Built to Bend: Creating Family Cultures That Can Change and Stay Connected

In this episode, we’re joined by Katherine Bright, Family Enterprise Consultant at Trella Advisory Group. For nearly two decades, Kathy has helped family businesses navigate the decisions, relationships, and responsibilities that shape continuity across generations. Her work spans consulting, education, and board service, giving her a grounded understanding of the challenges families, boards, and advisors face when certainty gives way to change. Alongside her client work, she teaches and develops training for family enterprise professionals, focusing on leadership, succession, governance, strategy, risk, and productive family relationships. Our conversation explores the role curiosity can play when answers are not yet clear, including the fine line between anxiety and excitement, how families and boards respond to uncertainty, and what can emerge when failure is treated as part of growth. Kathy invites us to consider what becomes possible when families loosen their grip on certainty, ask better questions, and keep choosing one another even when the path forward is still taking shape. About Kathy Bright Katherine Bright is a Family Enterprise Consultant at Trella Advisory Group and has worked in the family enterprise world for nearly twenty years. As a consultant, educator, and board director, she works with family businesses to help them thrive across generations. In addition to supporting family enterprise clients, Kathy also guides advisory professionals, helping them better understand the complex needs of family business clients. From university teaching to tailored training programs for family enterprise advisors and family enterprises, Kathy’s expertise as an educator combines both technical guidance and strong interpersonal connections. She also brings extensive hands-on experience with strategy and governance through her service on multiple family business, government, and not-for-profit boards. Kathy is passionate about leadership, succession and continuity planning, strategy, risk management, governance structures, fiduciary responsibility, and helping families maintain positive and productive relationships within their enterprises. Resources discussed in this episode: Walt Whitman Built to Last by Jim Collins From Good to Great by Jim Collins Family Enterprise Canada Contact Cory Gagnon | Beacon Family Office at CI Assante Wealth Management Ltd.  Website: BeaconFamilyOffice.com LinkedIn: Cory Gagnon LinkedIn: Beacon Family Office Email: [email protected] Contact Kathy Bright | Trella Advisory Group Website: www.trella.ca LinkedIn: Kathy Bright Email: [email protected]  Phone: 604-617-0918 Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.