It was the greatest pleasure to share my perspectives on “Family Office Strategies in a Changing Landscape” at the Global Capital Confluence meeting last week.

By way of context, I first arrived in the Middle East in the mid-80s as a young banker tasked with setting up the investment banking and private banking operations of Chase Manhattan Bank (now known as JPMorgan Chase) in the GCC. My initial role involved meeting as many of the leading local businessmen as possible.

We had the immense privilege of having David Rockefeller as our chairman, and I accompanied him on several trips, especially to Saudi Arabia. Sharing late-night coffee with legendary figures like Suleiman Olayan, Bakr bin Laden, Abdulrahman al-Jeraisy, Khalid bin Mahfouz, and many other legendary merchant family pioneers as well as senior members of the royal family were truly unforgettable experiences.

In those early days practically all family offices focused on highly conservative strategies such as fixed income and real estate. Asset preservation was paramount, driven by the need to protect intergenerational wealth in a potentially economically volatile environment.

Since then, the landscape has changed dramatically. The globalisation of financial markets and the rise of a younger, tech-savvy generation have driven a shift towards more diversified and sophisticated investment strategies.

Today, most of my conversations with family offices often revolve around private equity, venture capital and start-ups. At last week's event, we focused particularly on the growing interest in sectors like gaming, Web3, DeFi and other fintech applications.

As family offices continue to evolve, their role in shaping the Middle East's economic landscape will grow even more significant. The next decade promises exciting growth and transformation, with family offices playing a pivotal role in advancing the region’s goals of innovation and economic diversification.

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