At The Family Business Partnership, we help families plan for the future of the enterprise they share. Our work centres on succession planning and on creating effective governance, helping families shape the structures and plans that will carry their business from one generation to the next.
We work alongside you from the first conversations through to putting those plans into practice, whether that means supporting a family council, coaching the individuals involved, or helping each generation prepare for the role ahead. We do not offer one-size-fits-all advice. Instead, we help you find the path that fits your family, and follow it with clarity and confidence
Start Here
What makes a family business flourish is how well the family behind it communicates, makes decisions and moves forward together.
This short, confidential assessment takes five minutes and gives you an honest picture of how your family is working together today, and where extra attention might help.
There’s no obligation. Whether you decide to work with us or not, you’ll come away with something useful.
The Family Business Partnership
At The Family Business Partnership, we work with families who are successful by most conventional measures, yet recognise that success brings complexity. Decisions carry emotional weight, roles overlap, and the future can feel harder to talk about than it should. It is rarely just a business challenge. It is personal, relational, and ongoing.
Being part of a family enterprise can be meaningful and demanding in equal measure. Questions around identity, role, and contribution often arise when personal ambitions meet family expectations and legacy. This work offers space to gain clarity and confidence, supported by a coach who understands the realities of family business and family wealth.
The Family Business Partnership
We help families and individuals cultivate the conditions that allow them to make better decisions and live more fulfilled lives together.
Our work focuses on three deeply connected elements:
Mindset
Developing clarity, perspective, and the capacity to navigate complexity with calm and confidence.
Behaviour
Supporting healthier ways of working, communicating, and making decisions together, especially when it matters most.
Knowledge
Building shared understanding, practical insight, and the wisdom to apply learning in real life.
When these elements are nurtured together, families are better able to navigate challenge, reduce friction, and move forward with purpose.
Your Team
FOUNDER | Coach | Facilitator | Family Business Adviser
Russ is a specialist adviser, facilitator, and coach working with family businesses and family offices. He has over fifteen years’ experience supporting families as they navigate the relational, strategic, and governance challenges that come from owning and leading together.
His work is grounded in a deep understanding of family dynamics, decision-making, and transition, shaped by a background in financial planning and wealth management. This combination allows him to work comfortably across both commercial and personal dimensions, helping families build clarity, confidence, and alignment over time.
Russ holds the Advanced Certificate in Family Business Advising from the Family Firm Institute, a globally recognised qualification for advisers working with family-owned enterprises. He is known for his thoughtful, plain-speaking approach and for creating the conditions where families can have honest conversations and make well-considered decisions together
ASSOCIATE | Facilitator | Family Business CONSULTANT
Ken is a family business consultant and teacher who has worked with family businesses and family offices since the mid-1990s. His work centres on succession planning and creating effective governance, helping families shape the structures and plans that will carry their enterprise from one generation to the next.
He also supports clients in putting those plans into practice, in some cases chairing the Owners’ or Family Council. Alongside this, he coaches and mentors individuals in family businesses and family offices, and provides education and training for the different generations of enterprising families and for their advisers.
Ken is a lifetime member and former board member of the Family Firm Institute (FFI), and received its Award for Outstanding Interdisciplinary Achievement in 2001. He holds the FFI Advanced Certificate in Family Business Advising and, among other published works, is the author of two family business programmes for the Society of Trust and Estate Practitioners (STEP), a global professional organisation.
ASSOCIATE | Mindfulness Coach | Mentor
Martin is a leading mindfulness teacher and long-time supporter of family businesses. A former director of his own family’s business, he went on to found the Scottish Family Business Association and has spent over 20 years helping others navigate the personal and emotional complexities of business and family life.
He discovered mindfulness in the late 1990s and has since become one of the UK’s most respected teachers, working with everyone from schoolchildren to business leaders. Martin is also an author, poet, and historian, and lives in Hamilton with his wife Christine.
ASSOCIATE | Family Business Adviser
Alec works alongside families in business and supports consultation and facilitation work, closely involved in the thinking, preparation, and conversations that help families navigate complexity and build greater clarity and alignment.
He spent over ten years working in his own family business, where he was closely involved in strengthening governance and clarifying purpose. This work supported a planned and successful sale in 2025 and shaped Alec’s practical understanding of family ownership.
Alec holds the Advanced Certificate in Family Business Advising from the Family Firm Institute.
He joins Martin Stepek as part of the delivery team for The Path. He is especially drawn to how individual and collective purpose meet to shape long-term alignment and success.
Welcome To
Thoughtful conversations exploring life, leadership, and family business
Welcome To
A reflective journey building clarity, confidence, and perspective
Welcome To
Clear, practical guidance for navigating complex family decisions
Blog Posts
Blog Posts
Blog Posts
Blog Posts
Blog Posts
What is a Family Business Adviser? What is a Family Business Adviser? Family businesses carry a level of complexity that most advisers are not equipped
FAQ's
Yes. We work with founder-led businesses, sibling partnerships, multigenerational ownership groups, and everything in between.
Not necessarily. We’ll help identify who needs to be part of the process to move things forward meaningfully and efficiently.
You don’t need to. Our role is to help you navigate disagreement safely and productively.
At times, yes. But we’ll guide you through it with care. The goal is never to force a conversation before it’s ready.
We always begin with a no-pressure conversation. If it turns out we’re not the right fit, we’ll help you find someone who is.
That depends on where you’re starting from, but most families come away with greater clarity, stronger relationships, and a more confident approach to decision-making.
There’s no one-size-fits-all answer. Some families need a few focused sessions, others choose to work together over several months. We’ll shape the process around what’s most useful for you.
The Family Business Partnership
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