Cresset taps Bessemer Trust veteran to lead family office services

Cresset is bringing in a seasoned veteran from Bessemer Trust to lead the delivery of fiduciary, tax, trust, and estate services to its ultra-high-net-worth family clients.

Mark Tremblay, who is stepping in as executive managing director, head of Family Office Services at Cresset, will be based in Cresset's New York office and will join the firm's Management Committee, according to an announcement Monday.

Tremblay has spent more than two decades working with wealthy families navigating liquidity events, multigenerational wealth transfers, and the operational demands of large single-family offices.

At Bessemer Trust, he served as Regional Director and Head of Family Office Management, where he was responsible for all client service delivery across the Midwest region. Earlier in his career, he spent 12 years as a strategy consultant with the Monitor Group, focused on large-scale corporate transformations.

"His leadership strengthens our capabilities and accelerates how we deliver for clients whose needs continue to grow in complexity and scope," Susie Cranston, CEO of Cresset Capital Management, said of the new hire.

Tremblay's appointment is the latest in a run of senior hires at the Chicago-headquartered firm, which just last week announced two managing director additons: Ali Bathgate Hild, who joined its Denver office from J.P. Morgan Private Bank; and Mark Ostroff, also based in New York, who brings 35 years of experience in wealth advisory to help raise Cresset's profile across the region..

Cresset's hiring is aimed squarely at strengthening the firm's family office service layer – the highly customized, coordination-intensive support that distinguishes a true multi-family office from a standard wealth management platform. That layer encompasses investment oversight, tax planning, trust and estate administration, and the ongoing management of complex client relationships that often span multiple generations and business interests.

Read more: Family offices are becoming more professional, but face 10 key challenges

"I have spent my career working with families navigating complex, long-term decisions, and it is clear that what they value most is thoughtful coordination and true alignment," Tremblay said. "Cresset has built a platform and a culture that reflects that reality."

Globally, the multi-family office space represented $5.2 trillion in AUM as of December, according to reserach from With Intelligence. Our of the 1,632 firms tracked in that tally, 573 were located in North America, which accounted for over half of the global pool of assets.

In its first-quarter tally of new family offices, FINTRX found single family offices made up just over three-fifths of new entries to its database, with North America baing home to 49 of the 119 firms added during the quarter.

Read more: Keeping it in the family! More RIAs spinning off family offices

Still, the proliferation of family offices has stoked at least a bit of debate, with critics questioning whether all the new self-professed family offices truly deserve the title.

"They sell you a portfolio, refer you to an attorney or CPA, and call it 'integrated wealth planning.' As a result, the term ‘family office’ has become a catch-all without a clear meaning,” Anthony Englert, managing director at Sanctuary Wealth partner firm Alfa Advisory, previously told InvestmentNews.