Episode 74: Why Singapore Became the World's Family Office Hub, with Marleen Dieleman

Dr. Marleen Dieleman, Peter Lange Professor of Family Business at IMD Business School, joins R. Adam Smith to explore how authority and fairness actually get tested inside business families. Drawing on decades of research across Southeast Asia, including her early work inside Indonesia's Salim Group, Dieleman unpacks the public boardroom conflict at City Developments Limited and the Quek family, why succession stalls even when structures look sound, and how Singapore built itself into a global family office hub. The conversation moves through family constitutions, next gen involvement, and the governance habits that hold a family enterprise together long after the paperwork is signed.00:00 Introduction and welcome to Dr. Marleen Dieleman03:29 Her path from Rotterdam to family business research04:08 Studying the Salim Group and joining IMD05:27 How Asian family enterprises differ from the West06:33 Complexity from multiple wives and diversified holdings08:56 Government and private enterprise in the Asian NICs11:26 Chaebol versus keiretsu explained12:59 The CDL case study introduced13:56 How the Quek family conflict became public16:19 The pros and cons of being a public company20:47 Authority and the Asian succession context22:36 The difficulty of stepping back from power22:59 The King Charles problem in Asian succession25:16 Family offices and where private equity money goes27:59 Why Singapore's family office ecosystem works30:32 Attracting Western family offices to Singapore34:22 Building legitimacy through family governance38:42 Next gen involvement versus exit from the business44:11 Building a lasting succession plan48:13 The one thing families should start early49:38 Closing thoughts on fairness and legitimacy