- Mollie Staretorp
- Mar 11
- 3 min read
Updated: Jun 17
Family offices are built to protect, preserve, and grow generational wealth. But behind every investment strategy or philanthropic plan is an enormous amount of administrative coordination: calendars, travel logistics, documentation, vendor relationships, and interpersonal dynamics that often span multiple households and entities.
Many family offices maintain a lean footprint—deliberately small teams, often a blend of internal staff and external advisors. That lean structure is smart, but it also means any disruption—an overwhelmed chief of staff, a broken travel workflow, an inbox backlog—can create ripple effects across the entire operation.
That’s where an Executive Virtual Assistant (EVA) comes in: a discreet, well-trained support professional who operates behind the scenes to keep every detail moving forward.
The Family Office Admin Reality
Whether you’re running a single-family office or managing operations for multiple generations, the back office never slows down. Common tasks include:
Managing complex calendars for principals and stakeholders
Booking and coordinating multi-leg international travel
Tracking insurance, registration, tax, and estate deadlines
Coordinating meetings between advisors, legal teams, and external partners
Organizing and maintaining digital archives and sensitive files
Managing RSVP lists, vendor communications, and personal staff coordination
Handling logistics for family events, philanthropy boards, or seasonal home transitions
This work doesn’t require full-time employees—but it does require high attention to detail, proactive coordination, and extreme trust.
What an Executive VA Delivers to a Family Office
EVAs are uniquely suited to support the type of operational precision required in a family office environment. Here’s what they bring to the table:
1. Calendar + Priority Management
Maintaining daily and long-range calendars for family members and executives
Coordinating complex travel across time zones, homes, and countries
Managing recurring calls with estate planners, tax advisors, or board members
Protecting deep work or personal time while ensuring availability
Impact: Everyone knows where they need to be—and the right people are in the right rooms at the right time.
2. Confidential Communication + Inbox Support
Triaging inboxes to flag urgent legal, financial, or personal matters
Drafting and sending communications to vendors, contractors, or staff
Managing guest lists, RSVPs, and communications for private events
Filtering for spam, low-priority items, and external requests
Impact: Principals and leadership see only what matters—with clarity and discretion.
3. Document + Workflow Organization
Organizing legal, insurance, or property documentation in secure digital folders
Maintaining updated contact directories for household staff, vendors, and advisors
Tracking renewals, deadlines, and compliance dates (via Airtable, Notion, etc.)
Keeping shared platforms tidy and ready for handoff at any time
Impact: Reduces reliance on memory or individual staff, with institutional knowledge maintained clearly.
4. Vendor + Household Coordination
Communicating with service providers for scheduling, billing, and follow-ups
Creating SOPs or resource directories for each residence
Managing on-call vendors, repair schedules, or seasonal service coordination
Acting as a liaison between household staff and leadership
Impact: Homes, properties, and services run smoothly—no matter the location.
Who This Works Best For
We’ve seen EVAs deliver exceptional results in:
Small to midsize family offices where a Chief of Staff or EA is overstretched
Multi-household coordination across cities or countries
Trust or investment admin that requires regular, predictable follow-up
Philanthropy arms with recurring events, fund tracking, and donor engagement
Private families with a business entity or venture arm layered on top of lifestyle support
How the Relationship Works
Our Executive VAs are trained to be proactive, discreet, and flexible. They are:
Comfortable working across time zones or asynchronous routines
Skilled in tools like Gmail, Outlook, Google Drive, Notion, Airtable, and Dropbox
Bound by NDAs and confidentiality protocols
Available for 10–40 hours/month depending on complexity
They act as a long-term support partner who adapts to your rhythm—and scales with your needs.
Real-World Snapshot
A New York–based family office managing three generations came to us needing discreet support:
“We don’t need a full-time hire but we do need someone to keep everything from falling through the cracks.”
We paired them with an EVA trained in time zone coordination, document management, and vendor communication. Within a month:
All family travel was centralized into a single tool with real-time updates
Household vendors across three properties had updated point-of-contact SOPs
Their CoS reported a 50% reduction in calendar conflicts and inbox noise
The office didn’t grow in size—but its operating capacity multiplied.
The Bottom Line
Family office operations are complex, nuanced, and often invisible to the outside world. An Executive VA makes them smoother, smarter, and more sustainable—without disrupting the discretion that matters most.
Further Reading
Getting Started with a VA: The First 30 Days
Building Your VA–Exec Relationship
Managing a VA: Tools, Routines, and Boundaries That Work
The Difference Between a VA and an EVA — and Why It Matters