By Gordon Kramer, COO · Last updated: August 2026
Through a firm that treats discretion as part of the role, not a checkbox. Family office support spans professional and personal worlds; the same person may manage a board calendar, a household schedule, and a foundation's grant cycle. Palo Alto Staffing has staffed family offices since 1979, supporting principals through the full arc from founder to investor to philanthropist, in offices from one person to two hundred.
No two family offices are alike, so no template survives first contact: the role is defined by the principal's life, not an org chart. Trust compounds; these are the longest-tenured placements we make, and we hire for a decade, not a job description. The professional/personal hybrid is real: estate logistics next to investment scheduling, and the right candidate finds that range energizing rather than beneath them. And privacy is absolute: our searches don't name the family until the final stages, and often not even then.
EAs and personal/executive assistant hybrids to principals · chiefs of staff · office managers · household-and-office coordinators · admin, HR, and finance support for the office itself.
◆ [2–3 anonymized examples; tenure is the impressive stat.]
How confidential is the process?
Candidates typically don't learn the family's identity until late-stage interviews, under NDA. Discretion is why families come back to us.
Can one hire cover both professional and personal support?
Often yes. The EA/PA hybrid is our most-requested family office profile. We'll tell you honestly when it should be two roles.
Do you staff foundations too?
Yes. Philanthropic organizations have been part of our practice for decades.
What does it cost?
A percentage of first-year base salary, quoted per engagement, in writing, in the first conversation.