Algorithms and Intuition: A New Approach to Family Office Recruitment

NEWSLETTER

Family office insights this week:

• A new approach to family office recruitment

• The latest family office compensation data

• A collection of essays from family offices and wealth advisors

• Podcasts: next gen mental health

• Why having fun is the secret to a healthier life

Algorithms and Intuition: A New Approach to Family Office Recruitment

Mirko Tagliabue is changing the way family offices and family-owned businesses recruit.

LinkedIn and other professional platforms have given the world access to hundreds of millions of professional profiles. It was inevitable that AI startups would seek to mine that data and disrupt the recruitment industry.

Many have tried and most have failed. Because recruitment is more than a numbers game. It’s an art as well as a science and one recruiter is blending raw processing power with a nuanced understanding of people and the market.

Zurich-based boutique Tagliabue & Partners argues that the game-changer is not simply artificial intelligence, but “AI deployed with creativity and empathy”.

Mr Family Office met with Founder & Managing Director Mirko Tagliabue to discover exactly how his company leads through innovation.

Built on the belief that small and mid-sized companies deserve Fortune 500 search quality, Tagliabue developed a proprietary method that blends algorithms with intuition to deliver just that.

Mirko came highly recommended by a top Swiss family office last year. Since then, we’ve met several times, and we love what he’s doing in the space. Naturally, we had to sit down and interview him.

Tell us how Tagliabue & Partners came about and what the mission is?

“After a decade inside a top global firm, I realized two things. First, SMEs and family businesses up to mid-cap face leadership stakes every bit as high as blue-chips, but are often not offered world-class search.

Second, modern data tools have flattened the playing field - a boutique with the right tech stack can access the same several-hundred-million-profile universe as the giants in our industry.

Our mission is therefore simple: deliver Swiss-grade precision and global reach to under-served owners, while treating each search as if it were a once-in-a-generation decision, because for many clients, it is.”

How have today’s public and proprietary databases changed the industry?

“Radically. In the 1990s firms hoarded proprietary Rolodexes; today any technically enabled recruiter can search the whole planet. The moat is gone.

Competitive advantage now rests on curation: knowing which hundred resumes matter out of a precisely defined search universe, and on the relationship equity to persuade passive talent to take the first call.

That is where a boutique’s senior-level persistence outperforms - always, now and for a long time still.”

What unique recruitment needs do family offices and family-owned companies present?

“Beyond technical skill, a leader must respect multigenerational values and sometimes navigate overlapping family and corporate governance.

To our first AnthroScope© meeting, we come prepared on eye-level to our clients. We advise and not only pick up a job spec: it’s a kitchen-table conversation about legacy and identity, the job and the archetype candidate, and the potential required.

This all requires our human ingenuity and empathy. What can elevate each of us individuals is a fully dedicated co-pilot such as a good coach and even an AI copilot inspiring and enhancing our own creativity and capability, available 24/7.

It will take time for the majority of us to grasp that! I think at Tagliabue & Partners we understand that now.”

Does being headquartered in Zurich help or hinder?

“Switzerland offers neutrality, trust, and ease of doing business that resonates with global families.

Downsides? Fewer Fortune 500 HQs on our doorstep, but that’s not our target market. We serve SME champions from Stuttgart to Singapore, often owners that fly into Zurich for board matters anyway.”

You’re vocal about AI, yet insist it never replaces human judgment - walk us through your proprietary method.

“Think of the AnthroMethod© as our engine for delivering transparent, consistent, and fast market intelligence, then turning that intelligence into the best-fit candidate every time - while we add value at each of the four steps.”

And the overall result?

“A search process that is openly visible, rigorously repeatable, and weeks faster than traditional models, without sacrificing the human judgement that ensures the perfect match. Continuous reporting enables continuous stakeholder buy-in.

This means a typical CEO or CFO search that once took 6–8 months now averages 4–16 weeks, time lags over 4 weeks only resulting from candidate and client availability. And the position stays filled: our three-year stick rate is 96%.”

What keeps you awake at night?

“Biggest challenge: staying ahead as AI accelerates. We reinvest a double-digit share of revenue into innovation and tooling. Next up are proprietary AI assistants for each member of T&P, enabling them, enhancing their capabilities, and leaving our consultants free for deeper dialog and hands-on analysis. We’re also re-investing the same in growth, with a Europe-first approach.”

What will executive search and your company look like five years from now?

“My advisors, partners, and I see three shifts:

1. Talent intelligence becomes table stakes. Clients will expect real-time maps of emerging talent, not just a shortlist.

2. Hybrid fee models. Subscription-style advisory aligning incentives over years, not placements.

3. AI-conducted reference loops. Bots will verify facts; humans will validate character.

For T&P, that means scaling carefully, maybe 50 partners worldwide, while never outsourcing creativity and empathy.

If we can keep that balance, we’ll prove that “small” and “world-class” are no longer contradictions - as they never have been. Many of our clients - niche global leaders - are evidence.”

Family offices need an evolved approach to recruitment

Annual global family office industry reports consistently highlight talent as a primary concern.

As more family offices form and existing ones professionalize, finding suitable candidates for new roles is one challenge, but convincing them to join - and stay - is another.

Recruitment processes that effectively merge new technology with human expertise offer a faster, more certain solution, as Mirko highlights in the Tagliabue & Partners approach:

• Speed x Substance: AI-enabled consultants slash search timelines, but cultural fit and potential assessment still hinge on human interviews.

• Data Democracy: LinkedIn has leveled profile access; insight, not raw names, is the new currency.

• Succession = Emotional: Especially for family enterprises, search partners must decode legacy, not just resumes.

• Boutique Advantage: Senior attention and flexible models beat bureaucracy when the stakes are personal and urgent.

There will be much more on recruitment over the next few months!

For more on Tagliabue & Partners: tagliabuepartners.com

𝕏 highlights

Morgan Stanley’s latest family office compensation data.

The most contested asset in inheritance battles: the family vacation home.

Regional variations on family office asset allocation.

 💼 where to work

Three notable family office job opportunities currently open…

Business Manager - Private Family Office (Newport Beach / SFO)

Family Office Specialist - UBS (Chicago / Service Provider)

Finance and Operations Director - Private Family Office (Hong Kong / SFO)

📚 what to read

Wealth of Wisdom is a toolkit for ultra-wealthy families and their advisors. It’s a collection of essays from family offices and wealth advisors. It tackles everything from how to structure decision-making, strategic philanthropy, to grooming heirs to be capable stewards. It’s heavy on practical planning, thoughtful investing, and balancing the messy overlap between family and business.

📻 what to listen to

Multi-family office Stonehage Fleming has a new podcast. In this episode, psychological consultant and mentor Jessica McGawley talks about the mental health challenges of the rising generation. It’s loaded with gems and is a must-listen for those bringing up wealthy kids.

📺 what to watch

From the TED archive… why having fun is the secret to a healthier life. I can get behind this idea.

And finally…

There’s more on careers coming up, including essential tips for family office careers.

Monday’s Family Office Buzz was a popular one with particular interest in the bait and switch strategy of fake family offices and the hidden cost of professionalizing a family office. If you missed it, you can read it here.

Hit reply if you have questions, thoughts, or comments. particularly around family office careers.

Until next week, here’s to your health and your wealth. 🥂

X