Family Business Succession Keynote Speaker
Family business succession is one of the most emotionally charged and financially consequential transitions a family will ever face. Tom Deans has spent over two decades helping families, advisors, and business owners navigate this exact challenge, delivering more than 2,000 speaking engagements across 29 countries to audiences who need clear, actionable guidance, not vague platitudes about "legacy."
Why Book Tom Deans for Your Succession-Focused Event
Tom brings a rare combination to the stage: rigorous research, real family business case studies, and a delivery style that makes complex estate and succession topics genuinely engaging rather than dry or clinical. He's the author of three influential books on the subject, including Every Family's Business, which has shaped how thousands of families approach ownership transitions.
What Tom Covers in a Family Business Succession Keynote
- Why most family business transitions fail, and the specific decisions that determine success or failure
- How to separate ownership decisions from management decisions within a family
- The emotional dynamics that derail succession planning, and how to address them directly
- Practical frameworks families and advisors can apply immediately after the event
- Real, anonymized case studies from families who navigated (or mishandled) succession
Who Books Tom for This Topic
Tom regularly speaks for wealth management firms, insurance companies, accounting and legal firms, and family business associations, organizations whose clients are actively facing succession decisions and need trusted, practical guidance.
Available Formats
- Keynote speeches for conferences and corporate events
- Virtual Family Meetings, a facilitated format designed specifically to help individual families work through succession conversations directly
- Workshops for advisor teams working with family business clients
A family business succession speaker specializes in helping families, advisors, and organizations understand the strategic, financial, and emotional elements of transitioning business ownership between generations.
Yes, Tom offers a Virtual Family Meeting format designed specifically for succession-related conversations, in addition to in-person keynotes and online webinars.
Tom frequently speaks to wealth management, insurance, legal, and accounting firms, as well as family business associations and conferences.
Yes! We offer significant discounts when you purchase FIVE or MORE of the same title from our on-line store. All orders qualify for Free Shipping.
If you are an advisor and are purchasing books for clients, remember to add a sticker to the book that includes your contact information. Pro Tip: some advisors also insert branded book markers in the books they share with clients.
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