Spring Summit 2017

Family Office Spring Summit 2017

Genes, Technology, and Incalculable Ethics:

The Family Office of the Future

Wednesday, April 5th, 2017

9:00am – 4:30pm
Reception to follow

Hosted by

Harvard University
School of Medicine
Department of Genetics
77 Avenue Louis Pasteur
Boston, MA 02115

This full day summit will explore the intersection of the hugely accelerating genomics revolution and families of significant wealth.

We will share with our attendees the most cutting-edge science that will imminently alter all aspects of how they live and plan for the future.

Our ability to sequence genomes, essentially identifying all components of our DNA, combined with big data analysis and technologies that will allow us to edit DNA, portend profound implications for generational health and well-being.

The impact on family members, family dynamics, and family offices is inestimable.

The wealthy have a unique opportunity to become hyperagents of change. Trustees and advisors will have fiduciary responsibility to assist their clients negotiating these deeply personal technologies, which raise unpredictable questions and ethical quandaries.

Family offices must employ a bespoke approach, incorporating personal values, mores, culture, and the law, all essential components of decision-making in this new world of reading and writing biology.

The summit represents the beginning of necessary critical conversation and planning for imminent disruptive technology, and offers unique opportunity to dialogue with scientists of the highest caliber and other global families.

Special Guest

GEORGE CHURCH, PH.D.

Professor of Genetics, Harvard Medical School;
Professor of Health Sciences and Technology at Harvard University and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology

Faculty

Ting Wu, Ph.D.

Professor of Genetics, Harvard Medical School; Director, Consortium for Space Genetics, Harvard Medical School; Director and Co-Founder of the Personal Genetics Education Project (pgEd)

Ronnie S. Stangler, M.D.

Clinical Professor of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, University of Washington; Family Office Consultant, London, U.K.

Cliff Tabin, Ph.D.

Professor of Genetics, Harvard Medical School; Chair, Department of Genetics, Harvard Medical School; Current research focus Evolutionary Biology

Susan Dymecki, M.D., Ph.D.

Professor of Genetics, Harvard Medical School; Current research focus Brain Development and Behavior

Bruce Yankner, M.D., Ph.D.

Professor of Genetics and Neurology, Harvard Medical School; Current research focus Age-Related Dementia and Alzheimer’s Disease

“It’s all too easy to dismiss the future. People confuse what’s impossible today with what’s impossible tomorrow.”

GEORGE CHURCH, Ph.D.

Program

The program includes a variety of topics uniquely relevant to our special invitees, accessibly presented for non-scientists:

the evolving landscape of genomic technologies
gene editing in humans
the role of genomics in brain and behavior, reproductive technologies, and aging
investment and entrepreneurial opportunities in the genetics industry
philanthropic possibilities that will arise from family knowledge of genetic makeup
ongoing discussion will be facilitated throughout the day to address ethical, moral, social, legal, and privacy complexities inherent in the application of these new technologies, matters critically relevant to families of wealth

Guests will be offered a rare private tour of Dr. George Church’s laboratories, dedicated to the development and deployment of cutting edge genetic technologies, in the interest of protecting and promoting human health (with a curious side spur into bringing back the woolly mammoth).

Host Committee

Ting Wu, Ph.D.
Ronnie S. Stangler, M.D.
Personal Genetics Education Project (pgEd)
Howard Cooper – Cooper Family Office, Palm Beach, FL
Judy L. Green – President, Family Firm Institute, Boston, MA
Alexander Hayward – Wealth Strategist, Private Office Consultant, London, U.K.

Continental breakfast, lunch, and a closing wine/hors d’oeuvres reception will be provided.