Family Governance Workshops

Learning Through Real Governance Decisions

Built around real family governance case studies, our workshops create a structured environment for exploring complex decisions before facing them in practice.

Our Approach

The workshop methodology was developed through Dr Nicholas Schwarz‘s research and advisory work in family governance and succession. It combines three complementary elements: 

The approach combines three elements.

  1. First, participants analyse real governance decisions made by family businesses facing succession, ownership, and leadership challenges.
  2. Second, these discussions are connected to practical governance frameworks developed by The Cecily Group, including the Four Abundances and the Family Council Canvas.
  3. Finally, participants return to their own family or organisation through structured reflection exercises that connect the case studies to their current governance questions.

The objective is to understand which structure protects which priorities, and what compromises every governance decision inevitably creates.

Dr. Nicholas Schwarz

Nicholas is the founder and CEO of The Cecily Group, a family governance consultancy with offices in Vienna. He works with ultra-high-net-worth families across Europe on governance design, reporting oversight, and the structural problems that sit between families and their advisors.

His doctoral research at SDA Bocconi examined how information asymmetries between family offices and external advisors shape trust and decision-making. The findings informed both a maturity model for family governance now being developed as a book and the Family Council Canvas, a platform that gives advisors and families a shared structure for governance conversations.

Learn more about The Cecily Group.

Follow Nicholas on LinkedIn.

A Governance Framework Anchored in Science

Family governance rarely fails due to a lack of intelligence or experience. More often, it becomes difficult when different perspectives, interests, and time horizons are not made explicit.

The Family Council Canvas was developed by Dr Nicholas Schwarz and his team at The Cecily Group as a way to bring structure to these situations. Nicholas‘s doctoral research focused on information asymmetry in family office relationships, specifically examining how differences in knowledge, expectations, and communication influence outcomes. This research led to a practical question:

What would governance discussions look like if families could clearly understand their situation and align around a shared purpose?

Across more than two decades of advising family offices and private clients, Nicholas has worked closely with families facing questions around succession, control, and long-term direction. Again and again, similar patterns emerge: decisions are based on implicit expectations, conversations circle without resolution, and tensions remain unarticulated.

The Family Council Canvas provides a structured way to surface assumptions, articulate concerns and aspirations, and support more deliberate decisions.

Working Through Governance Decisions

This session is designed as a working discussion among a small group of participants. Rather than presenting solutions, it offers a way of thinking.

Our sessions are designed as a working discussion among a small group of participants. Rather than presenting solutions, they introduce ways to examine governance decisions and understand their long-term consequences from a broader perspective.

Participants work through case studies of established family enterprises, focusing on:

  • how governance tensions arise
  • how structural choices influence long-term outcomes
  • how comparable patterns arise across families with different structures and backgrounds

The emphasis is on how different governance approaches influence outcomes, and how they can be aligned with the family’s central purpose.

The Perspectives You Will Gain

    • A clearer view of how governance tensions form and evolve
    • A structured approach to analysing complex family decisions
    • Greater awareness of how assumptions shape outcomes
    • Insight into how other families approach similar challenges
    • The opportunity to test your thinking in a focused peer setting

Our Next Session

Two Mediterranean Dynasties, Two Paths to Permanence

Malta, June 2026

Drawing on the Ferragamo family’s disciplined approach to ownership and leadership, alongside the contrasting legacies of Onassis and Niarchos, participants work through real governance decisions in small groups.

Through guided exercises, participants:

  • analyse how ownership structures shaped control and continuity
  • examine key decision points around succession, leadership, and family involvement
  • assess how different governance choices influenced long-term outcomes

This exercise allows participants to evaluate different governance choices and consider their trade-offs in a structured way.

Request to Join

This workshop is held in a small-group format to allow for depth of discussion and exchange.

Attendance is limited.

If you would like to take part, please let us know by completing the form below or contacting us directly at nicholas@thececilygroup.com.