Following the success of the Masterclass on Family Office Designs in April, Cambridge Forums has scheduled two additional education events. The first, “Cambridge Masterclass for Senior Advisors: Collaborating with an Evolving Family Enterprise,” runs from Nov. 11 to 13, 2026. Next year, the “Masterclass on Family Office Designs” returns from Feb. 8 to 11. Both will be held in Niagara-on-the-Lake, Ont.
“We had 12 families join us [last] April,” says Mike Howe, director, family office learning programs, for Cambridge Forums. “They said to us overwhelmingly that it would be great if their advisors had a program like this to see how the family enterprise and family office evolve over time so advisors could better meet their needs along this evolutionary path.”
The result, Howe adds, is the Masterclass for Senior Advisors, “designed in collaboration with the UHNW Institute to enable experienced professionals advising ultra-high-net-worth families and their family enterprises to engage on the complex challenges they face with their clients.”
Educating advisors at different stages of family office growth
The advisor Masterclass was developed and will be led by:
- Dr. Jim Grubman, an internationally recognized advisor to families of wealth and family enterprises, with expertise in multi-generational wealth dynamics and advisory practices, and a senior leader in the UHNW Institute.
- Stefan O. Erasmus, a Calgary-based former family office CEO who spent more than 13 years leading a single-family office for an ultra-high-net-worth family, overseeing governance, the preparation of a rising generation, family transitions, strategic financial planning, philanthropy and personal affairs.
- Tom McCullough, co-founder of Northwood Family Office and partner at Corient, who works closely with families of wealth on governance, investing and long-term planning. He’s also head of Thought Leadership and Strategy and a board member at the UHNW Institute.
The Masterclass follows the timeline of a family enterprise through three phases of evolution: Phase 1 is about working with an early-stage family and family office; Phase 2 is about supporting an established family enterprise; Phase 3 involves the special considerations for advanced-stage family enterprises.
For advisors, transitions from one phase to the next can be especially challenging. Addressing them successfully often involves difficult conversations and deep strategic thinking, as advisors look to preserve the personal relationships they’ve developed over the years.
“What makes this Masterclass different is that participants experience the family’s evolution in real time,” Howe says. “As a family’s wealth grows, the family and its complexity grows with it, and by the advanced stage you may have 40, 50 or more members. Along the way, the program looks at how advisors adapt to that growth, to a family that may fracture and split, or to stepping into an enterprise where they don’t yet know the people.”
A return engagement for the Masterclass on Family Office Designs
The Masterclass on Family Office Designs returns with McCullough and two other presenters: Judi Cunningham, founder of the Trella Advisory Group, the Business Families Centre at UBC Sauder School of Business, and the Family Enterprise Advisor program; and Devin DeCiantis, managing partner, LGA and teacher, Family Enterprise, at Harvard Business School and the Kellogg School of Management’s John L. Ward Center for Family Enterprises.
“Attendees at the April event told us they really appreciated the holistic view and self-analysis of their needs when it comes to structuring, evolving or educating the next generation,” Howe says. “Several participants said they would consider returning with additional family members, so we’re excited to do the second edition.”
Small classes and a collegial, safe environment are hallmarks of Cambridge’s approach to its Masterclasses. Howe says they are committed to restricting attendance to no more than 24 individuals for each session, and the venue is carefully selected to maintain attendees’ privacy. The result is a mix of instruction and networking that one attendee at the April 2026 Masterclass described as “an intimate group setting” that “allowed for … holistic conversations that went both deep and wide.”
“What makes these classes successful is the small nature of the groups,” Howe explains. “We want to maximize interactions with the faculty and with the other participants, encouraging the development of relationships that will continue beyond the Masterclass.”
Peter Kenter is a Toronto-based writer with a deep and abiding interest in how everything in the world works and how it got that way. He’s written about the economy, investing, financial services, cryptocurrency, pharmaceuticals, mining, energy, cannabis, agriculture, consumer electronics, education, sponsorship marketing, and entertainment. He’s the author of TV North: Everything You Wanted to Know About Canadian Television.
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