Chapter 16 - NORTHSTAR WITHOUT OWEN
Owen’s departure exposed governance weaknesses at my own firm. Too much discretion.
Too much trust. Too much reverence for legacy executives.
Sound familiar? We changed.
Investment conflicts required expanded disclosure. Personal co-investments prohibited without committee approval.
Principal relationship risks documented when counterparties intersected with personal life. Embarrassing but necessary.
Then one board member said: “We should have caught Owen earlier.” “Yes.”
“Did your personal relationship make us less skeptical?” “Maybe.”
I said it. No defensive leadership.
Then Northstar reimbursed investors for one set of expenses Owen improperly allocated. Firm paid. Not huge. Important.
Then regulator settlement. No catastrophic sanctions. Governance improvements. Again.
My company was not innocent backdrop. Owen operated because systems let him.
That was my responsibility as owner. Then I created stronger board controls and reduced family control over certain committees.
My grandfather would have hated. Maybe.
Then I visited his grave. Told him: “Your trusted guy used my dating life as underwriting.”
Silence. Then: “You also gave him too much power.” Wind. Fine.
Then I realized every family story had dead founder whose structures outlived context. Richardson. Northstar. Different cultures.
Same risk. Then Grant and I discussed children.
Maybe. If yes, trusts.
Clear. No secret beneficial ownership.
No “you’ll understand when older.” Then our daughter arrived two years later.
We named her Nora. I created a plain-language family asset letter.
Not legal replacement. Educational.
What Mom owns. What Dad owns.
What trust exists. Who decides.
No surprises. Then Grant joked: “Can she read before preschool?”
“Eventually.” Then Eleanor sent baby gift.
Silver rattle. Too expensive.
May you like
We accepted after confirming no conditions through normal communication, which Grant found hilarious. Then one evening I found old brown folder photograph in litigation archive. Water-stained. I stared.
No fear. Just paperwork. That was progress.
