Enterprising Families: Rethinking Your Approach to Family Success

Join Family Business Magazine editor Barbara Spector, family business expert Michael N. McGrann, Doug Pugliese and Kristina Harshany of SEI Private Wealth Management, and Steven Wittenberg, SEI Director of Legacy Planning, for a sweeping discussion on how successful families sustain wealth across generations.

Barbara Spector

Editor-in-Chief, Family Business Magazine

Barbara Spector, who grew up in a family business, has served on the editorial staff of Family Business since 2000. She has been editor-in-chief since 2004 and became associate publisher in 2011. She has compiled and edited seven volumes of the acclaimed Family Business Handbook series. Previously, she was the managing editor of Jewelers’ Circular Keystone, a trade magazine for the jewelry industry, which is primarily composed of family businesses. She is a magna cum laude graduate of the University of Pennsylvania.

Doug Pugliese

Director of Wealth Transition Strategies, SEI Private Wealth Management

Douglas Pugliese has been named Director of Wealth Transition Strategies for the company's Private Wealth Management business segment. In this role, Mr. Pugliese will be responsible for assisting new and existing ultra-high-net-worth clients to evaluate optimal alternatives for monetizing their business holdings and other illiquid assets to create diversified, investible wealth. Mr. Pugliese joins the firm with more than 16 years of experience in financial advisory roles as a trusted senior advisor to CEOs, senior executives, and boards of directors.

“Doug has been successful in cultivating relationships with individuals and businesses across the entire financial spectrum,” said Michael Farrell, Managing Director for SEI Private Wealth Management. “His experience and insights will be invaluable to our clients as we work with them to help make decisions and develop wealth strategies that are best for them and their families. We are excited to have him on our team as we build out our business and our client base.”

Prior to joining SEI, Mr. Pugliese served as Executive Managing Director and Principal of the Northeast region for a national valuation consulting and financial advisory firm. In this role, he was responsible for developing and driving business growth while managing the New York and Philadelphia offices.

Previously, Mr. Pugliese was a Managing Director in the Investment Banking Division at Bear, Stearns & Co. Inc. In this capacity, he developed and executed strategic merger & acquisition and financing transactions worth more than $12 billion while based in the Firm's New York and London offices.

Mr. Pugliese has conducted business all over the world, having lived and worked for more than 10 years in Latin America, Europe, and Africa. Mr. Pugliese also served as an officer and pilot in the United States Navy. He holds a Bachelor of Arts in economics and Spanish literature from the University of Pennsylvania and a Master of Business Administration in finance from the Stern School of Business at New York University.

Kristina C. Harshany

Director of Lead Generation, SEI Private Wealth Management

Kristina has more than eight years of experience in the financial services industry and holds the coveted designation of Certified Exchange Specialist® by the Federation of Exchange Accommodators.  This designation is only awarded to those professionals who have demonstrated a superior knowledge of 1031 tax-deferred exchanges, and their ability to facilitate exchanges.

In Kristina's current role as the Director of Business Development for SEI Private Wealth Management, a division of SEI Investments Management Corporation, her responsibilities include implementing and supporting sales strategies to support customer needs, and adding value to the customer relationship while expanding knowledge in the market of SEI's capabilities. Using her expertise in IRC §1031 Exchanges and her knowledge of real estate investments Kristina works with other members of the Private Wealth Management team to examine the larger picture of a client's wealth strategy.

Prior to joining SEI, Kristina was a Senior Vice President in the Financial Intermediaries Group of Citibank as part of a team whose primary role was to enhance the products and services offered by the 1031 exchange industry as well as to facilitate like-kind exchanges of qualifying property in accordance with IRC Section 1031. Previously, Kristina enjoyed a successful career as Assistant Vice President at a National IRC Section 1031 Qualified Intermediary.   In these capacities, she partnered with other industry experts to speak on Section 1031 tax-deferred property exchanges and related issues. Prior to shifting her career focus to the financial services industry, Kristina was the Research Director for a national appraisal and consulting firm.

Kristina is available to speak to any professional association, as well as small groups and individual consultations regarding 1031 Exchange transactions and is qualified to deliver continuing education credits for attorneys, CPAs and other professionals.

Steven B. Wittenberg

Director of Legacy and Philanthropy, SEI Private Wealth Management

Steven B. Wittenberg graduated magna cum laude in Business Administration with dual degrees in Finance and Marketing from Drexel University, a JD/LLM in taxation/Estate Planning Certificate from the Beasley School of Law of Temple University and a MBA from Fox School of Business of Temple University.  He is admitted to the Pennsylvania and New Jersey bars and maintains a Pennsylvania Real Estate Brokerage license.  In 2013, Steven was selected by the Philadelphia Business Journal as one of their 40 under 40 professionals.  Further, in 2008 and 2010, Steven was recognized by Philadelphia Magazine's Super Lawyer Issue as a Young Rising Star in the areas of Estate Planning and Tax.

The majority of Steven's career has been spent in consulting or legal roles.  For five years, Steven jockeyed between the tax firm of Drucker & Scaccetti, P.C. (“D&S”), providing tax accounting and business consulting services, and the law firm of Shaiman, Drucker, Beckman, Sobel & Stutman, LLP, practicing tax law and estate planning.  His client base primarily consisted of high net worth individuals, entrepreneurs, corporate executives, and family owned businesses.  Prior to D&S, Steven spent a combined seven years as a tax consultant at Deloitte, a “Big 4” accounting firm, and Rohm and Haas Company, a local Fortune 500 company.

Immediately prior to joining SEI, Steven engaged in an entrepreneurial start-up venture in which he was the broker of record for and partner of Icon Realty Group, LLC (“Icon”).  Icon is a vertically integrated real estate organization concentrating on traditional brokerage, property manager, rehabilitations, construction and insurance.

Steven is very active in the Philadelphia area community. He serves on the Board of Directors of the Philadelphia History Museum, Board of Director of the Drexel Board of Governors, President and acting Treasurer of Spells Writing Lab, Inc., a non-profit dedicated to fostering the love of creative writing in school children, is a member of the JEVS Human Services Corporate Partners, SEI Cares Grant Committee, the World Affairs Council, Philadelphia Estate Planning Council, Pennsylvania Bar Association, and Philadelphia Bar Association. Finally, Steven remains active in his alma maters, having served as an Adjunct Business Professor, mentor and outside class reviewer at Drexel University and a member of the Temple Law Alumni Association.

Michael N. McGrann

Managing Principal, TELOS Group

As the former Director of the Initiative for Family Business and Entrepreneurship at Saint Joseph's University, Mike built a program that focused on the strategic ownership and management practices of privately held businesses and entrepreneurs with an emphasis on the application of entrepreneurial strategy to the family as an “economic unit.” He taught undergraduate and graduate courses including The Family as Entrepreneur, as well as external education programs – conducting seminars for privately held and family firms, executive education programs, and personalized educational workshops for family enterprises.  Mike McGrann is the founder of the TELOS Group, a consulting services firm focused on growth and transition strategies for enterprising families. He has extensive experience in corporate restructuring, governance, portfolio and holding company strategies for large family groups and single-and multi-family offices.

Mike has worked on economic development projects as a corporate officer in a New York bank, and as a consultant with the Wharton Small Business Development Center. He lived and worked in the Dominican Republic, Mexico, and Finland, and speaks Spanish fluently. He holds an undergraduate degree in economics from Cornell, an MBA from Wharton School of Business, and an MA in International Studies, also from the University of Pennsylvania.