June 12, 2026

Congratulations to the 2026 Achievement Award Recipients

Richard Beckhard Practice Award

Maya Prabhu is a managing director for the UK Domestic and Crown Dependencies business at J.P. Morgan Private Bank. In her role, she leads a team of client advisors dedicated to helping clients define their wealth purpose and achieve their goals. Her team offers comprehensive support, from thought leadership and wealth planning to banking, investing, lending, philanthropy, and family governance. Maya is responsible for driving the strategy and growth of the Private Bank’s presence across the UK.

With nearly two decades of experience as a trusted advisor to wealthy individuals and families across the UK, Europe, the Middle East, and Asia, she brings deep expertise in family governance (processes for developing culture, teamwork and communication), next-generation engagement, family office creation, and rewarding philanthropy strategies. She is a member of the teaching faculty for the FFI GEN program and for the Society of Trust and Estate Practitioner’s Diploma Certificate in Private Client Advising.

From the Nomination:

Maya Prabhu exemplifies the qualities recognized by the Richard Beckhard Practice Award through her extensive advisory experience, dedication to disseminating knowledge, and leadership within FFI. She has an extensive history in the field of family enterprise spanning over 20 years. As a faculty member for the GEN course dedicated to philanthropy (GEN 504), she teaches many advisors about the importance of philanthropy and sharing her experiences, tools, methodologies, and insights to help make each practitioner more effective in their work with families around the world. She also made considerable contributions to FFI’s 2086 Society, which helped to fund research grants for studies on professionalizing the family business. Through serving on the FFI board and the executive committee, Maya has made an immense impact to the organization and its future.

Barbara Hollander Award

Fabian Bernhard, PhD, is a full professor of family business management and psychology at EDHEC Business School. He is a research fellow for family business at the University of Mannheim and for psychology at the University of Frankfurt in Germany. Raised in a multigenerational entrepreneurial family, Fabian brings both personal experience and academic expertise to his field. Prior to his academic career, he worked in mergers and acquisitions (M&A) at a leading financial advisory firm in New York. In his academic work he specializes in the emotional dynamics in businesses, the preparation of next generational leaders, and the psychological attachment to family businesses. His research has been widely published in academic journals, practitioner outlets, and public media.

Fabian is a recipient of several FFI honors and awards for his work on family businesses, such as the honorable mentions for best dissertation and for the best unpublished research. Since 2014 he has been serving on the editorial boards of the Family Business Review (FBR) and the Journal of Family Business Strategy (JFBS). From 2017 to 2021, he was a member of the FFI board of directors.

From the Nomination:

Fabian Bernhard has built a distinguished track record in researching and educating family businesses and their subsystems, intergenerational dynamics, and the broader societal impact of family-owned enterprises. His contributions to the field span rigorous academic research, public media articles, and impactful teaching. Fabian has educated and advised family business members, next-generation leaders, and scholars on what sustains and unites large family firms over time. With two PhDs (one in Business Management and another in Psychology) he is able to offer a rare and valuable perspective on both the business and emotional dimensions of family enterprises. Over the past fifteen years, Fabian’s work has helped shape and define the field of family business education and research.

Interdisciplinary Award

Torsten Pieper, PhD, is associate professor of management in the Belk College of Business at the University of North Carolina (UNC) at Charlotte, USA. Before joining UNC Charlotte, he was an associate professor at Kennesaw State University, where he was academic director of the Doctor of Business Administration Program and research director for the Cox Family Enterprise Center. Torsten is president and chairman of the board of the International Family Enterprise Research Academy (IFERA) and is editor-in-chief of the Journal of Family Business Strategy (JFBS).

An author of numerous articles and books on family business, Torsten is a frequent speaker to professional and industry associations on the topics of family business cohesion, strategy, and governance. Apart from his academic work, he is an advisor with Generation6 Consulting, helping families in business leverage their entrepreneurial capabilities to sustain growth and continuity across generations.

From the Nomination:

Torsten Pieper has not only made a significant contribution to research in the field, including on multi-generational factors of success, but he is also a practicing advisor with Generation6. Growing up in a multinational family business involved with the manufacturing of building materials in Germany, Torsten has experienced firsthand the many aspects of operating a family enterprise that spans borders, languages, and generations.

International Award

Asher Noor brings over two decades of professional experience serving ultra-high-net-worth families, and family offices across multiple continents. He is the founder and CEO of his private family office, Odyssey SFO, based in Melbourne, Australia. Historically Asher has been a buy-side, global private equity and public equity investing professional, with portfolio construction, risk and asset management, and family office advisory domain expertise. His current focus is on portfolio management, family office advisory, facilitating legal and financial due diligence, and advising on succession and structuring family offices for private clients.

He is the former chairman of the STEP SIG on Business Families and was on the editorial board of the STEP Journal. Asher is a former member of the FFI GEN faculty and was on the FFI board of directors from 2017 to 2021. He is a chartered accountant and received his MBA from EDHEC Business School. He recently released his book The Sherpa of Wealth, and he has contributed articles to FFI Practitioner, as well as book chapters and articles to other publications.

From the Nomination:

Asher has dedicated his career to furthering the understanding of international and cross-cultural dynamics in multigenerational family enterprise. His work directly addresses critical international issues including the challenges of diaspora families managing wealth across jurisdictions; the integration of immigrant family values into Western business structures; the preservation of cultural identity while adapting to global markets; and the development of governance frameworks that respect diverse cultural norms while meeting international regulatory standards. Asher has created global networks connecting family offices, advisors, and family enterprises across the globe, fostering dialogue and knowledge exchange that transcends cultural and geographical boundaries.

Thank You to the 2026 Achievement Awards Committee

Daniela Montemerlo, chair
Edith Ang
Christine Blondel
Denise Federer
Lisa Morel
Preston Root
Albert Jan Thomassen