Sharing our thinking

CMG regularly updates our thinking on research, trends, and stories about business families and how best to support them.

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There are a lot of ways to do succession, but this isn’t one of them

Few succession sagas have been watched as closely as the Murdoch family’s. For decades, speculation has surrounded billionaire Rupert Murdoch’s succession, the business magnate who built a single Australian newspaper into a global media empire, News Corp. After dominating the conservative media landscape and exerting considerable influence over politics, journalism, and entertainment for over seven decades, 93-year-old Rupert is now attempting to amend an irrevocable trust in court...

The Nordstrom family: Legacy through ownership

The Nordstroms are finally doing it: They’re taking their four-generation family business private. The deal marks the end of over 50 years as a public company since 1971 for the 123-year-old Seattle-based retail chain. This move will give the Nordstrom family the freedom and flexibility to focus on long-term strategy, without the pressures and scrutiny of being publicly traded. In other words, the Nordstrom family is repositioning themselves to play the long game...

Expanding investment potential with participating whole life insurance

Modern Portfolio Theory (MPT) has long been a foundation in the world of investment portfolio management. The added benefit of combining MPT with participating whole life insurance empowers business families to optimize the risk-return relationship within their portfolios, giving them another tool in their arsenal to steward the wealth they’ve worked hard to accumulate...

The Gucci family: Lessons in legacy, power, and succession

What started as Guccio Gucci’s vision of Italian luxury — inspired by his days as a luggage porter at London’s famous Savoy Hotel — quickly became a cautionary tale littered with deceit, fraud, and murder. Three generations of a family managed to make Gucci the most sought-after luxury brand and empire. But, over a few decades, they lost it all. Today, Gucci is owned by Kering, a multinational holding company based out of France...

Jen McCain joins CMG as a Special Advisor to Canada's business families

Creaghan McConnell Gould is pleased to announce that Jen McCain will be supporting the CMG team as a Special Advisor as of March 3, 2025. In some way, shape, or form, Jen has been part of a successful family business her entire life, equipping her with a wealth of first-hand knowledge and experience to offer to both CMG and the highly accomplished Canadian business families we’re privileged to serve...

Family, farming, and the future: The McCain family's entrepreneurial success story

For CMG, the McCain family stands as a shining example of excellence in family business. As a recent example, McCain’s CEO, Max Koeune, has been named the Globe and Mail’s Corporate Citizen of the Year, a testament to the family’s remarkable leadership and the company’s global impact...

Advancing advisor relationships: CMG appoints Jay McConnell as Manager of Advisor Services

Creaghan McConnell Gould is pleased to announce Jay McConnell’s appointment as Manager of Advisor Services, effective August 6th, 2024. Jay comes to CMG after over six-and-a-half years at PwC Canada. His most recent role was as a Manager in the Private Wealth tax group, supporting high-net-worth Canadians and their families with a range of complex advisory needs including tax and estate planning, tax audits, and tax compliance...

The Arnault Family: Mixing family and non-family for the long game

To family businesses worldwide, LVMH may be considered the quintessential example of a well-oiled family operation. As more Arnault family members move into positions of power, the Board's makeup begs the question: Is there such a thing as too much or too little family within a family business?...

Matt Mammola joins CMG to guide families through complex estate, tax, and succession planning

Creaghan McConnell Gould is pleased to announce Matt Mammola’s appointment as a Family Capital Advisor, effective August 6th, 2024. Matt joins CMG after a twenty-year career at Ernst & Young (EY), where he was a Tax Partner. He has extensive experience providing tax planning and advisory services for Canadian entrepreneurs and business families...

Today, we become Creaghan McConnell Gould.

We’re delighted to announce that our company’s official name is changing to Creaghan McConnell Gould, effective Sept. 6, 2024. This change reflects the commitment of our owners – Peter Creaghan, Marty McConnell and Bob Gould – to build a 3rd generation business in serving and supporting Canada’s business families.

The “long tail” on the Capital Gains increase and its impact on business families

Much has been discussed on the impact of the recent increase to the capital gains inclusion rate, from 50% to 66.6%, effective June 25, 2024. The federal government shared that it designed the increase to extract more tax revenue from ultra-high-net-worth Canadians to pay for its various spending priorities...

The Robinson Family:
A blindsided inheritance arrangement

Dick Robinson died unexpectedly in 2021 while still leading the family business. Dick hadn’t left the century-old company to either of his sons, Ben or Reece, as his father had left it to him. Instead, Dick’s will left Scholastic, and all of his personal possessions, in the control of Iole Lucchese, Scholastic’s Chief Strategy Officer...