Interview with Vianney de Calan, Family Business Advisory Banker at Banque Transatlantique — Legacy Forum
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At the Legacy Forum 2025, the issue of succession is no longer simply a matter of passing the baton. Vianney de Calan, Family Business Advisory Banker at Banque Transatlantique, shares what he observes on a daily basis with entrepreneurial families: an increasing professionalization of succession planning to ensure the family business’s longevity across generations.
Professionalizing the Transfer of Entrepreneurial Assets
In recent years, entrepreneurial families have structured and professionalized the transfer of their assets. The goal is clear: to ensure that the family business remains within the family, generation after generation.
Among the best practices highlighted by Vianney de Calan:
- significant efforts to formalize processes and establish robust governance;
- the creation of robust shareholder agreements to organize long-term decision-making and keep shares within the family.
These tools help reduce areas of uncertainty and ensure the continuity of the family business.
Fostering an entrepreneurial spirit in the next generation
The second key focus area concerns training the next generations. This is not just about imparting financial knowledge, but also:
- a business acumen,
- an entrepreneurial spirit,
so that they are capable of evolving the company’s offerings, services, and the business vision itself. This preparation of heirs aims to equip them with the means to innovate and ensure the family business’s long-term sustainability, while respecting its core values.
The role of private banks in supporting families
In this context, private banks have a vital role to play in supporting entrepreneurial families.
Vianney de Calan highlights three key pillars:
- Wealth advisory and planning:
wealth planning departments structure the succession from legal, tax, and wealth management perspectives. - Training and support for the next generation:
beyond technical matters, some firms offer coaching services to address the human and psychological dimensions of succession and family governance. - Financing the transfer:
a transfer often involves inheritance or gift taxes, as well as the buyout of minority shareholders who wish to exit. Private banks structure and finance these transactions to preserve the balance of the family group.
Events such as the Legacy Forum provide a unique setting for private banks, family offices, asset managers, and families themselves to discuss these topics, blending financial issues with deeply human concerns.
About Banque Transatlantique
Banque Transatlantique is a private bank dedicated to wealth management since 1881. It supports families of entrepreneurs, executives, expatriates, and family offices with a comprehensive approach to their wealth, integrating their personal, professional, and succession planning needs.
A subsidiary of CIC and a member of the Crédit Mutuel Alliance Fédérale group, Banque Transatlantique relies on a network of international offices and several complementary areas of expertise: asset management, financing, support for shareholder-managers, philanthropy, services dedicated to Single Family Offices, etc. This ability to bring together diverse areas of expertise enables it to meet the complex needs of high-net-worth families and their businesses.
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