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In this series of articles, we sit down with Victus Search consultants to talk about the sectors they know best: what’s changing, what clients and candidates need to know, and what makes a placement work.
As governance in the family office sector evolves, searches span more jurisdictions, and clients increasingly look to their recruitment partner for advice rather than just candidates, the role of a specialist recruitment consultant has evolved. We spoke with Christopher Costi, Director at Victus Search, about the changes he’s seen firsthand, and what the future holds for family office recruitment.
Christopher has over a decade of experience specialising in family office and professional services recruitment, including the last three years at the helm of Victus Search. He advises clients on senior and strategic appointments, working closely with families and their advisers to structure searches that reflect how each office actually operates – not just the job title on the brief.
We asked Christopher what family offices are asking for now that they weren’t five years ago, and for him, the answer goes beyond CVs or job titles. “I think the biggest difference is the sophistication of the brief. Five years ago, we were probably asked much more frequently just to find the person. Today, we’re increasingly being asked to help a family work out what person they actually need in the first place,” he says. Families are thinking harder about governance, succession, technology, risk and how the office itself should be structured – so a CFO brief might now touch investments, governance and oversight of external advisers, and roles like Chief of Staff have become far more significant.
“We’re not simply filling vacancies. A significant part of what we do is helping the client define the requirement before we go into the market.”
What families want has shifted too. “They may want someone with exceptional technical standards, but that individual also has to be capable of operating in a highly personal, discreet environment,” Christopher explains. “That combination is rare. You can find the best person technically and still have the wrong person for the family culture. Although there’s an element of meeting in the middle, in that senior leaders increasingly understand they have to build a family office culture that attracts and retains top talent.”
Many family offices don’t sit neatly inside one jurisdiction, and Christopher is careful not to over-generalise about hiring styles in any one region. “Geography influences the talent pool, regulation, compensation and what experience is available locally, but the family’s history and stage of development are often just as important,”
“A candidate might be based in London for a role in Singapore, or in New York for a family whose interests span three or four jurisdictions.”
Increasingly, though, a single search doesn’t stay within one jurisdiction – a candidate might be based in one financial centre for a role in another, or somewhere entirely different for a family whose interests span several countries. Mobility and family circumstances now matter just as much as the CV itself.
“The UK offers a mature ecosystem across investment management and private wealth. The Channel Islands bring deep trust and fiduciary expertise. The US is a large, sophisticated market in its own right. Asia stands out for its pace.” Christopher says, “We’re seeing substantial wealth creation combined with families becoming much more focused on professionalisation and succession, especially in Singapore and Hong Kong.”
Looking five years ahead, Christopher expects family offices to continue to professionalise without losing what makes them distinctive. “We’re going to see clearer governance, better defined responsibilities, more sophisticated remuneration for family office roles and greater accountability. But the best family offices will preserve the entrepreneurialism and ability to make decisions quickly that make these environments attractive in the first place,” he predicts.
“Technology reduces the need for large internal teams in favour of smaller, higher-calibre ones surrounded by specialist external support.”
That shift raises the value of a particular kind of candidate. “The person who’s technically excellent but also commercially minded, discreet, emotionally intelligent and comfortable dealing directly with a principal is going to command a premium.” Succession will shape hiring more directly too, Christopher points out, “It’s not just who manages the wealth today, it’s who can help an organisation transition from one generation to the next.”
Christopher is clear that the relationships he values most aren’t necessarily the largest searches he’s run. One in particular started as a Head of Compliance mandate for a Single Family Office CEO he’d worked with years earlier at a previous firm.
“As we got further into the brief, it became clear that the breadth of responsibility they were asking one individual to take on wasn’t going to be sustainable over the long term,” he recalls. Rather than filling the role as originally briefed, Christopher challenged the structure – the mandate was ultimately split into two clearer hires, better suited to where the family office was heading.
“What I am proudest of is that the relationship moved beyond ‘here’s a vacancy, find me the person.’ We reached the point where they would call and say, ‘this is the problem we’re trying to solve, what do you recommend?’” For Christopher, that shift is the real marker of a mature recruiter–client relationship.
“That’s the point at which you’ve earned the right to call yourself an adviser rather than a supplier.”
That same instinct – to challenge rather than simply execute – shapes how he handles a brief that doesn’t quite add up. “A client might initially say they need a COO, but once we really unpack the responsibilities, what they’re actually describing is much closer to a Chief of Staff,” he says. “We don’t do that by saying ‘you’re wrong.’ It’s about bringing market evidence into the conversation – this is the type of individual you’re describing, this is where that talent sits, and this is who you can realistically attract.”
For family offices just starting to professionalise, Christopher warns that hiring by title may not be the best move. “I wouldn’t start by saying every family office needs a CEO, CFO, CIO and Chief of Staff,” he says, “That’s how families end up hiring titles rather than solving problems. The better starting point is their actual objectives: succession, governance, a more sophisticated investment approach, or simply reducing the burden on the principal.”
From there, he explains, the functions become clearer – who owns financial reporting and risk, who coordinates external advisers, who’s accountable to the family – and it becomes possible to see what genuinely needs to sit in-house. “I’d rather see a family office hire an exceptional CEO or CIO with clear responsibilities, supported by high-quality external advisers, than build a ten-person team simply because that’s what they think a family office should look like,” Christopher adds.
If you’re building out a team in the family office sector, or want an honest view on how to structure one, we’d be happy to talk. Contact us to set up a confidential discussion.
Whether you’re looking to fill a specialist role, or seeking the right position to deploy your unique skills and experience, the first step is to get in touch with one of our expert consultants.
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