Steward, the Family-Office Practice of Cowen Partners Executive Search

Legacy is built with intention, led with purpose, and sustained through stewardship

Steward recruits the senior leaders who run family offices and the private enterprises they steward — Chief Executive Officer, President, Chief Investment Officer, Chief Financial Officer, Chief Operating Officer, and Head of Family Office.

Our principal leads every engagement personally, with direct operating experience inside investments, finance, and family office environments, including foundations. We work confidentially, on retained mandates, for families who measure success in generations.  We understand fiduciary duty, generational capital, dual-class structures, and what it takes to step into a principal’s organization without disrupting it. Clients tell us this is the single biggest reason they hire us: they’re talking to peers, not intermediaries.

Our mission is to match exceptional leaders with families of vision, integrity, and purpose.

Recruiting Leaders for Next-Generation Family Offices

Cowen Partners is a retained executive search firm advising boards, CEOs, and investors on C-suite and senior leadership recruitment for private equity–backed, founder-led, and Fortune 500 companies. The firm is ranked among the Top 50 Executive Search Firms by Forbes, Business Insider, and Hunt Scanlon.

Search engagements are led by senior partners and supported by total market access to proven executive talent. Through a rigorous search process, Cowen Partners delivers qualified candidate slates in an average of three weeks from kickoff.

The firm has completed more than 500 executive placements nationwide and maintains a 99% candidate retention rate.

Selective by Design

Steward is suited for single- and multi-family offices, principals, and closely held private enterprises that require discretion, cultural fit, and long-tenured leadership. Our engagements are senior-only, where judgment, governance, and alignment with the family’s long-term mission matter more than any line on a résumé.

We are deliberately selective about the mandates we accept. If a search is mid-level, transactional, or better suited to a contingent recruiter, we’ll say so— and refer you to someone who can help. Our work is for families and offices where the wrong hire is not a setback but a generational risk.

The Roles We Fill

Steward recruits senior leadership for family offices:

Chief Executive Officer or President, Chief Investment Officer, Chief Financial Officer, and Chief Operating Officer or Head of Family Office.

These are the seats where family capital, governance, and leadership intersect — and where the wrong hire carries the most weight. Searches outside this scope are considered on a case-by-case basis when the family relationship warrants it.

A Disciplined Process, Built for Confidentiality

Every Steward search follows the same five-step process. The structure is what allows us to move quickly without compromising discretion, depth, or fit.

1. Define the Mandate. We meet with the principals, board, or governance committee to document the role, success criteria, cultural context, governance structure, and the family’s long-term objectives. The mandate is the contract we hold ourselves to.

2. Map the Total Accessible Market. We conduct a comprehensive, confidential market map of every credible candidate — not a database pull. This includes leaders inside competitor offices, institutional investors, operating company executives, and adjacent industries where the right experience may live.

3. Engage Passive Candidates Directly. Our principals reach out personally to the leaders identified in the market map. We never post the role. The first conversation a candidate has about your search is a conversation with the principal running it.

4. Deliver Qualified, Interested, Assessed Candidates. You see a shortlist only after each candidate has been screened against the mandate, interviewed by a Steward principal, and confirmed as both interested in the role and available to pursue it. No résumé blasts. No filler.

5. Provide Weekly Transparency. You receive a written progress report every week of the engagement — total market mapped, candidates engaged, candidates progressing, and candidates declined with reasons. There is no black box.

Jacob Gamble, Principal | Family Office Practice

Jacob Gamble specializes in placing top-tier talent for family offices, focusing on aligning leadership with the long-term vision, values, and legacy of each family office.

His expertise spans recruiting CEOs, CFOs, Chief Investment Officers, and other key executives who bring not only the technical expertise required to manage complex portfolios and operations but also the interpersonal skills to build trust and foster collaboration within multi-generational families.

Jacob rose to the level of Vice President of Fisher Investments, overseeing a $3.3-billion-dollar business line during his 13-year period with the company. He then worked as a Managing Director at Paulson Investment Company, a highly esteemed investment bank focused on the small to mid-cap markets. Jacob later became Paulson’s top executive of their bridge loan hedge fund.

Known for his meticulous approach, Jacob combines industry knowledge with an ability to uncover exceptional candidates whose values align seamlessly with those of his clients. Whether it’s identifying leaders to manage intricate investments, scale philanthropic efforts, or oversee family governance, Jacob delivers tailored solutions that support growth, continuity, and innovation in the family office space.

His dedication to confidentiality and his personalized approach have made him a trusted advisor to family offices across the nation.

SELECT PAST FAMILY OFFICE CLIENTS

Our Proven Process for Family Office Executive Search

In family offices, leadership transitions carry generational significance. That is why we evaluate candidates based on skill, temperament, emotional intelligence, and alignment with the family’s mission. Our process integrates governance, succession readiness, and legacy alignment, strengthening both business and family cohesion.

With Steward by Cowen Partners Executive Search, senior partners personally oversee every search, ensuring alignment with family culture, values, vision, and long-term objectives.

What Sets Us Apart in Family Office Recruitment

Steward: Quiet Excellence for Generational Leadership

Steward, the family-office practice of Cowen Partners Executive Search, partners with families to place leaders who protect what matters and advance what’s next. Whether you require a seasoned Chief Investment Officer, a strategic Chief Financial Officer, or a transformative Chief Operating Officer, our senior-partner-led model delivers executives who operate with discretion, sound judgment, and long-horizon focus.

For established family offices and newly formed entities alike, we calibrate each search to your governance, values, and investment philosophy—so the leadership you hire strengthens both enterprise performance and family continuity.

Our role is to surface executives who combine discipline and discernment: leaders who can manage complexity, guide multigenerational planning, and execute with integrity.

Executive Search Locations

Quiet Excellence for Generational Leadership: Speak with a Senior Partner

Ready to define the next chapter of your family’s leadership? Contact Cowen Partners Executive Search to discuss your needs in confidence.

Family Office Executive Search Resources

Discover how Steward by Cowen Partners Executive Search pairs disciplined family office search with values-based alignment to solve critical leadership needs in C-suites from New York City and Chicago to Seattle, Atlanta, Dallas, Anchorage, Boston, New Orleans, Denver, Los Angeles, and beyond.

The resources below showcase insights, trends, case studies, and best practices in family office executive recruitment, succession, and leadership transitions from the trusted team at Steward.

Inside the Family Office Forum: Key Takeaways from the 2026 Opal Panel

Case Study: Strategic CFO Placement for a Private Family Office

Why Family Offices Are Choosing Direct Investments Over Private Equity Funds

Family Office Leadership: Building Generational Legacy Through Visionary Executives 

Jacob Gamble Explains Why Some Family Offices Are Recruiting Like Fortune 100s

Why Family Offices Must Insource Tax Strategy Now

Family Offices Are Competing with PE Firms for Investment Opportunities

Leadership in Family Offices: Where Private Equity Expertise Meets Long-Term Legacy

Global Trends in Hiring Chief Investment Officers: What Family Offices Need to Know

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