Women leading their family offices face daunting challenges, from managing generational enterprises to raising responsible inheritors of family wealth. They often deal with these pressures in isolation, given the unique nature of their affluent circumstances and with few peers who have similar experiences.
When four such women got together two years ago to compare notes, they realized they are not alone—and they pledged to expand the conversation to others like them.
The group created Women Shaping Wealth, a private organization that provides retreats designed to support and inspire women who are connected to family wealth, family enterprises and family offices.
“We are creating a community for these women to have healthy conversations in a safe, private space,” says Carolyn Cole, founder and CEO of Cole & Associates, a family office strategy and design firm based in Vancouver and Toronto. She started Women Shaping Wealth along with Kim Collins, founder of Collins Capital, based in Vancouver and Edmonton; Shelby McDonald, vice-president of operations of Waltmar Capital in Toronto; and Olive Ojala, president of WPW Management in Kitchener-Waterloo, Ont.
Cole introduced Collins, McDonald and Ojala in 2023, recognizing they were all stewarding their family’s wealth while raising young children and thinking they might benefit from connecting. “They came back to me and said, ‘We’d like to meet more women like us, to create a community,’ and they suggested we hold retreats,” Cole recalls.
Participants in Women Shaping Wealth are from some of the most affluent families in the country, says Cole.
“These are women who don’t have a confidential space and place to connect and ask questions of a similar peer group around private matters regarding themselves as women, the wealth that they have either created or are stewarding, and how they are raising their inheritors.”
McDonald says the goal is to foster creativity, networking and relationships. She remembers the decision to hold invitation-only retreats came from the desire to establish “a safe platform to share ideas” and speak freely in the company of like-minded women.
Ojala, who is relatively new to the family-office space, says the organization has helped her “find commonalities with others and share some challenges, especially when it comes to the family dynamics that we deal with on a day-to-day basis.”
It’s refreshing, supportive and inspiring to be part of the wider Women Shaping Wealth community, which also has a mentorship element, given the broad range of experience among participants, Ojala notes. “I’m learning so much in talking to others who have done such amazing things and seeing all the things that everyone’s able to juggle and accomplish.”
Women are often reluctant to set aside time to decompress, instead focusing on productivity and discounting the need for enjoyment, the co-founders realized. They pledged to change that pattern, with a vision to bring women together to relax, connect, learn to tackle common issues—and have fun.
We are very educated women. We don’t need another conference, we need to have a little fun and make organic relationships.
Kim Collins, Collins Capital
Each of the four has taken on different roles in establishing and running Women Shaping Wealth based on her strengths, from incorporating the organization as a nonprofit to networking and marketing as well as attracting sponsorships to support it.
The primary financial sponsor is Collins’s family office, Collins Capital. Funds and banks have taken interest in sponsoring the retreats, Collins says, because “this is a cohort that’s hard to get to.” The group has made the decision to limit sponsorship to companies like hers, because, “I’m not looking to sell anything.”
The first of the retreats was held in Victoria in November of 2024, with participation capped at 45 women, who came together largely by word of mouth. The theme of the event was “Connection,” with topics that ranged from finding work-life balance to people’s relationships with money.
The next retreat will be in November in Quebec City, with plans for 55 attendees and a theme of “Rest to Rise.” Activities will include talks by guest speakers, group conversations, workshops, dinners, cocktail receptions and lots of downtime for the women to digest the information and connect, Cole says. The cohort is mostly Canadian, with some participation from the United States and United Kingdom.
The organization also holds small private dinners in various cities, where invitees can have “dynamic conversations about things that are less comfortable to discuss in public,” Cole says. “For example, it’s not comfortable to say to your friends who do not have significant affluence that you’re worried about your children being targeted because of their wealth. It’s not comfortable to talk about people who’ve married into the family and perhaps don’t fit into its culture.”
The events “have been incredibly rewarding for the women who’ve attended,” Cole says, noting that much of the information discussed is personal and confidential, so attendees are reminded to use their discretion before sharing what they learn.
McDonald says the first retreat helped her to “expand my own network and find other amazing women to connect with and learn from.”
Ojala found the retreat ideal for networking, given its small size. “Rather than stepping into a larger conference where you have to get the conversation going and establish relationships, you feel like you can talk right away about whatever is going on with you,” she says.
These are women who don’t have a confidential space and place to connect and ask questions of a similar peer group around private matters.
Carolyn Cole, Cole & Associates
On a larger scale, “knowing that there are like-minded women out there doing similar things—big things—feels special and kind of exciting to be involved in,” Ojala adds.
Collins says the retreat “leaves room for a little bit of magic,” especially given the diversity of participants. “Wonderful things have come out of it,” she says. “Women are now doing business together, and friendships have formed.”
She thinks the organization and its events could result in a sizable outcome.
“These women are all involved with large amounts of money, and that has the potential to influence the way business is done,” she says. “This could possibly impact ourselves, our community and the world. There’s a huge generational wealth transfer, and it’s going to go to a lot of women in the next 10 years, so why not prepare each other and support each other?”
Cole cautions that Women Shaping Wealth is not about wealth management in the traditional sense, and although it has educational components, there are no products or services to be sold. “This is a non-solicitation, non-sales environment.”
Many attending the retreat are successful investors, and they own multiple businesses as well. “We’ve had several investment deals happen between women, but that’s not why this was created,” Cole says.
She adds that even the purely social side of the retreats has purpose.
“These are not socialites, these are real women making a difference in their daily lives. They have the responsibility—and, dare I say, the burden—of stewarding their wealth in a healthy way for the rising generations,” she says.
The primary benefit for participants is the awareness that there are women out there facing the same challenges, Cole adds. “Women are responsible for well over 50 per cent of the household financial decisions, and in short order they will own more actual wealth assets than men.”
Collins notes that at the retreats “there are some established powerhouse women in the room, and we can learn a ton from them.” The biggest benefit is building connections, she adds.
“We are very educated women. We don’t need another conference, we need to have a little fun and make organic relationships.”
McDonald says she’s making “connections with people that are relatable for me and will continue to be in the years to come. … Conversations that I never thought I would have had are happening, and it’s something really fun to be a part of.”
She says Women Shaping Wealth already has grown beyond what the four founders envisioned. “Our hope would be to have a lasting impact and impression on people for the better.”
She would like to see the retreats have different cohorts—for instance, that are location-based, “but we still want to keep the intimacy, where everyone feels like they’re part of something, versus just attending something.”
Collins would like to see Women Shaping Wealth extend beyond Canada.
“I hope it continues to expand organically and slowly, but it’s a quickly changing world, and this is a way for women to connect, to mutually benefit from knowing each other and support each other,” she says.
“I would love to see this go international, but I also love what we’re doing today.”
Mary Gooderham is a writer, editor and communication advisor based in Ottawa. She leads Cohen Gooderham Communications and has worked as a journalist for more than 40 years at The Globe and Mail, as a recording officer at the International Monetary Fund and as a custom content creator for online and print media. She’s been a contributing writer at Canadian Family Offices for four years, focusing on investment strategy, trusts, philanthropy, women in finance and estate planning.
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