Function · Family office investment leadership
Family office CIO search where capital, purpose and trust converge.
Confidential search for Chief Investment Officers and senior investment leaders serving single family offices, private investment offices and UHNW principals.
The appointment
A family-office CIO is responsible for more than performance. The role translates a family’s objectives, time horizon, risk appetite and values into an investable strategy; builds governance around decision-making; and creates an investment capability that can endure across generations.
The organisations
Single family offices, multi-family offices, private investment companies, UHNW principals, family-owned operating groups and newly established investment offices.
Leadership briefs
- Chief Investment Officer and Deputy CIO
- Investment Director and Head of Investments
- Public and private markets leadership
- Direct investment and private equity leadership
- Real estate and alternatives leadership
- Investment operations, risk and portfolio analytics
Reading the field
We assess investment judgement, governance, communication with principals and the ability to operate without institutional theatre. Relevant experience may come from family offices, endowments, sovereign investors, asset managers, private banks or direct investment platforms, depending on the mandate.
Questions behind the brief
- What should be managed internally and externally?
- How will authority be shared with principals and an investment committee?
- Does the office need an allocator, direct investor or capability builder?
- What succession and governance will protect continuity?
How we conduct a retained search
A longlist is not an answer. The work is to define the change the appointment must deliver, establish where credible leaders may be found and distinguish reputation from evidence. Luxury Executive works on an exclusive retained basis, with senior attention from the first market hypothesis to the final negotiation.
- Define the decision: agree the business outcome, governance and constraints.
- Build the field: examine direct, adjacent and international talent markets.
- Engage with discretion: approach people chosen for the brief, not simply those looking for a role.
- Test the evidence: assess judgement, achievement, motivation and context.
- Stay through appointment: advise on selection, references, negotiation and transition.
Practical questions
How is the engagement structured?
Board and C-suite searches are accepted on an exclusive retained basis. The mandate covers research, market mapping, confidential approach, assessment, referencing and advice through appointment.
Will the search extend beyond luxury?
Where the brief calls for it. We consider relevant leaders in consumer, hospitality, technology, financial services and investment, then test whether their experience will travel. Adjacency is useful only when the evidence is convincing.
Can the work be international?
Yes. Luxury Executive is headquartered in London and conducts cross-border assignments across Europe, the Americas, the Middle East and Asia-Pacific.
What is the first step?
A confidential client enquiry or a call to the London office. We will discuss the decision, timing and whether search, succession advice or market intelligence is the right starting point.
The right search begins with a better brief.
Tell us about the appointment, the ownership context and what must change.
Brief a confidential search