In Conversation With: Justin Taylor on Inheriting Responsibility
Our In Conversation With series features candid discussions with inspiring individuals and leaders across diverse fields, exploring their journeys, values, and perspectives on wealth and impact.
When Justin Taylor stepped into leadership of his family’s affairs after his father’s passing, he inherited not just a complex portfolio, including operating companies, property, equity investments, art holdings, and a philanthropic foundation, but a legacy rooted in community, creativity, and stewardship. As COO, he brought structure, governance, and long-term clarity to the family office while navigating the emotional challenges of next-generation succession.
In this interview, Justin reflects on how stepping into leadership reshaped his understanding of responsibility, the pivotal role that governance plays in preserving both legacy and family harmony, and the lessons he now brings to the next generation of family enterprises.
Stepping into the Helm
Q: You assumed major responsibility after your father passed. How did that shape your journey?
My father was the anchor of the family’s business and philanthropic landscape. When he passed, there was an immediate sense that the centre of gravity had shifted, and something had to fill that space. I felt a strong obligation as the oldest child to honour what he had built, while also ensuring that we didn’t lose momentum or clarity.
Personally, it accelerated my development. There was no gradual transition. I had to understand the assets, the relationships, the governance gaps: fast. But that pressure created focus. I wasn’t just managing wealth; I was protecting continuity.
Bringing Structure to the Family Dynamics
Q: What did the family office look like when you first stepped in?
Like many entrepreneurial families, it was a collection of high-quality assets without any sort of unified operating model. The pieces were strong, successful commodity business, valuable properties, a respected charitable foundation, but they weren’t integrated or connected together. Reporting was inconsistent or non existent, there was a lack of strategy, governance wasn’t formalised, and decision-making relied on personal relationships rather than any structured processes. My task was to bring cohesion without losing the entrepreneurial heartbeat that created it all.
“My task was to bring cohesion without losing the entrepreneurial heartbeat that created it all.”
Building the Foundations for Success
Q: What were your early priorities as COO?
First, information. You can’t manage what you can’t see. I built unified reporting: cash flow, liabilities, investment performance, operational risks, and governance visibility.
Second, governance. That meant establishing boards for operating companies, defining decision rights, and giving advisers structured mandates. Families often underestimate how transformational clarity can be.
Third, communication. With assets and people spread across locations, transparency became essential to reduce confusion and avoid duplication. This also meant importantly consistency of information flow for all family members.
Safeguarding Tradition
Q: You continue to oversee heritage businesses like Harris Tweed Hebrides. What has stewardship taught you?
Heritage businesses carry identity. They’re not just commercial assets, they have cultural meaning and community impact. Stewardship is about balancing those emotional dimensions with disciplined governance.
“Heritage businesses carry identity. They’re not just commercial assets, they have cultural meaning and community impact. Stewardship is about balancing those emotional dimensions with disciplined governance.”
With Harris Tweed, for example, you’re not simply optimising for profit you’re safeguarding a tradition. That requires patience, respect, and a willingness to make decisions that honour both history and the future viability of the enterprise. This includes driving forward innovation and technological advance to ensure the business continues to grow and reach new markets.
Philanthropy as a Unifying Force
Q: The Taylor Family Foundation seems central to your structure. How does philanthropy influence the wider family office?
The foundation is where the family’s values are most visible and most public. Supporting young people in education, the arts and sport isn’t just philanthropic activity, it forms a narrative that binds generations together. It also brought operational rigour. Impact measurement, partner due diligence, and governance discipline within the foundation fed directly into how we structured the commercial side.
Bringing Governance to Gifting
Q: You recently shared advice on intergenerational property transfers. Why does this matter so much?
Because property is emotional territory. Parents naturally want to help their children, but without structure, gifts become seeds of future conflict. My message was simple: generosity needs governance.
“Parents naturally want to help their children, but without structure, gifts become seeds of future conflict. My message was simple: generosity needs governance.”
That means co-ownership agreements with clear rights, responsibilities and buy-out clauses. It means fairness in contributions, if one sibling pays more into a mortgage or renovation, ownership should reflect that. It means compliance with tax rules to avoid traps. And it means transparency: sharing budgets, valuations and risks early.
Property gifting is a legacy decision, not an administrative one. When handled well, it strengthens family unity. When handled poorly, it fractures it.
Turning Lived Experience Into Guidance
Q: When did you decide to advise other families independently?
After the last five years, I realised the challenges we solved were universal: unclear governance, under-managed operating companies, reactive strategy, and succession without structure. Families often reinvent the wheel , sometimes painfully.
As a next-gen myself, I understand both the structural and emotional dimensions. Consulting allows me to bring that lived perspective to help other families avoid avoidable mistakes and build durable structures.
“As a next-gen myself, I understand both the structural and emotional dimensions. Consulting allows me to bring that lived perspective to help other families avoid avoidable mistakes and build durable structures.”
Continuity With Purpose
Q: What advice would you give a next-gen stepping into responsibility?
Spend time with the assets and the people. Understand the history. Ask difficult questions early. And don’t assume that inheriting responsibility means replicating what came before. Your job isn’t preservation for its own sake, it’s continuity with purpose. Finally be good to yourself and patient – it won’t be easy all the time.
If you are interested in finding out more information about how Bedrock helps families to shape their governance frameworks, navigate succession and safeguard their legacy, please get in touch info@bedrockgroup.ch for more information.
