How prepared are you for the human side of wealth transition?
We help families, founders and the rising generation navigate the transition of wealth, leadership and responsibility with clarity, confidence and shared purpose.
What we do
We help families prepare for wealth transition before it becomes urgent.
Successful transition depends on more than sound legal, financial and tax planning. It also depends on people: whether roles and expectations are understood, relationships can withstand change, and those assuming wealth or leadership are ready for the responsibilities ahead.
We work across family, business, ownership and professional boundaries, bringing an independent perspective to complex or sensitive situations.
Sitting alongside a family’s existing advisers, we focus on the communication, relationships, leadership and governance that determine whether technical plans will succeed in practice and endure over time.
Families and their advisers typically involve us when they are:
preparing family members for future wealth, ownership or leadership;
addressing changing roles, expectations or relationships;
developing family governance and decision-making;
establishing or evolving a family office; or
approaching a significant generational, ownership or leadership transition.
There is no standard programme. We begin by understanding the circumstances and identifying the form of support that would be most useful. Kedge and Catherine work directly with every client, bringing in trusted specialists from their international network where additional expertise is required.
Who we are
Catherine Carleton-Smith
Catherine brings more than three decades’ experience spanning communications, leadership and people development. She spent ten years at Ogilvy & Mather, one of the world’s leading advertising agencies, becoming a Board Director and advising international corporations, government departments and UHNW families.
Her understanding of how thoughtful communication can engage people, influence behaviour and support change led her to train as a leadership and executive coach and join forces with Kedge in 2018.
Combining insight, empathy and pragmatism, Catherine helps individuals and families communicate more effectively, strengthen their collective capabilities, and navigate changing roles and responsibilities with greater clarity and confidence.
Kedge Martin
Kedge brings more than three decades of experience spanning business, politics, professional services and philanthropy across the UK, Europe, the United States and Africa.
For more than fifteen years she has been advising international, multigenerational UHNW families, members of the British Royal Family, founders, first-generation wealth creators and their successors.
Combining strategic judgement with extensive practical experience, Kedge helps families prepare for the successful transition of wealth, leadership and responsibility, philanthropy, and build the foundations for what comes next.
The Team
Kedge and Catherine work as your principal advisers, giving clients continuity, discretion and a deep understanding of their individual circumstances.
Where additional expertise is required, they draw on an extensive international network of trusted professionals and specialists. This allows them to assemble the right team for each family, situation or appointment, while remaining closely involved and accountable throughout.
The Seven Questions
Seven questions to consider before wealth changes hands
What is the wealth for?
Does the family share an understanding of its purpose—and of what is changing?
Are those receiving wealth prepared with the knowledge, confidence and skills to manage its opportunities and responsibilities?
How clear are the roles, responsibilities and expectations of everyone involved?
What tensions remain beneath the surface—inequalities, difficult relationships or unresolved grievances?
What must be preserved, and what should be allowed to change?
Who will help the family navigate what comes next?
When should the conversation begin? If not now, when?
Client Testimonials
How can we help?
If you, your family or a client is approaching a transition, considering the future of a family office or beginning a difficult conversation, we would be delighted to hear from you.
Arrange a confidential conversation
We welcome confidential enquiries from family offices and professional advisers seeking independent support for their clients.
