Doris Sommavilla

I am Director of Stonehage Fleming within the Family Office Division where I can draw on my experience in succession planning/family governance, both as a 3rd generation entrepreneur and as an advisor to other family businesses. I am Non Executive director of my family business, mainly focused on hospitality and real estate. I inherited my family business abruptly as nothing was planned. I struggled to find my role being the youngest woman back then. I then decided to take the lead on a project to help increase diversification of investments and roles within my family business. This is how I earned my credibility towards my senior family members and external stakeholders. The current crises has further validated my contribution: we have become a resilient family with a proper family governace in place and are navigating the current crises with peace of mind. Leveraging on my own experiences, I co-founded Family Hippocampus - an independent network of family businesses where members mentor each other, conduct research and publish articles on succession & diversity matters. Here I like to focus on promoting the role of women in family business and the importance of mutual support across generations. I am also an investment manager with over a decade of experience in dealing with alternative investments. I first worked for Allianz Global Investors in Italy, then for PIMCO in Germany where I was in charge of institutional mandates. More recently I was appointed as Principal at Blu Family Office based in the UK where I was in charge of providing investment advice on alternative investments to UHNWIs and family businesses. I studied finance at Bocconi University. I am a qualified family officer, a member of CISI, CAIA & CFA. I am involved in philantrophy with Skychildren.org I love to support projects that provide access to education and healthcare services to children from disadvantaged backgrounds.