Dr. Rebecca Gooch might have published more reports on family offices than anyone.

She previously led the research division at Campden Wealth, where she was responsible for producing in-depth studies on family office operations globally, and how the landscape was evolving in response to growing complexity and scale.

For the past few years, she’s had the role of Global Head of Insights at Deloitte Private, where she covers family offices, family businesses, and ultra-high net worth individuals. 

If you haven’t seen her name, you’ve almost certainly read her work in publications like the Family Office Insights Series, one of the most comprehensive studies of family offices globally.

Amongst the now numerous (and highly repetitive) family office reports published, these stand out for their qualitative research, notably in The Fireside, a collection of revealing interviews with family office executives.

Mr Family Office caught up with her in London recently to find out what drives her work.  

“Family offices operate at the intersection of markets, governance, and human dynamics, and understanding how they balance those forces is critical,” says Gooch. 

“I am fortunate to learn directly from some of the world’s largest and most sophisticated family offices as well as their advisors—particularly around topics such as managing risk in uncertain times and sustaining wealth and legacy across generations.” 

Many of Deloitte Private’s studies take a year or more to produce because this time is required to share a genuinely new lens.

“One of the biggest challenges is ensuring that each piece of research meaningfully advances our understanding of the family office landscape rather than simply reinforcing what is already known.” 

For example, a recent report examined the evolution of the family office ecosystem, from the past to looking ahead to 2030. 

“By embracing a whole new analytical model, we were able to demonstrate that the family office arena is one of the fastest-growing economic landscapes globally.” 

The research reflected family wealth growth of nearly 190% over a decade, significant considering that family offices already control trillions of dollars.

“Given that this level of economic influence will be concentrated among less than merely 11,000 families, understanding how they operate and impact the broader financial ecosystem is increasingly important.”

Despite the wealth and influence, she still sees inefficiencies in how the industry operates. 

“One of the least efficient areas remains operational integration—particularly across investment, risk, governance, and reporting functions.”

Gooch notes that rapid family office growth has created fragmented systems, isolated data silos and lack of real-time insights on risk and performance, crucial during periods of market stress.

“Technology has the potential to address many of these inefficiencies, yet adoption has been uneven. In some cases, digital transformation has lagged behind the growing complexity and scale of family office operations.” 

As family offices continue to professionalize, she believes improved operational coherence and cyber resilience will be critical to safeguard both capital and multi-generation continuity.

Part of her daily work in engaging with family offices is to identify emerging patterns that signal what issues are most pressing.

“Having followed the evolution of this space for many years, shifts in sentiment and behaviour show up clearly in the data—almost like lights on a roadmap—indicating how the community is responding to the environment around it and where it is heading next.”

And it’s the influence of risk, geopolitics, and intergenerational transition that will likely shape the industry over the next few years.

“Many families are simultaneously navigating heightened geopolitical uncertainty, rapid technological change, and one of the largest intergenerational wealth transfers in history,” says Gooch. “How they manage governance, decision-making, and values across generations—while adapting to an increasingly volatile world—will shape the future of the arena.”

The long-term orientation of family offices can look unconventional compared to the traditional institutional perspective, but she sees this as a major advantage. 

“Many family offices are willing to sacrifice short-term efficiency or returns in order to preserve flexibility, resilience, and control over multiple generations.” 

This ties in with what she sees as a common misconception: that family offices are primarily investment vehicles, when in reality they are much broader, more complex enterprises. 

“Family offices sit at the intersection of capital allocation, governance, risk management, succession planning, and family dynamics, and their decisions are often shaped by long-term objectives rather than short-term financial performance.”

Translating the collective wisdom of leading families into practical guides that can inform strategies is a big part of her motivation.

“The most rewarding part of what I do is knowing that the insights Deloitte Private produces genuinely help families and their enterprises navigate complexity and make better long-term decisions.” 

Gooch plans to evolve her work to be far more interactive and granular, allowing readers to engage with large volumes of data more intuitively and relevant to their own particular circumstances. 

“Rather than offering only high-level insights, we are increasingly focused on breaking findings down by region, country, AUM level, and generation of wealth, so families can access insights that feel tailored to their specific context.” 

“Family offices are as unique as the families they serve, and research is most useful when it reflects that diversity.”

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