The path to advising families on governance, succession, and long-term wealth is rarely linear. In this Q&A, Chad Phillips, Business Development Director at Suntera Global, reflects on a career shaped by military service, family enterprise, and hands-on asset management, experiences that inform his practical approach to family office and long-term fiduciary advisory.
Forged by Responsibility
My career did not begin in finance. After serving in the Parachute Regiment, I was fortunate to join the construction and civil engineering business founded by my grandfather. During this time, I studied hard whilst working long hours, qualifying as a construction and civil engineering professional and developing both technical expertise and commercial insight.
With my grandfather retired, I learned the business alongside my uncle and, with his guidance, gained hands-on experience across operations, project planning, team leadership, budget control, and the delivery of complex projects under sustained pressure. These disciplines became the foundation of my own business practices. The industry demanded discipline, accountability, and foresight because mistakes were visible, costly, and generally unforgiving.
These early years shaped my approach to effective risk management, responsibility, and decisive leadership, skills that later proved essential in advising families through fiduciary and family office structures.
A Career Reengineered
My transition into the finance and fiduciary sector was driven by broader changes in South Africa after 1994. I made the decision to leave the family business in capable hands of my uncle to continue building my career overseas with a Dutch listed civil engineering firm based in the UK.
During this time, I reconnected with a former school friend who was the CEO of an offshore finance company. He offered me a role managing property and construction interests for several high‑net‑worth families. The role quickly expanded to overseeing multiple complex structures for both high and ultra‑high‑net‑worth clients involved in the oil and gas, construction and real estate industries.
A condition of taking on this responsibility was obtaining my STEP diploma and fiduciary training. That requirement became a turning point. Through STEP, I was able to gain a deep understanding of trust law, governance, fiduciary responsibility, succession planning, and cross‑border structuring. This blend of practical asset experience and formal fiduciary training laid the foundation of my career in the offshore trust and family office sector, where I have spent nearly 20 years advising families on wealth preservation and long‑term legacy.
When Families Need an Adviser Most
Families usually approach me during moments of transition. Structures may no longer work as intended, or they are planning succession, revising governance, or protecting assets across generations, often all at once. Many families are international, with members spread across jurisdictions. This creates legal, tax, and regulatory complexity. My role is to bring clarity and design structures that are practical, resilient, and adaptable.
Attitudes to risk and responsibility vary widely, so governance must be tailored. Well‑designed trusts, mandates, and fiduciary controls preserve wealth and guide responsible decision making across generations.
To support families through these challenges, my approach is practical and structured. Strong governance sits at the centre, with regular meetings, clear reporting, and documented processes that ensure continuity and shared understanding, and knowledge that is not held by any one individual.
Transparency is essential across advisers and generations. I favour proven systems and tools instead of bespoke solutions that are costly, complex, and difficult to scale.
Every successful family office also needs a clear purpose. Families must understand why the office exists, what it is responsible for, and what long‑term success looks like. Once this foundation is set, the priority becomes building a strong and trusted professional network.
Partnering with Trusted Professionals
The right network depends on assets, geography, and long‑term plans, but what matters most is experience, relevance, and alignment. Advisers are core infrastructure, not optional additions, and cutting corners here almost always creates greater cost and risk later, especially in cross‑border situations.
A family office needs coordinated legal, tax, investment, and fiduciary advice, often across multiple jurisdictions. Building and maintaining this team is one of the most consistent challenges families face. When coordination fails, the result is inefficiency, unnecessary expense, and poor decision making. Clear communication is essential, particularly when cultural and regional differences shape decision making, and much of my role involves translating complex legal and technical issues into practical guidance.
Change is constant. Families relocate, laws evolve, and regulatory environments shift, so structures that work today may need adjustment tomorrow. Regular review and forward planning are essential, and they only work when the right professionals are in place.
As family offices grow in complexity, more families are involving the next generation in governance roles, supported by training to ensure they understand their responsibilities. This strengthens trust and long‑term engagement. I have seen many families prefer family office structures because they offer greater control, visibility, and flexibility, and can be tailored to the family’s values and dynamics.
Leadership Under Pressure
My leadership style was shaped in environments where clarity, accountability, and preparation mattered. Leading teams under pressure taught me the value of preparation, defined roles, and surrounding yourself with capable people. These principles carry directly into fiduciary work, where anticipating risk and acting decisively are essential. A defining moment in my career involved supporting a founder as he prepared to hand control of the business to his eldest son and helping him explain this decision to the rest of his children. The children were close in age and all academically strong, which made the decision particularly sensitive. Differences in values, risk appetite, and expectations quickly surfaced, and guiding the family through this reinforced for me the importance of structured dialogue, independent oversight, and empathy in generational transition.
Balance outside work matters too. Time with my family and by the sea provides perspective and grounding. Surfing, a constant throughout my life and now something I share with my children, encourages patience, humility, and presence. These qualities align closely with responsible stewardship. The openness within my own family mirrors the principles I apply professionally: trust, transparency, and long‑term continuity.
The Future of Family Offices
Every family has natural strengths. Long‑term success comes from combining that experience with sound planning, professional governance, and informed advice. In a world shaped by geopolitical and regulatory uncertainty, decisions must be thoughtful and supported by advisers with the right expertise. What matters most is building structures and relationships that endure, so families can focus on what truly lasts across generations.
If this resonates with your own family’s journey or has prompted you to think differently about generational wealth, my door is always open for an honest conversation about how the team at Suntera and I can help you build a resilient path forward together.
Please contact Chad at chad.phillips@suntera.com for further discussion. https://www.suntera.com/chad-phillips