Industry Partners

In keeping with our interdisciplinary family enterprise development model, many of our projects involve financial, technical, legal, management, psychological or strategic components that require specific expertise from other professions. To help our client families find and select specialists in these areas, we have developed a network of colleagues and affiliated institutions who are global leaders in these fields. They are all committed to an integrated approach to meeting the client families’ needs in projects coordinated by Next Step Advisors.

Laura North

EXECUTIVE COACH
TRUENORTHCOACHING.COM

Laura is a bold, intuitive and seasoned coach. Accredited through The Coaches Training Institute in the late nineties, she is one of the first certified coaches in Vancouver, Canada. She  has partnered with people in both their business environments and their personal lives to establish what they want, strategize how to get it and then move into action. Her clients consistently say that her coaching brings clarity to their lives, a desire to elevate their leadership and the incentive to improve their most important relationships, both at home and at work. Laura has completed advanced training in Organization and Relationship Systems Coaching, has a positive attitude and a no-nonsense style that is refreshing and effective.

Ruth Steverlynck

CHIEF LEARNING OFFICER TO FAMILIES
YOURFAMILYENTERPRISE.COM

Wealth in families can be a source of enormous opportunity, freedom and choice. The successful transition of wealth within a family is complex.

Ruth’s great passion is working with families to help navigate this complexity – planning for the human/relational aspects of wealth transition: fostering positive communication, managing upsets and developing key competencies needed to realize aspirations.

Traditional planning prepares the assets for the family.

The focus of Ruth’s work is to prepare the family for the assets.

With an international background in Law, Dispute Resolution, Education and Governance, Ruth recognizes that no single approach works for all so draws upon her diverse experience and network of resources.

Her particular area of expertise is the arena of inherited wealth. She primarily consults to Family Offices and/or families whose wealth sits in Trust.

Don Maunders

STRATEGIC PLANNER
ONSTRATEGYCONSULTING.COM

With a passion for developing transformational strategic plans, Don has 30 years of hands on experience creating and executing winning corporate and marketing strategies. His proven formula for achieving breakthrough results is based on a combination of insight, focus and team engagement.

The road traveled for Don includes twenty years of driving forward one of Canada’s best managed companies, A&W Foodservices of Canada Inc.

As a key member of the executive team that turned around the A&W chain in Canada from a fading drive-in business to a thriving leader in the Quick Service Restaurant sector, Don held senior positions across the organization, including Operations Management, Marketing, and Human Resources/Organizational Development.

Don holds an MBA from the Ivey School of Business at the University of Western Ontario, a Bachelor of Science for the University of British Columbia and is a Certified Co-Active Coach through the Coach Training Institute in San Rafael, California.

Born in New Westminster BC, Don now lives in North Vancouver with his wife and two sons. Don is passionate about living a fulfilling life coloured by a mix of interests and great friends and family.

Paul Attia

FAMILY BUSINESS ADVISOR AND EXECUTIVE COACH

Paul is both a family business executive, and a family enterprise advisor. Prior to joining the stone quarry business founded by his immigrant father, Paul spent nearly a decade as a criminal prosecutor.

Paul’s background, professionally and personally, places him at the critical nexus of overlapping spheres:  the professional pedigree to identify, grasp and distill family enterprise issues and the personal experience to skillfully and sensitively help family members navigate them.

A varsity athlete in university, a two-sport varsity athlete in law school, and now, a husband and father, Paul understands the challenges faced by the competing interests of family life, work success and personal fulfillment.  As an Executive Coach and Advisor, Paul understands that our lives are the aggregate of our decisions; and our decision-making practices are developed by asking the right questions, in order to find the best answers.

With degrees in psychology and law, a passion for people and the expertise of asking important questions, Paul brings a unique and invaluable set of skills to the individuals and families he serves.