotes, and social events will be announced later this spring.
MANY THANKS TO THE 2025 FFI CONFERENCE PROGRAM COMMITTEE
Karen Dillon (co-chair), BanyanGlobal Family Business Advisors
Francesca Ambrosini, PwC
Patricia Annino, Rimôn Law
Doutzen Groothof, Nomadic School of Business
Anouk Lavoie, IMD Global Family Business Center
Timothy McGuire, Pentacle AS
Dennis Oteng, Venture Raven
Deadline for Academic Awards Submission is April 1
Submissions for the 2025 FFI Academic Awards are due April 1. These awards recognize outstanding contributions to family enterprise research. Submit your work for consideration, and share this opportunity with your colleagues!

APR
1
1
Deadline for Best Doctoral Dissertation Award Submissions
Learn More and Submit
Learn More and Submit
Deadline for Best Unpublished Research Paper Award Submissions
Learn More and Submit
APR
13
13
Deadline to Submit Suggestions for Board Nominations
Submit a Nomination
Submit a Nomination
MAY
1
1
Deadline for FFI GEN Scholarship Applications
Learn More and Apply
Learn More and Apply
FFI Achievement Award Nominations
Learn More and Submit
MAY
15
15
Enrollment Deadline for Q2 2025 GEN Certificate Programs
Learn More and Enroll
Learn More and Enroll
© 2025 Family Firm Institute