Dr. Barry Graff
Senior Advisor and Associate Partner
Cambridge Family Enterprise Group
Barry Graff is a senior advisor and associate partner at Cambridge Advisors to Family Enterprise, a highly specialized global advisory firm serving family enterprises. Cambridge Advisors and Cambridge Institute for Family Enterprise, an education and research institute, are divisions of Cambridge Family Enterprise Group, a global organization founded in 1989. It is devoted to helping families and ownership groups navigate the new economy and achieve multigenerational success for their families, enterprises, and financial wealth.
Based in southern California, Dr. Graff advises family-owned and closely held businesses on succession planning, organizational and leadership development, and communication and conflict resolution.
An important focus of Dr. Graff’s advisory engagements is the integration of management succession, ownership succession, estate planning, family relationship building, and family communication. His leadership development work includes assessment, training, and coaching of upper and mid- level managers, focusing on individual and team development. His work also includes coordinating with a wide range of professional advisors who also assist these family businesses.
Dr. Graff is a frequent speaker at university forums on family business, as well as regional and national industry groups. Topics include “Succession Planning”, “Family Meetings”, “Leadership Development”, “Team Building”, and “Communication and Conflict Resolution”. He has also presented seminars on these topics to attorneys, accountants, financial planners, and insurance professionals. He is a facilitator to families attending Harvard Business School’s Families in Business program.
Dr. Graff is the founder of Family/Business Systems. He is a Licensed Psychologist and a member of both the American Psychological Association and the Family Firm Institute (FFI), the preeminent association of family enterprise professionals. He is an active member of the Family Business Forums at the University of San Diego and California State University’s Fullerton campus.
Dr. Graff received his PhD in psychology from Michigan State University and has considerable post-graduate training in consulting with families and family-owned businesses.
