Navigating Wealth 160-Year-Old Family Office ft. Ilka Gregory | Navigating Wealth
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Jan 28, 2026 Ilka Gregory, President and CEO of a seventh-generation single family office (founded 1866) with two decades at top firms. She unpacks what a family office is and when to start one. Short takes on managing wealth across generations, involving spouses and stepchildren in governance, preparing heirs without smothering them, tax-driven domicile moves, and how offices source and steward investments.
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Build For Control, Not A Magic Number
- Consider building a family office for control and to engage future generations rather than a fixed net-worth threshold.
- Ilka Gregory advises weighing operational costs against the desire for centralized governance and talent retention.
Beneficiary Choice And Office Neutrality
- Adult beneficiaries can choose to remove assets held in trust, but most retain family office management after seeing past success.
- The office remains indifferent and aims to serve each member's best financial preferences.
Nine-Month Leadership Hire
- Ilka describes her nine-month hiring process where candid conversations led to alignment and eventual transition to president.
- She highlights long, relationship-driven searches and the role of trust and timing in hiring family office leaders.