Based on the concept ‘your network is your net worth’, Liz Priestman is one of the wealthiest individuals you’ll meet.

But as the CEO of IDG (International Deal Gateway) and Crest Forums, networking is her work. Or more specifically, building meaningful connections.  

And she’s worked with family offices for decades, or as she puts it: “long before the term became part of the mainstream investment vocabulary.”

Today, much of her focus is on bringing together family offices, industry experts, entrepreneurs, and other experienced leaders for invitation-only discussions around relevant themes.

These are built around stewardship and curation, connecting families across borders and introducing people and ideas where relevance and trust naturally align.

“At the end of the day, the objective is not simply to create meetings. It's to create conversations, relationships, and ideas that continue long after people have left the room.” 

We spoke with her to find out more. 

What drew you to the world of family offices?

Curiosity eventually led me into the family office world. What drew me in wasn't capital. It was the people.

The more time I spent with individual families, the more I realized family offices are not really an asset class. Each family has its own story, values, priorities, personalities, and way of looking at the world.

What surprised me most was how often families operate in parallel rather than together. Family offices are incredibly private by nature. Two families may live in the same city, invest in similar sectors, share many of the same interests, and yet never cross paths.

I became fascinated by the idea of creating opportunities for those connections to happen.

How has networking changed for family offices? 

Over the years, I've hosted gatherings across London, Zurich, Paris, Milan, Dubai, New York, and elsewhere, and one thing has become increasingly clear to me: people are tired of networking. They don't want to spend an evening wearing a name badge, balancing a drink in one hand while trying to remember why they walked across the room to introduce themselves to someone.

What they do want is meaningful conversation. Meaningful connections.

That's ultimately what led to initiatives like our Crest Forums. The objective is not simply to gather people in a room to sit through presentations or hear a pitch. It's to thoughtfully curate discussions around themes that matter and bring together individuals who can genuinely contribute to the conversation.

Sometimes the most valuable outcome is a business opportunity. Sometimes it's a new friendship. Sometimes it's a shared lesson between two families who discover they've been wrestling with the same challenge from opposite sides of the world.

I've learned when you put the right people together around the right topic, remarkable things tend to happen. My role is simply to create the conditions for those conversations to occur.

What are your thoughts on larger events and conferences versus smaller gatherings? 

There’s a place for both, but I have found many family offices aren't looking for more information. They’re looking for more meaningful interactions. 

We all have access to endless research, podcasts, webinars, newsletters, and market commentary. Information has become abundant. Trust has become scarce.

Large conferences can be wonderful for exposure, scale and discovery. Many people, however, spend the event speaking to the same three people they already know while politely avoiding everyone else. Introverts hide in the corners, extroverts work the room, and somebody always gets trapped listening to a pitch they are trying desperately to escape.

Smaller gatherings change the dynamic completely. People participate. They ask questions. They share experiences. They discover common interests they never knew existed.

How do you decide on opportunities, themes, and guests for your smaller gatherings?

I usually start with a simple question: would I genuinely want to sit beside this person for two hours over lunch? It sounds simplistic, but I've found it's a surprisingly effective filter.

We also take our cues directly from the families themselves who let us know what they’d like to learn about and see next. If you’d asked me five years ago if we’d host a forum focused on defense technologies, I would likely have said no. In the past year we’ve hosted several defense discussions. Interests evolve with what’s unfolding in the world, often influenced by geopolitics and broader global themes. 

In terms of who leads the conversations in the room, expertise certainly matters. Accomplishments matter. But curiosity, generosity, humility, and the ability to contribute to a thoughtful conversation matter just as much.

I've learned there is a significant difference between successful people and interesting people. The best gatherings tend to include both.

What characteristics do find the most effective families seem to have in common?

Curiosity and a commitment to life-long learning.

The most impressive people I've met are rarely the loudest people in the room. They're often the ones asking the best questions.

Many have achieved extraordinary success, or inherited it, yet remain genuinely interested in learning from others. They are comfortable changing their minds, exploring new ideas, and seeking perspectives outside their immediate circles.

Humility often accompanies that curiosity.

What is the biggest mistake that people make when approaching family offices for investment?

Assuming a great opportunity sells itself.  

One of the chief complaints I hear is family offices are inundated with opportunities and simply don’t have time to evaluate everything that crosses their desk. What often differentiates one company from another isn't the opportunity itself. It's the people behind it.

Relationships matter. Credibility matters. Trust matters.

The most successful founders spend more time listening than they do presenting. They do their research. They tailor their presentation accordingly. 

How do you see AI influencing relationship-driven organizations like family offices?

AI will make us more efficient. It will help us process information faster, conduct research more effectively, and identify patterns we might otherwise miss.

What it won't do is replace judgment. The family office world remains deeply relationship-driven. Trust, reputation, judgement, character and respect remain incredibly important.

If anything, I’m anticipating the rise of AI will make authentic human relationships even more valuable.

What has surprised you in the family office world?

How willing people are to help one another. Some of the most successful individuals I've met have also been among the most generous with their time, advice, introductions, and support.

Most of it happens quietly. There's no press release, social media announcement, or public recognition. Someone simply takes a call, shares an idea, makes the right introduction, opens a door, or offers guidance. Those moments don’t make headlines, but they often have an enormous impact.

I sometimes think of it as connection capital. Like financial capital, it compounds over time. It's built through trust, generosity, and a willingness to help others without immediately asking for something in return.

What are you personally most excited about building over the next five years?

More opportunities for thoughtful people to learn from one another.

The older I get, the more convinced I become that many of life's best opportunities originate from a conversation. A different perspective. An introduction. A friendship. A question somebody asks at exactly the right moment.

Creating rooms and environments where those moments happen naturally remains one of the most rewarding parts of my work.

I suspect it will remain so for many years to come.