Skip to content

About Us

We’re a family for your family business—a full-service advisory firm.

We are a full-service advisory firm created to help your family reach new heights. We’re a family for your family business, providing guidance when you don’t know where to turn, counsel when you’re considering a big change, and with you through all phases of your family business journey.

By the Numbers

We have been advising families for over three decades.

0

Years Serving Family Enterprises

0

Family Businesses Guided

0

Advisory Members

Our History

After careers as an executive and management consultant, Henry Landes founded DVFBC in 1988 to educate and prepare enterprising families for generations of success.  Sally Derstine joined him in 1992 and was key to launching our Educational Forums.  Having both grown up in family businesses, they brought first-hand experience and understanding of the complexities and opportunities as they guided multi-generational families forward. They moved through their own leadership transition in the early 2000s and then ownership transition in 2014.

Today’s DVFBC team of seasoned advisors – all of whom have personal family business experience – and their superb support staff consider it a special privilege to serve enterprising families. Enterprising families entrust them to speak into the lives of their most precious asset, their family; with the health, growth, and future of their businesses; and the development of well-designed governance for the whole enterprising family system. 

Our Mission & Our 5 MOUNTAIN® Model

To guide multi-generational enterprising families so they flourish as individuals, families, and businesses.

At DVFBC, our mission is to guide multi-generational enterprising families so they flourish as individuals, families, and businesses. Our 5 MOUNTAIN® Model is foundational in guiding enterprising families through extraordinary complexities that create clarity, alignment, and value in the whole system. To learn more about our 5 MOUNTAIN® Model click here.

Our Values

We Believe:

  • Healthy families are the soul and foundation of sustainable businesses; families are forever.
  • Family business is a complex living system; a change in one area impacts the other areas. Understanding, navigating, and governing a family business system well requires neutral, experienced guidance.
  • Multi-generational success includes building 5 Interdependent Teams and Structures – Family, Management, Shareholders, Board, and Advisors – and developing leadership for each.
  • Effective leadership, healthy communication, strategic planning, decision-making, and accountability need to happen in each generation.

Our Core Competencies

  • Our growing team of seasoned advisors and support staff bring deep experience in family dynamics; clear communication; leadership, management & organizational development; family business governance; and strategic planning for the family and the enterprises.
  • Our experience includes scar tissue learning from navigating our own family business complexities which we understand at the cellular level.
  • We create safe spaces, listen deeply, and facilitate crucial conversations where every voice is heard.
  • We work collaboratively in our own teams and with other advisors.

The Delaware Valley Family Business Center (DVFBC) is filled with such talented people that are so passionate in their work. Everyone at the DVFBC is so caring to guide their clients in their family business journey that impacts so many aspects of one’s life with the interconnectedness that goes along with the family business. We are fortunate to have the DVFBC as a resource in assisting us in creating a sustainable and impactful organization for continued growth!

Chris Santarpio, G2, Advanced Scale Company, Inc., Lindenwold, NJ

Meet Our Team

Our Advisors understand the inherent complexity of your family business system and how to guide you onto paths of clarity.

Meet Our Team

Our Advisory Network

It takes a tribe to support Family Enterprises through the generations. In addition to working with our clients’ advisors, we have selected, vetted, and collaborated with multi-disciplinary advisors, our Advisory Network. Our Advisory Network provides deep experience and expertise in a variety of competencies, and a collaborative spirit.

Meet Our Advisory Network