FEA designation brings spark to Krista Han’s work with business families

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Since 2014, the Family Enterprise Advisor designation has been Canada’s gold standard for professionals who work with wealthy people and their families. We decided to ask advisors in various fields who have earned the designation to tell us what it has brought to their practice and how it has influenced their careers.

Krista Han is managing partner for New Brunswick with Grant Thornton LLP. She has been with the firm for more than 20 years, including about 13 in Toronto and two on secondment to Australia.

Today, she manages a province-wide team of professionals who advise family businesses on such matters as succession, governance, communication and conflict resolution.

“When I was very young, I always had a dream of being an accountant,” she says. “I knew that you could very freely move and work around the world, and I had my heart set on Australia. While in Australia, I met the man who’s now my husband. Best souvenir of all time!”

In New Brunswick, she works with privately held businesses, which in many cases have roots in family businesses, she says.

“We talk all the time about the idea that if you are a partner with our firm, that is a privilege and a responsibility. You have the privilege of being in the room for conversations that matter and helping colleagues or clients navigate exceptional challenges or exciting opportunities,” she says. “The responsibility piece is how I feel responsibility as a professional to create the right environment for my clients to be successful. There’s nothing more meaningful than helping someone with something that is very important for them.”

What first led you to earn your FEA designation?

“When I was developing in my career, I had a lot of opportunities to meet with business families. I would often have the senior generation and the next generation in the room, and I sensed that there were either things left unsaid or not a clear path on how to move forward.

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“I had a conversation with one of my colleagues who had an FEA designation, and when he shared with me what he had learned, I was so impressed that I decided to get mine. I went in thinking that I would be better at serving family businesses because I would have more tools and knowledge, but the truth is I got so very much more. Our firm has almost 30 FEAs across the country, because we feel so strongly about what we can offer to business families.”

What advantages has your FEA status given you?

“Access to a community of FEAs and families. And the reason that’s so good is that if you think about people who are reaching out to get help with their business and professionals from all backgrounds – lawyers, accountants, and so on – that’s a community! You’re getting access to absolute top-notch business people and practitioners. Whenever you get a group of people who are driving to learn and do their best, that’s a fun community to belong to.”

Any unexpected discoveries?

“Learning more about business families means learning more about families, business and governance, and all of those things can really help in your own life. For example, it has led to really great communication with my own parents and siblings about the future. A second example is that my husband and I run our own Han-family AGM (annual general meeting), and we teach our children about financial literacy. (We let the kids pick the snacks of their choice, and when they were really young, that was the draw.)

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“I’ve had the privilege – it’s been a real gift – to have been a sounding board for so many people: for clients, friends, family members. I’ll often get a call when someone needs a little bit of direction. In terms of just joy in my everyday work with families, because it’s very rewarding.”

“I thought it was going to be good, but I didn’t know how good!

Administered by Family Enterprise Canada, the FEA (Family Enterprise Advisor) designation is increasingly recognized across the country. It identifies advisors with expertise in family business and significant technical knowledge in a related field. The program, which costs $16,995 plus tax, consists of six modules and a capstone team project. More than 450 professionals have earned the designation.

• Previously profiled in this series: Barb Schimnowsky, a specialist in executive search in Vancouver who today sets up CEOs for success in family businesses.