FON Magazine Spring Issue - 2021

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M AGAZIN E

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L I F E S T Y L E

PARDON ME, BOYS IS THAT A LUXURY CHOO CHOO TRAIN?

FAMILY OFFICE PROFILE:

ALEXANDRE MARS

COCKTAIL

RINGS

THAT INSPIRE YOUR FAVORITE VERSION OF YOURSELF

FEATURED HOME

THE LINDEN ESTATE IN SOUTHAMPTON

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READY SET

FLY

We are corporate jet leasing, done right.

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ANDREW SCHNEIDER F O U N D E R /

P U B L I S H E R

from

The Publisher

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More family offices are joining FON Marketplace because it is a one-stop shop where they can get news on family offices, luxury and investment opportunities.

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amily offices are using the latest technology to identify and execute private placements in alternative investments, including private equity, hedge funds, real estate, PIPEs, venture capital and direct deals, and FON Marketplace has become the fastest growing platform in the family office space.

If you have a product or service that’s a good fit for our audience, please reach out to us. I’m excited about Family Office Marketplace and hope that our readers will enjoy using this technology in several important ways. It’s a great way to buy, sell and/or rent luxury goods and services and learn what they have to offer to families in our network.

More family offices are joining FON Marketplace because it is a one-stop shop where they can get news on family offices, luxury and investment opportunities and issuers who are trying to raise money are listing on FON Marketplace as a new way to access 70,000 ultra-high-net worth and 5,000+ family offices. I hear over and over how difficult it is to connect with family offices, and we’re dedicated to making that possible for select companies with unique offerings.

I hope you will enjoy reading our Spring issue of FON Magazine.

Andrew Schneider Founder/ Publisher

FON has 500,000+ members, including about 15,000 U.S. and global family offices with between $50-100 million net worth.

We reach the top four percent of the global population in terms of income with an audience that has a median age of 54, including 72 percent male and 28 percent female. The average age is decreasing as more families involve their children and grandchildren in the family business and decision-making process.

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Luxury custom suits, shoes and bags handcrafted in Spain!

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www.pinandstripe.com

Our

Team

SUREJ(SUNMAN)KALATHIL A R T

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SARA O’BOYLE C O P Y

E D I T O R

E: sara@fonmagazine.com P: +1.561.812.4000

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Your legacy is the impact that your philanthropy achieves

Our global portfolio of carefully vetted nonprofits lets you harness the power of innovation to fight social injustices.

OUR SERVICES ARE 100% FREE MYLEGACY@EPIC.FOUNDATION

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Epic Foundation is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit charity in the United States, a Registered Charity #1163753 in the United Kingdom, an Endowment Fund in France, and a Foundation in Switzerland.

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Editorial FOUNDER /PUBLISHER Andrew Schneider 561.906.1181 andrew@fonmagazine.com EDITOR-IN-CHIEF Charlotte Luer 239.404.6785 charlotte@fonmagazine.com ART DIRECTOR Surej Kalathil (Sunman) 561.827.9072 surej@fonmagazine.com

Content FAMI LY

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OFFICE

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PH IL AN TH R OPY

Any form of reproduction of any content on this magazine without the written permission of the publisher is strictly prohibited. © 2021 FON Magazine.

All rights reserved.

FIN E

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LUX URY

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LIFEST YLE

FEATURED HOMES

THE LINDEN ESTATE IN SOUTHAMPTON. LAVISH LIVING ON NEW YORK CITY’S UPPER WEST SIDE.

COCKTAIL RINGS

THAT INSPIRE YOUR FAVORITE VERSION OF YOURSELF?

The information in this issue of FON Magazine is for information purposes only. FON Magazine Inc. assumes no liability or responsibility for any inaccurate, delayed or incomplete information, nor for any actions taken in reliance thereon.

The information contained about each individual, company, product or organization has been provided by such individual, company, product or organization without verification by us.

The opinion expressed in each article is the opinion of its author and does not necessarily reflect the opinion of FON Magazine or Family Office Networks.

Therefore, FON Magazine and Family Office Networks carry no responsibility for the opinion expressed thereon.

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THE LAND ROVER DEFENDER

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INTRODUCING THE RIDE BIKE’S RADIANT CARBON

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7 THINGS FAMILY OFFICES SHOULD BE AWARE OF

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FAMILY OFFICE PROFILE

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PARDON ME, BOYS

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DIANA CASTELLANO

WHEN PURCHASING A NEW AIRCRAFT

ALEXANDRE MARS

IS THAT A LUXURY CHOO CHOO TRAIN? AN ARTIST FOCUSED ON COLOR, ENERGY & SYMBOLISM

MOTORTREND’S 2021 SUV OF THE YEAR

- AN E-BIKE THAT’S LIKE NO

OTHER

PROTEUSTM

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PROJECT C.U.R.E.

PROTEUS™

THE ‘INTERNATIONAL SPACE STATION’ OF THE OCEAN

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PHOTO CREDIT: PROVIDED BY SOTHEBY’S INTERNATIONAL REALTY

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hether you’re seeking a luxurious weekend getaway or a year-round home, chances are you will find the home of your dreams in Southampton, New York. In fact, there’s one residence that’s sure to please, and fortunately it is currently for sale. Priced at just $75 million, this exquisite masterpiece called Linden Estate, awaits a new owner.

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Every aspect of Linden Estate has been beautifully preserved and authentic original details such as a red-tile gambrel roof, original millwork and eight wood-burning fireplaces are found throughout.

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Every aspect of Linden Estate has been beautifully preserved and authentic original details such as a red-tile gambrel roof, original millwork and eight wood-burning fireplaces are found throughout. Originally designed circa 1910, the home spans 18,000+ square feet on three floors, including eight bedrooms, eight full baths and three half baths, plus separate staff quarters for a total of 12 bedrooms and 12-1/2 baths.

the library, featuring oak walls lined in leather and hand-carved, ornamental ceilings. A cascading spiral staircase then leads to the upstairs sleeping area, sitting room, walk-in closet and master bathroom complete with mosaic tiles, a fireplace and a tub. The French kitchen was custom built on site and its special touches include a hand-made French La Cornue stove, a farmhouse sink, large island, butler’s pantry and exposed wood beams.

Situated on 10 +/- acres on Ox Pasture Road, the home is located in the heart of the estate section and is quite private and secure.

Every detail is well-conceptualized, thanks to the home’s original architect Grosvenor Atterbury, and the Frederick Law Olmsted park-like landscape design adds splendor to the estate, which is named after the linden trees that shade the premises.

The estate’s grounds feature a 60‘ x 20‘ outdoor and indoor pool, spa, gym, grass tennis court, paddle court, two pavilions with full kitchens, arbors, fountain, carriage house with connecting greenhouse and an equipment house, as well as two detached four-car garages.

Upon entering the Linden Estate, one arrives in a grand hall which leads into a massive living room with coffered ceilings and glass doors offering expansive exterior views. It’s a short walk into

For more details, contact Listing Agent Harald Grant at Sotheby’s International Realty - Southampton Brokerage FON MAGAZINE / SPRING ISSUE 2021 / FONMagazine.com

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ew York City’s famed Upper West Side, situated between Central Park and the Hudson River, is legendary as one of Manhattan’s most elite cultural, intellectual neighborhoods. Its nighttime scene is vibrant, thanks to the Julliard School and nearby Columbia University, which ensure a constant influx of young professionals and families. It is also home to the Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts, New York City Ballet, New

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York Philharmonic, Museum of Natural History, NewYork Historical Society and the Children’s Museum of Manhattan, which are just of few of the Upper West Side’s numerous dance, music, opera and theatre offerings.

If you’re fortunate to be able to live in New York City and in search of the perfect residence, you need look no further than 45 West 70th Street where a historic 8,550 square foot, 20-foot-wide brownstone invites your presence. The sevenlevel home is bright, stylish and graced with classic details.

Indeed, it is difficult to imagine anything else that might make this home more magnificent. Details include a stairway with skylights, an elevator, and a basement with high ceilings, a gym, wine cellar, 33-foot-long, six-foot-deep swimming pool and spa.

Living areas include a parlor level with expansive ceilings and dining space, a large living room with a fireplace, and a bar alcove with comfortable seating. A major attraction is the home’s kitchen, located at garden level, which features a built-in dining area, grand island, ample cabinet and counter space, and top of the line appliances. The kitchen’s lovely glass doors lead to a private garden with wood and gas fireplaces and a grill area.

The six bedrooms are well-lit and spacious with custom moldings, large bay windows, hardwood floors and fireplaces. The four baths and two powder rooms are updated with modern fixtures, bidets, intricate tile work and stone detailing. The master bedroom’s French doors lead to a private terrace with awe-inspiring views of New York City’s skyline and it also has a walk-in closet, marble bath with a large glass-enclosed shower, a soaking tub, and more.

The townhome is currently offered for sale for $17.5 million through Michael Sieger of Sotheby’s International Realty – Downtown Manhattan Brokerage

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COCKTAIL RINGS THAT INSPIRE YOUR FAVORITE VERSION OF YOURSELF

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esigner Sergio Andrés Mendoza designs cocktail rings because he believes they represent something truly special. Worn on the right hand and not the left, a cocktail ring represents your relationship with no one other than yourself. The cocktail ring is your ring and should remind you of your favorite version of yourself, Sergio believes.

DESIGNS PHARAOUN COCKTAIL RINGS

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Many of Sergio’s designs are inspired by the ocean and each piece exemplifies strength and feminism.

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Each of Pharaoun Cocktail Rings’ designs is unique and honors a powerful woman who shaped him, including his mother who graduated in the first class to include women at Princeton University, but didn’t start law school until Sergio was almost in middle school. His sister, Beatriz, continuously pushed what it means to live beautifully and is Sergio’s greatest teacher. A prolific artist with an extraordinary sense of color and composition, she created most of the art in his home. His wife, Sarah, taught him about joy, romantic love, and how wonderful relationships with one’s children can be and his daughter, Anais, embodies innate power, beauty and grace.

Many of Sergio’s designs are inspired by the ocean and each piece exemplifies strength and feminism.

For information visit pharaoun.com

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The Land Rover Defender

Motortrend’s 2021 SUV of the Year

Despite its old-school features and reputation for ruggedness, however, the Land Rover Defender is equipped with an array of customer comforts such as air suspension, a 360-degree off-roading camera, computer-controls, and more.

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hile the Land Rover Defender isn’t the priciest vehicle on the market today, it’s absolutely one of the coolest and guaranteed to up your game at the summer home this year . After a 25-year hiatus, the 2021 Defender is back in the United States where it is being marketed as the toughest and strongest vehicle that Land Rover has ever created.

Certainly, the Defender is ready for whatever life brings your way this year. Whether you need to jump over hills, cross water or navigate treacherous dunes, the Land Rover Defender has been tested to the extreme and stands ready and willing to navigate most challenges. During altitude tests, Land Rover drenched the Defender in 26,966 gallons of dyed water in a monsoon facility and engineered its tires to withstand greater impact, for example. The new models have a wading depth of 35.4“ and the wade program in Terrain Response raises the vehicle using

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electronic air suspension. Unique to Land Rover, a 3D surround camera with wade sensing uses ultrasonic sensors in the door mirrors to visually and audibly alert you if the water approaches the vehicle’s maximum wading depth.

shows off a raised hood, sculpted grille and detailing, and round headlights. From the rear, the vehicle looks appears modern and uber-trendy due to details such as a side-opening tailgate with an externally mounted full-size spare wheel and distinctive taillights.

Despite its old-school features and reputation for ruggedness, however, the Land Rover Defender is equipped with an array of customer comforts such as air suspension, a 360-degree offroading camera, computer-controls, and more. Buyers may opt for either a 90- or 110-body design, with up to six seats in the 90 and the option of a third row with 5+2 seats in the 110. There are six models available on 110 and a first edition only available on 90 – and four distinctive accessory packs. There are endless opportunities for customization.

The Defender’s interior is finished in a highly durable textured powder coat, extending to the steering wheel and doors. Grained leather seats and canvas-inspired woven wool textiles ensure durability. There is also a choice of veneers and finishers on the console, including an open pore wood available with walnut or dark oak veneer.

An additional enticement is the fact that the Defender’s exterior design is quite impressive for an SUV. From the front, the vehicle

For the children, Land Rover even offers a LEGO Technicä Defender building kit that will get them psyched for eventual car ownership.

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INTRODUCING THE RIDE BIKE’S RADIANT CARBON An E-Bike that’s Like No Other

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his past year’s health pandemic has led to unprecedented demand for e-bikes as the need to social distance and rely less on public transportation becomes more prevalent and the desire to enjoy the outdoors continues to increase. In addition, urbanization and consumers’ desire to move away from cars to alternative mobility also helps to set the stage for e-bikes’ renewed popularity. Indeed, studies show that the global electric bike market exceeded $41.1 billion in 2020, up $30 billion from 2018, and is projected to rapidly grow to over $70 billion by 2027.

Radiant Carbon, a new e-bike offered by The Ride Bikes, is the design brainchild of electric bike pioneer Tony Ellsworth, an award-winning 30-year veteran and creator of Ellsworth Handcrafted Bikes who is a renowned authority on bicycle market trends and design. His first Urban Transportation model (The Ride) won the Popular Science Grandmaster Award for recreational equipment and he has been on the cover of numerous cycling and recreational publications, including Bicycling and Outside magazines, for which he was awarded Best Designer.

As the “e-bike of the future,” Radiant Carbon’s holistic design leads the e-bike market and stands at the forefront of technology and style. Features include a 100-mile range, stepless auto shifting, greaseless belt-drive, 4-piston brakes, integrated lighting and a universal fit carbon fiber frame for riders from 5’ to 6’4”.

It’s packed with enough power and its intuitive combination of world-class technologies allows the rider to keep cadence on hills or gravel surfaces.

The elegantly-designed e-bike was recently featured on Forbes.

After taking the Radiant Carbon for a ride, the author commented, “It’s a unique e-bike unlike anything else on the market. The shifting system was a revelation, and the design is both robust and stunning, especially in person.”

“The Ride Bikes combines technology and style to deliver e-bikes made for commuting yet packed with mountain-climbing power.

From a corporate standpoint, we’re confident that we have a proven product, veteran team and a validated supply chain that combine to position us at the forefront of the expanding e-bike industry,” said Tony Ellsworth, CEO/CDO. “We invite interested family offices to contact us regarding investment opportunities,” stated Ellsworth. “The Radiant Carbon is our luxury model and we plan to launch additional models very soon. In the rapidly expanding eBike market, our experienced team is positioned to scale the company rapidly and profitably into a global brand. Only 300 e-bikes will be available for delivery before July 2021 at an introductory price of $6,995. We’re now taking deposits for delivery in April at www.

TheRideBikes.com.”

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A brand new aircraft can be fully designed, but the lead time for delivery could be anywhere from 12–18 months — or more 28

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iven the luxury, convenience and — amidst global health concerns —safety that private aviation affords, it comes as little surprise that a growing number of family offices are looking into aircraft acquisition.

Purchasing an aircraft is a major decision, regardless whether your family is a first-time buyer or an experienced owner. For any family office involved in the structuring and management of private aircraft assets, there are a few key things to know about new aircraft acquisition:

1. Understand how your family intends to use their aircraft.

It’s incredibly important that your family understands how you intend to use the aircraft, as this will impact everything from which aircraft models you should consider to whether you are eligible for certain tax benefits. To begin, family offices should consider asking themselves the following:

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Do you intend to use your aircraft primarily for business purposes?

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How frequently do you intend to fly?

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Do you intend to primarily fly domestically or internationally?

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Will it be just one or two people flying on a regular basis, or will additional capacity for larger groups of passengers be required?

Understanding your intentions is the first step to finding the appropriate aircraft model for your unique situation.

2. Determine what’s important to your family members.

Intended use is just the beginning — you must also find out what’s important in a new aircraft. For example, some families might want to optimize for cabin size, while others might prioritize speed or range. Many aircraft models can satisfy the vast majority of defined requirements, but they might not meet them all. For this reason, it’s important that family offices understand which of their requirements are top priority, and which ones are merely wish list items.

3. Follow the 80/20 rule.

H. Lee Rohde III is the founder, President and CEO of Essex Aviation Group, Inc., a business and private aviation aircraft acquisition and consulting firm located in Portsmouth, New Hampshire.

With the truly vast array of private aircraft models on the market today and the luxurious amenities they have to offer, it can be tempting to go all in and purchase an aircraft that far exceeds actual needs. In situations such as this, we advise that family offices follow the 80/20 rule — that is, that they steer towards an aircraft that will meet their mission requirements 80% of the time. Again, it’s impossible to overstate the importance of understanding intended use because this helps define mission requirements.

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If you are unsure which option to pursue, you might opt to work with a private aviation advisor to schedule a demo flight.

During this demo flight, you can experience firsthand what it would be like to fly on that particular model, while the advisor can provide unbiased feedback to help determine whether the aircraft in question meets the defined requirements.

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Family offices might consider recommending a combination of options in order to accommodate the remaining 20% of their mission requirements. For example, if your family intends to predominantly use their aircraft for short trips, with the occasional international trip, it might make sense to acquire an aircraft that’s well-suited for short trips and utilize a charter service or purchase a fractional share to meet their international travel needs.

4. Evaluate both new and pre-owned aircraft models A brand new aircraft can be fully designed, but the lead time for delivery could be anywhere from 12–18 months — or more — which could pose a problem for families for whom time is of the essence. To that end, family offices would do well to consider both new and pre-owned aircraft models. In many cases, preowned aircraft are a more affordable option and can be upgraded, refurbished and customized to exact specifications.

If you are unsure which option to pursue, you might opt to work with a private aviation advisor to schedule a demo flight. During 30

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this demo flight, you can experience firsthand what it would be like to fly on that particular model, while the advisor can provide unbiased feedback to help determine whether the aircraft in question meets the defined requirements.

5. Start the financing process early.

Family offices who intend to use a loan or lease for their aircraft purchase would do well to start the financing process as early as possible.

The reality is that financing is an incredibly involved process, one that can take a significant amount of time to complete — in fact, it can take financial institutions upwards of a month to conduct an initial review, follow due diligence protocols and generate a formal proposal. It’s also important that family offices build in time to compare rates and request proposals from multiple lenders.

The more prepared your family office is, the sooner you can start the actual acquisition process.

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Design Phase Once you have identified an aircraft for purchase, you will enter into the layout and design phase. During this phase of the acquisition process, you may need to assist in scheduling specifications meetings in order to address and finalize design specifications for the aircraft.

Production Phase Once you have approved the final aircraft design and specifications, the manufacturer will start production. As mentioned before, the production process for a new aircraft can take a year or more depending on several variables. The owner’s existing flight department members and/or their private aviation representative will actively review and monitor the ongoing production process on your behalf, as well as provide you with regular updates.

Final Delivery & Acceptance When the aircraft is ready for final delivery, the flight crew, private aviation representatives and family members will work through the formal delivery and acceptance process with the manufacturer. Once the delivery team has completed the final inspection and acceptance of the aircraft, the final delivery and transfer of title will proceed.

7. Partner with an aviation advisor.

As mentioned earlier, working with a private aviation advisor can prove useful when scheduling a demo flight, but that’s not all. An aviation advisor can be a valuable asset to a family office, helping you to understand the different private aviation options available and the pros and cons for each, as well as spearheading the entire acquisition process. When searching for a qualified advisor to work with, it’s best to look for one with decades of industry experience, an extensive network and a proven track record of providing unbiased advice.

6. Develop a basic understanding of the acquisition process.

Although it isn’t necessary to be familiar with the intricacies of private aircraft acquisition — that’s what the experts are for — a basic understanding of the process can prove useful. The process of acquiring a new aircraft typically includes: Initial Evaluation & Aircraft Identification The process of acquiring a new aircraft typically includes: Those who decide to purchase a newly produced aircraft must choose between a custom-built model, where you have to opportunity to select the floorplan, materials and additional specifications, and a “white-tail” aircraft, which has already been produced and has limited customization options. Both options pose unique benefits, depending on your specific needs and desires.

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PREVIEW

Family Office Profile ALEXANDRE MARS

Where do you reside?

After nearly a decade in New York, I’m currently based in Paris. Generally - when there’s not a global pandemic - I’m all over the place: we have offices in New York, London and Brussels… and I’m constantly traveling, whether it’s visiting our charitable organizations around the world for Epic, my foundation, or meeting with amazing entrepreneurs for my investment fund Blisce.

Please tell us about your business?

I feel fortunate that, in my work, no two days are the same. I divide a great deal of my time between two structures I founded.

First, there is Blisce, my growth stage VC fund. Our goal is to support mission32

driven entrepreneurs and help them build global consumer technology companies.

We’ve invested in companies like Spotify, Harry’s, Pinterest, Headspace and Too Good To Go. We’re determined to have a positive social impact, but from another angle. It’s absolutely core to our collective vision.

Finance can be a powerful tool and, if yielded responsibly, can be a force for good.

That’s why we’re committed to working with our portfolio companies to improve their (and our own) environmental, social and corporate governance measures.

For example, our term sheet includes two non-negotiable clauses for ventures: an agreement to carry out an ongoing ESG evaluation every 12-18 months, as well as a commitment to interview at least one diverse profile for every open senior leadership position. Our team

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has committed to donating 20% of its carried interest revenues to Epic (more on that in a second), so it’s really a virtuous circle between my investment and philanthropic activities. As a testament to these engagements, we’re very proud that blisce/ recently became the first B Corp certified growth stage VC fund in the E.U. Then there is Epic. Epic is the culmination of deep market research into the philanthropic sector and the solution to three major obstacles to charitable giving: lack of knowledge (about who to give to), lack of trust (that the funds would be put to good use) and lack of time (to do the necessary research). Our vision is a world in which every child and youth has access to safety, empowerment and equal opportunity. Our mission is to find, select, back and monitor high impact charitable organizations in order to catalyze their

impact on underserved children and youth and the systems affecting their lives. We are able to effectively fund them thanks to our donors who pool their resources together via our platform.

There are currently 26 organizations in the Epic portfolio worldwide, working on essential issues like access to healthcare,

“I never lose.

I either win or learn.”

- Nelson Mandela

employment, education and physical safety. To date, we have raised $30 million.

To me, what most sets Epic apart is the robustness of our methodology that promotes transparency and accountability.

From the outset, Epic has had a rigorous selection process to ensure trust and confidence. We curate a portfolio of highimpact, mid-size organizations addressing the complexity of issues affecting children and youth in a select number of countries, through a thorough and cutting-edge sourcing, vetting and monitoring process.

Another important factor is timing. We intervene at a stage in these organizations’ development when our support is the most transformative, allowing them to scale and have an even greater impact on children and youth.

who share our values about doing well by doing good.

Those who want to learn more about Epic and discover the many ways to support our impressive charitable organizations, there’s a wealth of information on our website: www.epic.foundation.

How important is philanthropy to your family?

I grew up with a socially conscious mother who instilled in me the importance of giving back and helping others. I constantly saw her giving her time to others -- and those values have never left me.

My wife Florence and I want to pass on these same values to our own children.

The true measure of success isn’t the number of zeros in your bank account, but rather how you use that financial success to realize your personal mission. That’s why I plan to spend the vast majority of my own wealth during my lifetime.

How do you spend an average day?

Like I said earlier, there’s rarely such a thing as an average day. I balance my time between running Epic and Blisce, spending time with my family and practicing sports, which is essential for me.

In addition to my usual business, I am also a member of the Board of Directors and an ambassador for the Paris 2024

Olympic and Paralympic Games. We are working together on ways to reinvent the model for these Olympic Games in light of the challenges facing our society… and asking ourselves how sports can be a part of the solution. Our goal is to make these Olympic Games responsible, sustainable, inclusive and open to the participation of all.

I am also an author and wrote the book Giving: Purpose is the New Currency.

I am happy to say that my next book on entrepreneurship is already out in France and will be translated into English soon.

Future goals?

Who can say what the distant future holds.

But in the near term, I can tell you that we will be doubling down on our strategies at Epic and at blisce/ to identify and support exceptional social organizations and mission-driven companies that positively contribute to our communities and planet.

I’m thrilled by all of the determined social entrepreneurs I meet on a daily basis and look forward to announcing those that we’ll be backing soon.

Quotes you live by?

“I never lose. I either win or learn.” Nelson Mandela “You miss 100% of the shots you don’t take.” (Generally attributed to the ice hockey player Wayne Gretzky, but unconfirmed).

How can our readers get involved with Blisce and Epic?

At Blisce, our LPs have predominantly been families. We’re always happy to take meetings with others that are interested in our particular approach to investing and FON MAGAZINE / SPRING ISSUE 2021 / FONMagazine.com

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Pardon Me, Boys, Is That a Luxury Choo Choo Train?

BY VICTORIA L. HOFFMAN

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love trains. Well let me be clear.

While I spent the significant part of my life riding on the IRT, BMT, and LIRR in New York City, I’ve always embraced the concept of ease. What’s there not to like? It’s all about the glory of knowing and being pleased with myself that I have cheated time to arrive at my destination in a quicker moment as we all face the hustle and bustle of life.

So it’s really no surprise this is my preferred method of travel when in Europe whether taking the London tube and arriving at Charing Cross Station knowing that Trafalgar Square is just minutes away or jumping on Paris’ Le Metro which is nicely color coded and numbered so you can’t possibly get lost. And if you’re in Korea there’s no better way to get from Seoul to Busan than with their high speed (nearly 220mph) fastidious bullet train.

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This leads me to my obsession with luxury travel trains – a pulsating and fast movement against a picturesque background.

I’m daydreaming and thinking of classic Hitchcock- Strangers on a Train and North by Northwest; Agatha Christie’s Murder on the Orient Express and James Bond most notably in From Russia with Love (nobody does a train sequence like 007). The glamour of the 1940s and 1950s in particular are so clearly etched in my mind as Lauren Bacall and Eva Marie Saint entered their tiny compartments wearing Dior and Nina Ricci travel suits and carrying their gloves and hat boxes in hand. The elegance of seeing their sweeping Valentino gowns bustle and glide their way through narrow corridors as they made their way to the dining car – a magnificent room lit in sparkling crystal, crisp delicate linens, and shiny antique silver illuminated the mystery and glamour of the experience.

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While time has gone by, those notable journeys have now become more sophisticated and elegant, but not the feeling. You can still see landscapes and murals that suddenly appear magically on the peripheral canvas that not even an artist can be so quick to capture or brush and I think of the majestic ride sweeping into the night thundering through corridors, valleys and peaks. Imagine the faint, gentle sway of the cars and the distinguished sounds of the train as it proudly announces its presence night and day passing through towns, villages, forests, countryside, and countries.

Luxury train travel has evolved to create a more sophisticated and incredible once in a lifetime experience. With its sheer aptitude to stretch across peaks and landscapes at higher velocity, train travel has created a more convenient way to see more cities and countries in less time. And

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its amenities have dramatically improved ranging from spacious luxury suites to Michelin Star cuisine artistically draped across Villeroy and Boch dinner plates and champagne bars serving Taittinger and Cristal in Lalique glassware.

Perhaps the most well-known train is the Venice Simplon-Orient-Express owned by the Belmond hotel brand. With its plush luxurious textiles and antique fixtures reflective of the ROARING 20S it’s no wonder this is still a worldwide favorite for the sophisticated traveler. Recently it was announced that the art deco train was adding the dazzling splendor of restored carriages to its routes throughout Western Europe. Additionally, passengers can now enjoy additional grand suites with features that include: private marble bathrooms with showers, double beds and a living area with underfloor heating. Amenities include a personal 24-hour cabin steward, unlimited champagne, in-suite dining and private transfers to and from the train.

On occasion this marvelous vehicle hosts murder mysteries from city to city. Look out, Agatha Christie!! Note: Venice Simplon-Orient-Express travels through Europe from March to November, including an annual journey to Istanbul.

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For those looking for a more exotic and perhaps adventurous journey embark on the Trans-Siberian Express as guests will experience a very unique feature – crossing through seven time zones. Perhaps its most celebrated train is the Golden Eagle which is pure luxury featuring en-suite bathrooms, laundry services, a medical doctor, and pianist. How incredulous and romantic to hear the music of Tchaikovsky playing while gazing out the window as the scene gradually changes to other parts unknown such as Mongolia and Kazakhstan. Among the journeys is a trip leaving from Moscow that carries passengers to the Northern Lights in the cold Arctic part of Norway.

In India the Maharajas‘ Express is known as the most expensive luxury train in India. It runs between October and April, offering about ten destinations with five itineraries throughout India though the majority run through Rajasthan with favorite site tours of the Taj Mahal, Agra, and Jaipur. A Presidential Suite can run a traveler $12,900 for 4 days and 3 nights, but the experiences are remarkable. Examples include attending an elephant polo match in Jaipur or meeting members of the royal family. Each cabin has their own dedicated 24/7 butler service so guests can enjoy breakfast in bed if they so choose.

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One of the chicest and most elegant trains is South Africa’s THE BLUE TRAIN which actually started in the 1920s, but many of its carriages were restored in the 1970s. The luxury vibe starts even before guests come onboard. First, passengers check into a private lounge at the train station and from there are escorted to their suites on the train. Besides its marvelous design and layout, the observation car is a standout as it showcases the best of nature as it rolls through lush green valleys, national parks, vineyards, and mountainous terrain. Deluxe suites offer a full bath tub and the even more extravagant suites include dedicated personal butler service along with extra room and a high tech entertainment system. Both types of suites include luxury bedding with plenty of detail. Other features include underfloor heating, marble bathrooms, and of course, air conditioning.

Enjoy a cigar and cognac in the club lounge. Travel through Victoria Falls and spot Africa’s Big Five as guests can stay at a private safari lodge. The Blue Train operates between Pretoria and Cape Town and is almost a distance of one thousand miles.

The Belmond Royal Scotsman is one of the best ways to see the Scottish Highlands. Travelers depart from Edinburgh and can explore various parts of the Highlands though it might be hard to concentrate knowing that there are more than 50 kinds of

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For those looking for a more exotic and perhaps adventurous journey embark on the Trans-Siberian Express as guests will experience a very unique feature – crossing through seven time zones.

whiskey onboard. Passengers can expect a fabulous whirlwind of ruins, castles, and distilleries. Explore national parks and admire the wildlife. Of course, the majestic landscape speaks for itself as visitors will enjoy the picturesque lochs, glens, and other historic sites. Be spoiled with the train’s Haybarn Spa car which features two treatment rooms and therapies using Bamford’s famed botanical skin care products. Treatments include facials, massages, and manicures and pedicures. The Royal Scotsman runs from April to October.

With a surge in luxury train travel, it’s not unusual for a group to request a train charter – a private experience to celebrate weddings, birthdays and milestone occasions or quite simply a themed trip – Murder Mystery, James Bond adventure or a Golf and Whiskey outing. I’m thinking of working on a manuscript while enjoying my Gibson Martini just as Cary Grant did in North by Northwest as I gaze out the window making my way through glens and ancient villages in Scotland or maybe I should just take that dogsled trip in the Arctic Circle starting off in Russia courtesy of the Trans-Siberian Express.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR: Victoria L. Hoffman is the owner of the luxury agency Concierge & Events by Victoria (soon-to-be The Dreammakers Agency) that provides one-of-a-kind WOW experiences, luxury Virtuoso travel programs, and event planning.

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Diana Castellano An Artist Focused on Color, Energy & Symbolism

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iana Castellano, a Miami native, focuses on the more abstract side of art, aiming to depict the complications of life through a combination of color, energy, and symbolism. She started producing her art on large canvas and quickly caught the eye of Palm Beach entrepreneurs, thus beginning her professional art career.

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Her style provides the audience quite literally with another dimension of observation that must be experienced in order to be fully appreciated

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Diana relies fully on her imagination and incorporates the love she has from her world into each design. Her style provides the audience quite literally with another dimension of observation that must be experienced in order to be fully appreciated.

In recent years, she has created several commissioned art works.

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C.U.R.E. P R O J E C T

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hen Economist and Real Estate Developer Dr. James Jackson visited Brazil in 1987, he saw first-hand the lack of basic medical supplies and equipment limiting health care delivery and made a resolve to do something about it. Over the following months, Dr. Jackson collected approximately $250,000 worth of donated medical supplies and sent a cargo container of medical supplies to Brazil with the goal of making a difference. The rest is history.

Today, Project C.U.R.E., which stands for Commission on Urgent Relief and Equipment, is a major nonprofit, humanitarian relief organization that delivers donated medical supplies and equipment to hospitals and clinics throughout the developing world. It’s led by Dr. Jackson’s son Douglas, a former college professor in San Diego, who agreed to help his father for six months and is still going strong at Project C.U.R.E. after 17 years.

Overall, the organization’s goal is to deliver health and hope to the world.

Since its first shipment to Brazil, Project C.U.R.E. has grown to be the world’s largest distributor of donated medical supplies to resource-limited communities and has distribution centers in Denver (the international headquarters), Houston, Phoenix, Nashville, Kansas City, Philadelphia and Chicago. Through these distribution centers, and with the help of more than 25,000 volunteers, medical supplies are delivered to more than 130 countries around the globe.

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“Our firefighters, nurses, doctors and public servants needed our help, and we wanted to join in solidarity as they served us. When our state and local government agencies call and request our resources, we always will be here to protect the lives of our first responders and medical professionals.”

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Each week, Project C.U.R.E. delivers approximately four semitruck loads of donated medical supplies and equipment to desperately needy people around the world. Since 1987, Project C.U.R.E. has delivered equipment and supplies to hospitals and clinics in over 135 countries. It is consistently recognized with the highest rankings from Guidestar and Charity Navigator, and was named by Forbes as one of the top 20 charities in America.

New and overstocked medical supplies and equipment are donated by U.S. manufacturers, wholesale suppliers, hospitals, clinics and individuals. Project C.U.R.E. collects these items and then brings them to a Project C.U.R.E. distribution center where they are inspected and sorted. All equipment donations are tested to ensure they are fully functional and checked to confirm all supporting parts are included.

The C.U.R.E. Cargo Program transports 200+ 40-foot containers of donated medical equipment and supplies each year to the recipient healthcare facilities worldwide, typically in 40foot shipping containers. A thorough, on-site needs assessment process first ensures that every container delivered will meet the specific needs of the recipient hospital or clinic and equip the medical staff with the tools to improve diagnosis, treatment and care. Containers may include, for example, consumable goods such as needles, syringes and surgical supplies; durable media

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equipment such as crutches, wheelchairs and office furniture; and biomedical equipment such as x-ray machines or operating tables.

Inventory changes on a regular basis depending on donations.

As an extension of the cargo program, C.U.R.E. Clinics offer medical support services and education to Project C.U.R.E.’s international partners. Teams of dedicated professionals travel worldwide to facilities who have received C.U.R.E. Cargo to provide C.U.R.E. Clinic services to help babies survive, help mothers thrive, and prevent and manage diarrhea. Thousands of dollars of medical supplies are carried by traveling doctors and nurses in the form of C.U.R.E. Kits. More than 20,000 people volunteer with Project C.U.R.E. every year, making the organization one of the most efficient and effective grass-roots organizations in the country.

During this past year’s health pandemic, Project C.U.R.E. has proven its ability to make an impact. In early January 2020, overseas partners contacted the organization requesting N95 44

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Leaving for Lebanon On August 4, 2020, a large amount of ammonium nitrate stored at the port of the city of Beirut, the capital of Lebanon, exploded, resulting in over 200 deaths, 6,500 injuries and leaving an estimated 300,000 people homeless. The blast is said to have caused nearly $15 billion in property damage.

masks for a burgeoning crisis called “COVID.” Project C.U.R.E. responded immediately by delivering thousands of boxes of the most needed items to medical professionals around the world.

The hope was that donations would be critical to the fight and help COVID-19 to be contained overseas. Unfortunately, the coronavirus came to the United States and impacted local communities.

While Project C.U.R.E.’s mission is to strengthen health systems in under-resourced countries, it immediately began working with local hospitals and Emergency Medical Services (EMS) in local C.U.R.E. Communities to respond to the shortages in personal protective equipment (PPE). Including the donations secured through the collection drives for local communities, Project C.U.R.E. has delivered approximately 400 shipments of medical supplies and equipment including ventilators, throughout the United States. That is nearly 14,000 boxes of supplies , or enough to fill 15 semi-truck trailers.

“Our firefighters, nurses, doctors and public servants needed our help, and we wanted to join in solidarity as they served us. When our state and local government agencies call and request our resources, we always will be here to protect the lives of our first responders and medical professionals.” said Dr. Douglas Jackson, President and CEO of Project C.U.R.E. “We donated all of our masks, gloves, gowns, face-shields and other items needed to fight COVID-19 to the heroes on the frontlines as the demand for PPE far outstripped supply and hospitals around the globe.

As the needs are met in our communities, Project C.U.R.E. will pivot again and return to shipping cargo containers to our international partners.”

The explosion in Beirut was so large that the United States Geological Survey considers it one of the most powerful non-nuclear explosions in history, it was felt in Turkey, Syria, Israel, Palestine, and parts of Europe, and was also heard in Cyprus, which is 160 miles away.

Following this cataclysmic explosion in Beirut, Project C.U.R.E. launched an immediate response to aid the people in Lebanon and provide critical medical relief to the country, “I remember my time at many of the hospitals in and around Beirut, meeting the doctors and nurses and visiting patients. To see what happened was absolutely heartbreaking. And this on top of COVID-19, a very difficult economic situation, refugees and regional conflict. These friends really needed our help. Project C.U.R.E. did all it could to bring health and hope to Lebanon,” said Dr. Douglas Jackson, President and CEO of Project C.U.R.E. Thanks to a small group of dedicated Chicago physicians working with the support of both Rush University Medical Center and Northwestern Medical Center, Project C.U.R.E. provided 20 pallets with over 600 boxes of medical supplies and equipment for delivery to Rafik Hariri University Medical Center, American University Medical Center Beirut, and Lebanon University Medical Center. Project C.U.R.E.’s shipment departed from their Houston facility and traveled with assistance from AIRLINK and Qatar Airlines.

Everyone at Project C.U.R.E.’s Houston distribution center pitched in when the container arrived, including their medical interns, most of which had never used a pallet jack before that day. Towards the end of the loading process, one of the interns said, “That was so fun, thanks for letting us do that!”, which just goes to the show the passion that each volunteer has for helping other and moving the mission forward.

By Micah McDonough, Director of Marketing and Communications, PROJECT C.U.R.E. FON MAGAZINE / SPRING ISSUE 2021 / FONMagazine.com

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the ‘International Space Station’ of the Ocean

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healthy Ocean is indispensable to solving the planet’s biggest problems. Challenges created by climate change, rising sea levels, extreme storms and viruses represent a multi-trillion-dollar risk to the global economy.

“No ocean, no life. Despite its essential role, we’ve only explored 5% of the ocean, and our ability to understand and protect it greatly depends on effective marine science and research, and to inspire and engage with the broader public. Yet, there exists no modern research habitat to perform in situ experiments at depth within the ocean dramatically limiting essential research and critical data collection”, says Fabien Cousteau, visionary behind PROTEUS™.

PROTEUS™ is envisioned as the ‘International Space Station’ of the Ocean. Fabien and team are building Proteus as a laboratory habitat and collaborative global network of research institutions, public and private sector entities, and Universities that will accelerate research and development, drive solutions, build business opportunities, and connect the world to our Ocean.

Fabien Cousteau’s PROTEUS™.

Concept designs by Yves Béhar and fuseproject 46

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Proteus, the largest and most technologically advanced marine station ever built, which will grant scientists and aquanauts the time to conduct continuous night and day diving and data collection.

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Proteus is the first in a network of underwater research labs and habitats, essential to driving meaningful solutions that protect the future of our planet. The knowledge that will be uncovered underwater will forever change the way generations of humans live up above.

The Proteus marine research platform, amongst its many functions, will enable the discovery of new species of marine life, create a better understanding of how climate change affects the Ocean, and allow for the testing of advanced new technologies for green power, aquaculture, diagnostics, and robotic exploration. A guiding principle underlying the vision for PROTEUS™ is Proteus allows divers to spend an entire day conducting research on the Ocean floor because they are saturated (when the bloodstream is equalized with suitable gasses at the pressure of the surrounding water). Saturation enables humans to live, work and explore underwater. Proteus will be, in effect, a ‘time acceleration platform’, it will allow researchers to maximize the time they continuously spend on the ocean floor, thus increasing available research hours on any given day.

“Proteus is a hopeful step forward in spreading the message that we must protect the Ocean as if our lives depend on it. Living underwater gives us the gift of time and the incredible perspective of being a resident on the reef. You’re not just a visitor anymore,” stated Dr. Sylvia Earle, Ocean Ambassador of the FCOLC and American marine biologist, explorer, and National Geographic explorer-in-residence, and fondly known as “Her Deepness”.

The first Proteus will be installed in the waters of Curacao within a rich biodiverse marine protected area with pristine coral. It is envisioned as being modular, upgradable, multi-purpose, and capable of keeping up with future demands. Proteus will be built sustainably and will have both state-of-the-art wet and dry labs, a moon-pool that will accommodate a submersible, accommodate approximately 12 people for longer extended stays, a hydroponic garden, and a broadcast production studio to communicate and share rich content. Proteus itself will be a technological innovation that will in turn test and facilitate the innovation of many new technologies.

building toward a more hopeful future, it will not only allow scientists and observers from around the world to live under the sea for weeks or potentially months on end, but it will also be a vehicle to inspire, engage and educate the world.

As Fabien’s grandfather, Jacques Cousteau often said, “People protect what they love, they love what they understand, and they understand what they are taught.” Until more people feel they have access to the ocean and can understand what it can provide and how they are connected to it, change cannot be enacted. The more we learn about our human connection to the ocean, the more we can grapple with what we need to know, make better decisions to secure a sustainable future to pass on to the next generation.

PROTEUS™ is operationalized and run by Proteus Ocean Group, Ltd. (POG), a private sector social enterprise, a sustainable for-profit business that will scale and have global impact.

POG manages the coordination of and partnerships with strategic collaborators such as Northeastern, Rutgers, Gov’t bodies (including Curacao), quasi-governmental bodies (CARMABI) and private sector partners. Fabien Cousteau Ocean Learning Center (a 501(c)(3)) (FCOLC) is a major stakeholder in POG and leads the educational programming.

For information, please contact Lisa Marrocchino, CEO, Proteus Ocean Group, Ltd. at lisam@proteusoceangroup.com FON MAGAZINE / SPRING ISSUE 2021 / FONMagazine.com

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The Fast-Evolving World of Sports Investing for FamilyOffices and Private Investors

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amily offices and high net worth private investors seeking access to the hottest sports deals increasingly are turning to private equity and SPACs as a way to add sports to their portfolio. From A-Rod’s $500 million SPAC to the NBA’s plan to lure private equity money, the $144 billion+ sports industry continues to make headlines as a compelling investment opportunity. Valuations of sports teams, federations and the leagues are higher than ever and the revenue potential from sponsorships, advertising, ticketing and more is staggering.

Family Office Networks sat down with Richard (Rick) Perna, Founder & Managing Director of Greenwich Advisory & Company, a boutique sports investment bank with extensive M&A experience within the global professional sports industry, to hear his perspectives on investing in sports.

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Why is sports an asset class for family office investors?

Sports is an attractive alternative asset class for investors for a several reasons. Typically, professional sports teams are uncorrelated with the broader market. The current pandemic aside, professional sports teams have weathered recessions better than most asset classes and if you research back the last 30 years, team valuations have steadily outpaced the returns of the broader Dow & S&P over that period.

From 2008 to 2010, sports teams grew in value despite the broader market downturn. Secondly, in addition to financial benefits, professional sports teams are trophy assets that are in limited supply. Consequently, there is a prestige that comes with owning a team that is difficult to compare to any other industry. Third, professional sports can be an incredibly

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unique platform to better the broader community. While privately owned, professional teams are still community assets and can make a remarkable charitable impact and can serve an investor’s philanthropic interests. Lastly, there are the ownership perks, which can be vast.

What’s the meaning behind the phrase Ownership Perks or Accoutrements?

At the end of the day, a driving force behind many investors’ desire to own a professional sports team is that they want to have fun. At times, it can be an emotional purchase. Sports ownership affords the investor the ability to enjoy the asset with their family, friends and business partners. As a part of almost every limited partner (“LP”) or minority transaction I’ve personally worked on, a key piece of the negotiation comes around what the new minority investor is entitled to in ‘non-financial’ benefits.

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What impact has/will the global health pandemic have on the Professional Sports Landscape?

Obviously, the pandemic has been extraordinarily disruptive to the professional sports industry. Aside from the daunting task of first and foremost keeping players and team staff safe, the leagues and teams have had to combat unprecedented financial pressure. Given the lack of fans in stadiums and arenas, plus the number of cancelled games and concerts, there has been an incredible hit to short-term revenues, resulting in heavy losses and cash flow pressure for every league. However, we do believe this is a short-term issue. A positive outgrowth of the pandemic has been the accelerated creative initiatives for each league to drive revenues such as increasing sponsorship inventory on helmets, gambling initiatives, etc. which could see teams, overall, be more profitable organizations in 2022 and 2023, than at prepandemic levels. In fact, the challenge of the pandemic has forced team employees to become more creative and smarter operators. We believe that demand will be robust for content for both sports, concerts and all live entertainment postpandemic.

How are some of the leagues handling the financial impact of the pandemic on its teams?

The leagues have gone to great lengths to provide financial flexibility and operating room for their member clubs. Just like the leagues, we believe that the pandemic will not have

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a long-term negative impact on team valuations. We view it as a short-term speed bump and not that professional sports is hitting a wall. The leagues are structured in a way that they have set relatively strict debt limits that have created a situation of very low LTVs and considerable equity in each team, and as such additional financing is easily incurred and serviced. For example, the NHL has secured a financial arrangement with a consortium of banks to be able to advance monies to each team in the league at extremely low cost of funds. The NHL’s balanced approach affords certainty for the players with little to no disruption in salaries being paid, while providing added financial flexibility for the teams. By providing each team access to cash, the League is assisting its member teams with short term liquidity needs thereby eliminating a real need to sell equity in distress or at a below market valuation. The leagues are really stepping up to bridge this short-term financially disruptive period.

Why is private equity appealing to the leagues?

To date, outside of a few unique exceptions, such as Platinum Equity and the Detroit Pistons, private equity has been excluded from investing directly into a professional sports team. The leagues are not necessarily set up to accept private equity funds as owners. The leagues have very strict requirements and KYC policies that mandate that each and every direct and indirect owner in the fund be properly vetted from a background perspective. As you can imagine, navigating the onboarding process can be tedious, involved and complicated. That said, as a league, one of the primary goals is to promote the heath and strength of member

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clubs and continue to increase valuations. With valuations increasing to such high levels in recent years and strict debt rules, owning a team requires significant levels of equity.

Allowing PE funds into the potentially acceptable investor pool will bring considerable liquidity to the market, which will continue to drive up the value of franchises. Another benefit of bringing in a PE Firm is that it can also provide a strategic institutional partner with operating and business experience to drive growth. Private equity funds typically bring some expertise to the table, whether it be in the form of media rights, digital content or other strategic initiatives.

Having them on the cap table can be beneficial in driving value and revenues for the team(s).

What role do PE Funds like Arctos Sports Partners or Dyal Capital seek to fill in the sports?

I believe they fill a very important role not only for their own investors, but for the teams and leagues. With regard to the PE fund’s own investors, which are typically comprised of institutional investors and family offices, they provide access

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to otherwise privately held, highly sought after assets that historically are difficult to mine. Professional sports teams that are on the market, unless purposely leaked to the press, usually are marketed on a quiet basis through a very small network of individuals “in the know” and are almost never known to the broader public until after closing or a press release. This is especially true of limited partnership interests. Specifically, in the cases of investors selling their limited partner or minority stakes, private equity funds provide an avenue and funding mechanism for a clean and defined exit strategy. As previously mentioned, private equity funds typically bring some operating expertise and business acumen to the teams. For example, Arctos Sports Partners possesses strong operating and business experience with exexecutives from Madison Square Garden and the Chicago Cubs. Lastly, from the league’s perspective, PE funds provide a new buyer group and added liquidity which will continue to strengthen interest and drive valuations higher.

Can you speak to the explosive growth in Sports SPACs being announced and what is their outlook?

Wow, this is a very interesting dynamic. I believe at last count we’ve identified nearly 45 sports related special purpose acquisition companies (“SPACs”) in the market. It seems like you have almost every investor, influencer and operator racing to capitalize on this trend and identify a distressed or a below value sports asset. We believe that SPACs or blank check companies can make a lot of sense and be very compelling investment propositions. The sports industry is a massive market with considerable growth potential and a need for institutional type funding. For example, DraftKings is probably the most famous and successful SPAC to hit the market in the past year. In my opinion, DraftKings was an ideal SPAC candidate given its business model, scalability and growth potential. However, that doesn’t necessarily translate into SPACs being the appropriate vehicle for investment for all sports assets. We believe that SPACs will have a very difficult time if the investment objective is to target North American professional sports assets. League rules and governance are strong, restrictive and place a premium on investor disclosure and financial support of owners. With the exception of the Green Bay Packers and Atlanta Braves with Liberty Media, U.S. professional sports leagues are not set up for public ownership. We believe that sports-related assets, health and wellness, sports media companies, sports memorabilia collections, sports tech and even on a select basis overseas sports assets like European Football clubs can be very suitable assets for SPAC acquisitions. This is particularly true if you have the right operators to improve operations and bring specific expertise or influencers that can help scale a brand or open an entirely new market to the company.

Thank you for your time and insight.

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Trusted Legal Advisor. Pepper focuses on assisting family offices in deploying and managing their investments, as well as assisting families in the creation and structuring of their family offices.

Berwyn Boston Detroit Harrisburg Los Angeles New York Orange County Philadelphia Pittsburgh Princeton Rochester Silicon Valley Washington Wilmington pepper.law

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About Greenwich Advisory & Company (www.GreenwichAdvisoryCo.com) Greenwich Advisory & Company (“GA”) is a boutique investment bank with a specialized skill set and depth of experience within the global professional sports industry. Our team provides comprehensive investment banking, merchant banking and principal investing solutions to our clients. GA consists of a team of accomplished and recognized professionals with nearly 60 years of collective experience, throughout the global sports marketplace.

Our team has closed billions of dollars in M&A and debt financing transactions in every North American professional sports league including MLB, NBA, NHL, MLS, and NFL as well as European Football leagues such as the EPL and Serie A & B. GA’s Sports Group has a niche focus, which affords it unparalleled insight into industry practices, perspective on historical transactions, access to private deal flow, a broad network of relationships to owners and investors and an intimate knowledge of the league requirements and approval process.

Our team embraces an all-in approach and strives to embody the “client first” philosophy.

Thank you for your time and insight” the article has an insight not and insight.

About Richard “Rick” Perna rperna@GreenwichAdvisoryCo.com In his nearly 30 years in banking, Rick has held finance roles in corporate lending, investment banking, and private wealth management. Rick’s experience in the sports industry spans over 20 years, when he was a founding member of a Sports Lending Group at Societe Generale in 1997.

Having specialized in sports lending & M&A for more than 20 years, Rick brings deep transactional experience and high-level relationships across all major North American professional sports leagues such as MLB, NBA, NHL, MLS, and NFL as well as international leagues such as the EPL, Serie A, Ligue 1 and the Bundesliga.

In 2006, Rick moved to Citigroup, where he served as Director in the Sports Finance & Advisory Group and focused solely on traditional investment banking services including buy-side and sell-side representation, debt financings, and capital raises within the sports industry. At Citigroup, he oversaw and was responsible for transacting all advisory assignments for nearly 9 years and received the Chairman’s Award for ranking as one of the top 20 bankers in North America.

Rick, a recognized Sports Business Journal Power Player in Sports Advisory in 2016, has been closely involved with and led some of the most notable transactions in the market, working with teams such as the Detroit Pistons (sell-side), Fulham FC (buyside), Minnesota Wild (buy-side), Los Angeles Dodgers (buy-side), AS Roma (equity raise), Bologna FC (buy-side), the Nashville Predators (sell-side), and many others, aggregating billions in transaction value.

Rick is a FINRA Series 7, 66 & 79 registered representative.

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The Health of Your Family Office Begins in The Brain

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hen Meghan Markle told Oprah Winfrey that she “just didn’t want to be alive anymore and that was a very clear and real and frightening constant thought” and went on to report that the royal family discouraged her from getting professional help, her comments served as a wake-up call about the very real mental health struggles of the uber wealthy and those in the public eye.

As the world emerges from the pandemic, it is clear that there is a massive mental health crisis that impacts all levels of society, including family offices.

Unfortunately, Ms. Markle is just the latest in a long series of high profile individuals experiencing mental health issues. Well-

known individuals such as Gloria Vanderbilt, Britney Spears, Selena Gomez, Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson, and Harrison Ford are also among those who have experienced mental health challenges, yet it is an issue that is as old as time.

“When high profile families have a family member suffering from mental health challenges such as depression or anxiety, they may want to keep it a secret due to a perceived fear of being stigmatized.

Although they have unlimited resources, they may seek help in a convoluted manner that is not necessarily productive. Working with families of means is a unique skill set that requires offering a level of service on par with luxury brands,” said Dr. Drew Ramsey, a nutritional psychiatrist who specializes in helping family offices and high net worth individuals.

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rew Ramsey, MD @DrewRamseyMD is a psychiatrist, author, and farmer.

His work focuses on clinical excellence,

nutritional interventions and creative media. He is an

“While spending more time at home and not traveling as much this past year, many wealthy individuals have had time to reflect on their monetary privilege. They realized that they may not have been impacted as greatly as others. This creates internal conflicts, exposes the natural separation of wealthy families, and induces jealousy. Younger generations of wealthy families often are especially confused by the number of opportunities available to them and a high level of family pressure. They struggle with how best to form their own identity and achieve success, ” Dr. Ramsey said. “In addition, family office profits are at an all-time high at a time when the world is going to hell in a hand basket so few have empathy for affluent individuals who are suffering from depression or other challenges.”

“The fact that multi-generational families have been forced to shelter at home and co-exist this past year with curtailed freedom has made us more cognizant of the fact that we actually don’t want things to go back to the way they were before. There’s a lot of trepidation. People feel vulnerable, anxious and isolated.

Many are hesitant to share these feelings due to the judgement that is inflicted and a lack of empathy on the part of others.

Managing image and optics in an era of social media is especially challenging,” Dr. Ramsey said.

The good news is that the stigma attached to mental health is continuing to fade and wealthy families are increasingly investing in mental health. Yet while there are great exercises for our abs and glutes, there’s not enough focus on mental fitness and nutrition in spite of the fact that food choices have a huge impact on brain health. Indeed, brain health requires much more than just red wine and Sudoku, says Dr. Ramsey.

assistant clinical professor of psychiatry at Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons and in active telemedicine clinical practice based in New York City.

His work has been featured by The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, Lancet Psychiatry, The Today Show, BBC, and NPR and he has given three TEDx talks. He is the co-author of the Antidepressant Food Scale and his e-courses on Nutritional Psychiatry education for the public and clinicians. His books Eat to Beat Depression and Anxiety (Harperwave 2021), Eat Complete, 50 Shades of Kale, and The Happiness Diet explore the connections between mental health and nutrition.

He is on the Advisory Board at Men’s Health, the Editorial Board at Medscape Psychiatry, and is a member of the Well+Good Wellness Council.

He splits his time between New York City and Crawford County, Indiana where he lives with his wife and children on their organic farm and forest.

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Age at Home with an Independent, Active Lifestyle Seniors or families looking for a dignified aging experience turn to Home Care Assistance for our empowering approach to home care. We celebrate independence by developing custom care plans that put seniors in control so they can enjoy the safety and comfort of living at home and pursue their passions outside of it.

A Family Solution

Total Peace Of Mind

We get to know your parent or loved one, understand their needs and likes, then design a customized Care Plan based on who they are as a person—not a patient. Your loved one gets the care and engagement they deserve, and your family gets the support you need.

We understand the trust you place in us, and do everything possible to ensure that the home care experience is worry-free for all concerned.

Aging Experts Our staff and caregivers are experienced in all aspects of home care, from family dynamics to nutrition, around-the-clock care to dementia.

COVID Safety is our Priority In response to COVID-19, we follow strict infection mitigation best practices, informed by CDC guidelines.

• PPE provided and required for every visit • Symptom checks before each visit • Frequent testing for COVID -19

Call today to schedule a complimentary consultation!

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Discussions related to food are a wonderful entree to discussions about mental health and with that top of mind, Dr. Ramsey has authored a new book entitled Eat to Beat Depression and Anxiety.

The book explains how to forge a path toward greater mental health through food, breaks down the science of nutritional psychiatry, and explains what foods positively affect brain health and improve mental wellness. By distilling the most cutting-edge research on nutrition and the brain into actionable tips, Dr. Ramsey says it is possible to improve brain-cell health and growth, reduce inflammation, and cultivate a healthy microbiome, all of which contribute to mental well-being.

Our relationships with food can be complex. Dr. Ramsey’s book assesses barriers to self-nourishment and offers techniques for enhancing motivation. He provides a kick-starter six-week mental health food plan designed to mitigate depression and anxiety, incorporating key food categories like leafy greens and seafood, along with simple, delicious, brain nutrient–rich recipes.

By following the methods Dr. Ramsey uses with his family office patients, readers can confidently choose foods to help them on the journey to full mental health.

“Food really is medicine. Never forget that you have an opportunity every time you sit down to eat to put your brain into ‘grow’ mode, to feed your microbiome, and to foster optimal brain health. You’ll continue to feel better and have a heightened sense of well-being. In today’s challenging times, focusing on brain health is more important than ever,” said Dr. Ramsey.

You can find Dr. Ramsey at www.drewramseymd.com where he keeps a blog and writes a regular newsletter or on Instagram as “drewramseymd”.

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A Leader in Financial Innovation & Liquidity for Private Companies

tZERO offers institutional-grade solutions for issuers looking to digitize their capital table and investors who are seeking to invest and trade private securities on a SEC regulated platform, the tZERO alternative trading system (tZERO ATS). tZERO is the solution to enhancing flexibility and broadening investor access to the private markets. tZERO enables mainstream investors to invest in and trade shares of private companies (e.g. real estate, funds, operating companies) as easily and efficiently as they invest and trade shares of any publicly traded company. The value of the ecosystem is becoming increasingly relevant as companies remain private longer, while their investors have limited options for secondary liquidity. tZERO ATS is an organized and automated marketplace, which transacts hundreds of thousands of shares per month and is growing rapidly. While this volume may be a fraction of what is transacted in the traditional world, it is a major and positive trend in this growing ecosystem. tZERO’s platform allows retail 58

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investors the ability to invest in these securities and offers issuers the opportunity to provide valuable liquidity to their existing shareholders.

In Q3 2020, tZERO ATS recorded $39M of digital security trade volume, nearly a 20x increase compared to the $2M achieved in Q3 2019. tZERO ATS also accounted for roughly 99% of all digital security volume last quarter. In addition, the digital securities traded on the tZERO ATS represent 85% of all digital security value. tZERO has recently announced multiple partnerships, which will continue to revolutionize the illiquid and private security market:

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St. Regis Aspen Resort – $20 Million of Equity – A security representing ownership in the St. Regis Aspen Resort, a five-star, 179-room luxury hotel that is located in Aspen, Colorado, commenced trading on the tZERO ATS in August 2020. The issuer of the digital security, Elevated Returns, intends to tokenize roughly $1 billion of real estate projects in the future.

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Alliance Investments – $640 Million of Assets – Alliance Investments, one the largest developers in Northern UK, intends to digitize at least $25 million of the value of River Plaza, a 180-unit multifamily development located in Manchester, UK. River Plaza is the UK’s first real estatebacked digital security offering and the first project of Alliance Investments’ real estate digitization plan to tokenize approximately $640 million of real estate projects across the UK over the next several years.

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Tynton Capital – $300 Million Fund – Tynton Capital, a venture capital and private equity firm, intends to digitize and trade its planned $300 million data infrastructure technology fund on the tZERO ATS, following its offering and any applicable regulatory holding periods and confirmatory due diligence.

Family offices can benefit from the tZERO ecosystem by accessing a liquidity platform for private investments or being an active investor and trading securities on the platform.

About tZERO tZERO Group, Inc. and its broker-dealer subsidiaries (tZERO) provide an innovative liquidity platform for private companies and assets. We offer institutional-grade solutions for issuers looking to digitize their capital table through blockchain technology, and trade on a regulated alternative trading system. tZERO democratizes access to private assets by providing a simple, automated, and efficient trading venue to broker-dealers, institutions, and investors. For more information on tZERO, please visit https://www.tzero.com/.

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These forward-looking statements are based on expectations and projections about future events, which is derived from currently available information. Such forward-looking statements relate to future events or future performance, including financial performance and projections; growth in revenue and earnings; and business prospects and opportunities. You can identify forward-looking statements by those that are not historical in nature, particularly those that use terminology such as “may,” “should,” “expects,” “anticipates,” “contemplates,” “estimates,” “believes,” “plans,” “projected,” “predicts,” “potential,” or “hopes” or the negative of these or similar terms. In evaluating these forward-looking statements, you should consider various factors, including, without limitation: the ability of tZERO and its subsidiaries to change the direction; tZERO’s ability to keep pace with new technology and changing market needs; and competition. These and other factors may cause actual results to differ materially from any forward-looking statement. Forwardlooking statements are only predictions. The forward-looking events discussed in this release and other statements made from time to time by tZERO, its subsidiaries or their respective representatives, may not occur, and actual events and results may differ materially and are subject to risks, uncertainties and assumptions. tZERO, its subsidiaries, and its representatives are not obligated to publicly update or revise any forward-looking statement, whether as a result of uncertainties and assumptions, the forward-looking events discussed in this release and other statements made from time to time by tZERO, its subsidiaries or its representatives might not occur.

For information, contact inquiries@tzero.com

tZERO is not a registered broker-dealer, funding portal, underwriter, investment bank, investment adviser or investment manager, and is not providing brokerage, investment banking or underwriting services, recommendations or investment advice to any person, and does not provide any brokerage services. tZERO takes no part in the negotiation or execution of secondary market transactions for the purchase or sale of securities and, at no time, has possession of investor funds or securities in connection with such transactions.

About tZERO ATS tZERO ATS, LLC is a broker-dealer registered with the SEC and a member of FINRA and SIPC. More information about tZERO ATS may be found at www.finra.org. Digital securities that trade on tZERO ATS are conventional uncertificated securities.

Ownership of such securities is reflected on the traditional books and records of regulated market participants. The term “digital” refers to the blockchain technology elements of a security that are intended to enhance investor experience through added transparency.

Forward-Looking Statements This release contains forward-looking statements. In addition, from time to time, tZERO, its subsidiaries, or its representatives may make forward-looking statements orally or in writing.

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Porter Partners, LLC Special Advisor for Cannabis Industry Matters

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s FON continues to add member benefits and dedicated resources to create additional value for its members in new and emerging industry sectors, cannabis is certainly at the forefront. PorterPartners is a new addition to the team as a special advisor on cannabis industry matters and is available as a free resource to our members.

PorterPartners is modeled like a Lazard or Rothschild and provides merchant banking services within the cannabis industry in the United States and Canada and is also looking ahead to certain European countries. Its team sees a lot of deal flow, vets investment opportunities, and seeks to identify unique opportunities which are not readily available to investors. It is available for discussions with FON members on any aspect of the cannabis industry. It has relationships with companies which it advises, capital providers and underwriters. It is not a broker dealer. Their team will tell you what they know; give you their opinion; answer your questions to the best of their knowledge; and refer you to other trusted sources if they don’t know the answer The Firm is also seeing some excellent opportunities currently in the medical marijuana sector in the U.S. Valuations in the retail recreational marijuana space took a big hit over a year ago but are now approaching 6-10 X revenues. This is a space where we are 60

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seeing exciting growth. There is an old adage that says, “Some of the best deals you do are the ones you don’t do” and that is true right now given the adverse market conditions affecting the hemp and CBD sectors. PorterPartners is bullish on the future of CBD, but bearish and cautious on current investment situations.

A conversation is a two-way street, and Porter Partners is keenly interested in hearing what family offices are doing in the cannabis sector and learning about their views and experiences.

For information, email Managing Partner Dean Porter at dean@porterpartnersgroup.com or call 843-849-3191.

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TANSECT

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ansect is a leisure-based Travel Tech company that focuses on the development of technology that is currently not available on the market. Tansect then pairs that technology with actual travel related operations, to enhance both the technology revenue and generate travel related sales and commissions. The company was founded by 20+ year Supply Chain and Travel professional Michael Heisman.

Tansect is a SW Florida (Naples/Fort Myers) based startup with its current growth strategy focused on the development of both traditional and exclusive travel options that exceed client’s expectations, and unique Travel Tech that can revolutionize the way that 100,000+ Home Based Travel Agents manage their businesses and generate solutions for their clients. The company is designed around Post COVID solutions, and with leisure travel returning/exceeding pre COVID levels this is a prime time for Tansect.

In June, Tansect is scheduled to introduce the first module of its TOaRS (Tansect Operations and Reservations System) functionality, which will be the Home Based Travel Agent Platform. This tool will allow Agents (that traditionally only utilize tools like Excel/Word) to elevate and manage their

entire business through relevant dashboards, real time analytics (provided through Microsoft integrated tool), revenue tracking tools and allow them to provide their clients with Web/App based interactive itineraries. The interactive itineraries not only eliminate the need to carry multiple printouts/emails (hotels, cars, flights) but allows the user (their clients, Tansect passengers, etc.) to build a full vacation within the tool by adding their preferred restaurants, attractions, and shops. Literally you can have your entire trip, along with all relevant information, listed chronologically in an app or website. This service is designed to be provided as both an Enterprise solution (the host agencies) and as a recurring monthly subscription model for the individual Agents. The Tansect Agents will also be clients.

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In addition to the amazing technology, Tansect intends to provide FBO to FBO flights between Naples, FL (APF) to two Chicago suburb FBOs. These flights allow Tansect passengers to bypass TSA, bypass the congestion of ORD and MDW, arrive 20 minutes before their flight (avoid the drive from Naples to Fort Myers) and be in a car 10 minutes after landing. This program will be offered under the US DOT Part 380 charter program (Tansect will not be an airline) and is expected to operate on 30 seat regional jets 1-3x weekly. The flights are expected to offer a higher level of service… as they are catered for both the higher income Naples residents with business in Chicago and the 14,000+ parties that live in the Chicago suburbs and have a second home registered in SW Florida. Tickets are expected to cost the same as a pre-COVID first class ticket from Fort Myers to O’Hare or Midway.

Tansect has also been working with SW Florida International Airport and intends to provide the only nonstop flights from SW Florida to Mexico and the Caribbean. The company intends to also provide seasonal flights from Green Bay, WI to Fort Myers to accommodate the 1000+ parties with second homes in the market. These flights are expected to be operated on 150-200 seat 737s or A320/321s and initially operate 1-2x weekly. As with Naples, these will also operate under the US DOT Part 380 charter program (Tansect will not be an airline).

Tansect has recently been accepted to the Naples Accelerator, and intends to maintain its primary office in SW Florida. The company is scheduled to launch the first of its Travel Tech in June but is also seeking 1-10 (maximum of 10) investors to invest in a Convertible Note totaling $1 Million. This Note is designed to provide promotion funds for it to grow the tech business and implement the previously mentioned projects, but also pave the way for 3-5 Reg D 506c offerings that are expected to generate approximately $40M over the next 5 years.

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The Note, offers: •

50% discount,

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2 year term

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Board Seats (if wanted)

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and allows Investors to dictate any triggers

Complete details about the offering can be found at the company’s website www.tansect.com or by emailing Michael Heisman invest@tansect.com Tansect has designed its Investor Portal and program for its Investors to be as engaged, or disengaged, as they prefer. If you love Naples/Fort Myers, like innovative and fun companies with exponential growth potential, or you are an aviation fan and would love to be part of an operation like this from the “ground up” this could be the perfect investment for you.

For more information, visit http://www.tansect.com/

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Venture Investing 4 Essential Questions to Ask Your Asset Manager

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amily offices often work with asset managers to help their clients build more diversified portfolios. We consulted Mike Collins, CEO of Alumni Ventures, one of the most active VC firms in the U.S.,* to learn more about the family office checklist when it came to venture. We asked Collins, ‟ What are the top four considerations when evaluating a venture asset manager? ” Here’s what he said.

Mike Collins: In venture, it’s the deals you get into that make all the difference. Here would be my key questions.

1:Are you seeing a high volume of deals?

In VC, volume is essential—you need to see a lot of deals to find the ‘pearls.’ If you don’t see enough deals, you can’t be selective about which ones you do and which ones you let pass. Volume also helps ensure that you can create a diversified venture portfolio.

Today, sector after sector is being disrupted, with the potential to build lots of value. Some sectors and some companies will do better than others, and diversification helps ensure you aren’t overcommitted to or missing out in any one area.

In 2020, Alumni Ventures evaluated ~4,000 investment opportunities and selected only ~220.

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2: How do you ensure you’re bringing in quality deal flow?

In addition to volume, gaining access to the most sought-after deals is critical. At AV, we leverage our network and co-investor strategy to help bring in promising deals. When it comes to network, AV has unique advantages given our nearly 50 investing professionals and strong connections to alumni ecosystems at schools like Stanford, Harvard, MIT, UCLA, etc.

ALU MN I VEN TU RES DEAL FLOW

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AV is strictly a co-investor, so we’re also looking for an established VC with experience in the stage or sector who is leading the deal.

We’re very pleased with our co-investor set. Many are household names, like Sequoia, NEA, Andreessen Horowitz, General Catalyst, Y Combinator, Bessemer, etc. Additionally, within firms, there are top-performing partners; it’s our job to know that and seek them out.

The value of our network is the other real differentiator that gets us into deals. Our team assists portfolio companies, tapping AV’s network of over 550,000 community members and subscribers for assistance as needed. That might be an intro to a sales lead, a consulting call, sourcing a team member, etc. We can also bring multiple funding sources to bear. Several of our funds might participate in an opportunity. Or we might offer investors the ability to increase exposure to the opportunity by investing in a single asset fund alongside an AV fund.

3: What is your process for selecting deals?

Rigorous diligence processes, clear evaluation criteria, and experience matter.

At AV, we first ensure that the deal has an established lead investor in place, with terms already negotiated. Then, if after preliminary scrutiny, the deal seems of interest and fits fund thesis and diversification targets, we run a disciplined process to vet for risk-reward. This involves reviewing company material, speaking to experts in the industry, talking to the CEO, conducting our own due diligence, scoring the deal, and having multiple AV team members review it. We use the same process and scorecard across all deals, so our standards don’t vary.

4: FON: What do you offer that family offices couldn’t do on their own?

Venture capital is a high-risk, high-reward investment. So to ensure you maximize your potential for gain while minimizing risks, you should ask what is the manager’s unique value add and explore options. I think AV checks the boxes as a good asset manager partner as I’ve defined it. We look at a much wider range of venture opportunities than most family offices or individual investors can access and thoroughly vet themselves. We’ve built a very efficient engine for deal sourcing and evaluation that we put to work for our investors in every fund and every deal.

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next day with the investor and purchased a portion of preferred equity from BrandProject at the Series C valuation. Investors in the round included Insight Venture Partners (HelloFresh, DeliveryHero) and Highland Capital Partners (Harry’s, Glasses Direct, Rent The Runway).

OURA: Connecting the Dots Oura produces a smart ring that tracks sleep and monitors biometrics. Its rings have been used to try to detect early physiological signs of COVID-19, even being employed by the NBA to track player and staff health. AV Managing Partner David Shapiro was inspired by a book on sleep to search for sleep-related venture companies. Discovering Oura, he tested the ring for himself and was impressed by the product and company.

That led him to connect with the CEO via a former colleague, leverage a reference from a portfolio company, and finally secure a last-minute spot in their Series B, which included Forerunner, Gradient Ventures (Google), and Square.

RIGETTI: Leveraging Our Alumni Network We connected to Rigetti Computing, a full-stack, turn-key quantum computing solution, by working AV’s vast alumni network. Our Yale alumni and friends fund, Blue Ivy Ventures, connected with a Yale acquaintance to get an intro to CEO Chad Rigetti, also a Yale alum. We joined an extension to the company’s Series B, led by Andreessen Horowitz and with strong support from existing investors including Peter Thiel’s Founders Fund, Sutter Hill Ventures, Y Combinator, Data Collective, and others. We then followed that with an investment in their Series C, following David Cowan of Bessemer Ventures.

CASE STUDIES IN DEAL ACCESS FROM AV We challenged Collins to provide examples of how his fund managers get AV into deals. He offered these three case studies.

FRESHLY: Monitoring & Cold Calling Freshly delivers fresh, gourmet, ready-to-heat meals to your door. Nestlé acquired Freshly in October 2020 for ~$1.5B. The opportunity was sourced via direct outreach to Freshly CEO Michael Wystrach. Having just seen the announcement of a large Series C, AV reached out with an introduction of our funds. Michael promptly responded, informing us that one of his early investors was interested in some liquidity. We connected the

To learn more about how Alumni Ventures creates diversified venture portfolios to help family offices and accredited investors achieve their financial goals, please reach out to FamilyOffice@AVGFunds.com *AV was rated by PitchBook as the most active venture investor in the U.S. in Q3 2020.

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“Our family has never had those kinds of investment opportunities.”

Private Client Services at BDO With personal wealth, comes financial complexities. With BDO Private Client Services, comes unique opportunities. Not only do we help affluent individuals and families manage day-to-day financial activity, we advise on long-term needs such as estate income, gift taxation, and retirement and life insurance planning.

BDO also offers investment opportunities with some of the world’s most successful private equity firms.

It’s all part of the exceptional range of private client services available from one of the world’s largest and most respected accounting and advisory organizations.

Jeffrey B. Kane National Managing Partner, Private Client Services 616 389 8619 / jkane@bdo.com

Accountants and Advisors

www.bdo.com/FON

© 2019 BDO USA, LLP. All rights reserved.

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Scott Hendon National Private Equity Industry Group Leader 214 665 0750 / shendon@bdo.com

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Why invest in Greif?

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We have a robust and diverse product portfolio with exposure to a variety of growing end markets. We are strategically positioned with more than 250 operating locations in over 40 countries to serve global as well as regional customers.

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We have a compelling customer value proposition due to our demonstrated commitment to customer service. We are pursuing our vision: in industrial packaging, be the best performing customer service company in the world.

Our collaborative approach to product innovation and end-of-life solutions supports our customers in solving their problems and growing their businesses.

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We offer numerous avenues for incremental low-risk growth and margin enhancement. We use the Greif Business System to drive a sharp focus on cost control and operating discipline. We employ a risk-adjusted return process that drives capital investment.

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We have a clear and consistent capital allocation philosophy with a laser focus on generating growing and sustainable Free Cash Flow. We also pay an industry leading dividend that currently yields more than 3% and would eventually like to initiate a progressive dividend.

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Finally, we are committed to sustainability and are a recognized leader in the space. Our sustainability strategies not only reduce our environmental footprint, they enable stronger sales, increased efficiency and reduced costs that create greater value for our shareholders.

A global leader in industrial packaging products and services For more than 140 years, the world’s most important products have travelled around the globe in Greif ’s industrial packaging.

We produce steel, plastic and fibre drums, intermediate bulk containers, reconditioned containers, flexible products, containerboard, uncoated recycled paperboard, coated recycled paperboard, tubes and cores and a diverse mix of specialty paper products. We provide additional value-added services to customers such as filling, blending, reconditioning, and recycling services. Finally, we own a portfolio of timber acreage and provide timberland management, consulting, wildlife stewardship and wetlands mitigation bank development. We partner with customers in a variety of industries including food and beverage, chemicals, agricultural, pharmaceutical, petroleum, automotive, home appliances and many more.

We offer two classes of stock that public investors can easily access. Our stable investor profile is concentrated in long time family ownership that appreciates our strong history of paying dividends.

For information, contact Matt Eichmann at matt. eichmann@greif.com or 740-549-6067.

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AMAZONIA IMPACT VENTURES

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f the current rate of deforestation continues around 27% of the Amazon biome will be lost by 2030. Scientists have warned that if deforestation reaches 20%, big portions of the Amazon would convert to tropical savannah. The loss of forest will lead to staggering losses of biodiversity, carbon, and, in turn, human well-being.

Experts agree that the urgent priority is to halt deforestation and secondly to regenerate the forest in degraded areas. This can take up huge amounts of carbon, at rates up to 11 times faster than those of old-growth forests. Indigenous lands cover 35% of the Amazon and deforestation rates decline by two thirds when land is managed by the Amazon’s indigenous people. A study led by a partnership of nine environmental and indigenous organizations identified that Indigenous enterprises can contribute to the protection of more than 100 million hectares of Amazon rainforest. Indigenous associations and cooperatives can deliver cost-effective emissions reductions through community-led nature climate solutions.

To protect and regenerate the forest, indigenous enterprises need capital investment to:

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Efficiently harvest, transport and market their products sustainably.

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Address financing gaps faced to scale up to larger operations and invest in R&D to commercialise valueadded products.

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Secure their land tenure, monitor their forests and biodiversity.

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Implement agroforestry farms and promote forest regeneration programmes.

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Amazonia Impact Ventures mission is to make finance work for the ‘natural guardians of the forest’ (indigenous and forest people) with the aim to reduce deforestation, protect biodiversity and improve their wellbeing.

The London based company’s project pipeline originates from strategic partnerships with indigenous co-operatives in the Amazon. The main trading commodities of these indigenous communities are Cacao, Coffee, Brazil Nuts and will have more products like Macambo beans and Sacha Inchi in the second half of the year. AIV has been working closely with Rabo Foundation and Conservation International as partners in Peru. We are currently open for Impact Investors looking to get a return of 5% pa on debt finance and also looking to speak to Philanthropists and Foundations to support our work with grants and maximise the technical assistance we can provide to the coops and communities.For more information, visit our website www. amazoniaimpactventures.com

IF YOU WISH TO FIND OUT MORE ABOUT THE PROJECT PLEASE CONTACT US : PAJANI SINGAH OR ALDO SOTO - PSINGAH@IMPVHOLDINGS.COM / ASOTO@IMPVHOLDINGS.COM

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Helping Family Offices to Effectively Navigate Government and Politics

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amily offices often have complex needs that require highlevel global logistics experience and international exposure involving diplomatic negotiations with foreign dignitaries.

Through its partnership with FON, Jarabek & Co. helps families in the FON network to develop and implement strategic initiatives, advocate for governmental policy, and shape the legislative and regulatory landscape. Founder and President Joe Jarabek has managed the integration of financial and political relations for a number of family offices who required help to establish a nationwide network of political, business and financial contacts.

Jarabek & Company is based on a foundation of public policy and business expertise, and the notion of careful integration of public policy and business strategy. The firm’s initial expertise was in political, legislative, and regulatory arenas, and grew through a significant experience navigating domestic and international markets. The firm has passion, commitment, and an innovative culture. Over the past two decades, it has developed the experience and background to expertly and efficiently assist clients in achieving effective strategies in government affairs and business objectives at home and abroad.

The team has a strong history of involvement in politics that dates back to the Bush Administration, including over 20 years of experience in public event management, fundraising, media relations, and campaign strategy and implementation. Joe Jarabek has consulted on numerous political campaigns at various levels of government, including local and national candidates such as George W. Bush For President, John McCain For President and Mitt Romney for President.

“As we all know, the business of government affairs is constantly changing, and in our current times – at a rapid pace. To advocate for strategic interests in this changing environment, it’s no longer enough to rely on a few relationships in Washington. Today’s savvy family offices must influence directly, and shape the narrative with policymakers,” ~ Jarabek says.

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OUT + ABOUT Family Office Networks is always in the move hosting events and parties that bring families together for fun, education and camaraderie.

Check out our Photo Gallery >> PHOTO CREDIT: PHOTOGRAPHYBYSUNMAN.COM

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FON Webinars

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FON Magazine Reader Services Office Address: 10596 Versailles Blvd, Wellington, FL 33449 Phone & Fax: 561-906-1181 Subscriptions: A subscription to FON Magazine includes 4 quarterly issues a year. Email subscription questions, change of address, reprint requests, and back issue requests to info@fonmagazine.com Reader Feedback: Send letters and story ideas to charlotte@fonmagazine.com Advertising: For a copy of our media kit and to discuss advertising rates, contact andrew@fonmagazine.com The information in this issue of FON Magazine is for information purposes only. FON Magazine Inc. assumes no liability or responsibility for any inaccurate, delayed or incomplete information, nor for any actions taken in reliance thereon. The information contained about each individual, company, product or organization has been provided by such individual, company, product or organization without verification by us.

The opinion expressed in each article is the opinion of its author and does not necessarily reflect the opinion of FON Magazine or Family Office Networks. Therefore, FON Magazine and Family Office Networks carry no responsibility for the opinion expressed thereon.

Any form of reproduction of any content on this website without the written permission of the publisher is strictly prohibited. © 2021 FON Magazine. All rights reserved.

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Connect with

FAMILY OFFICE NETWORKS

A unique collection of different Family Offices located throughout the world

PHOTO CREDIT: PHOTOGRAPHY BY SUNMAN LLC.

We link the financial industry and financial professionals to single family and multi-family office locations. Our unique business concept has been around for centuries, allowing us to perfect wealth management and financial management for extremely wealthy individuals around the globe. The main objective is to maintain and protect families that have large fortunes, trusts and successful family owned businesses. In addition, we offer our members effective and efficient ways to manage family fortunes through specific financial investments and charitable donations, while ensuring confidentiality, risk management consolidation and transparency.

WWW.FAMILYOFFICENETWORKS.COM

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