Pitcairn, a true family office celebrating a century of serving ultra-high-net-worth families, is pleased to announce a long-planned transition. Effective November 16, 2023, Andrew L. Busser, President, Family Office at Pitcairn will assume the role of CEO from Leslie Voth who continues as Chairman of Pitcairn Trust Company.
In December 2021, Voth first informed the board of her decision to retire from the CEO position at the end of 2023, and planning for a seamless transition was immediately initiated. Motivated by the desire to ensure continuity of strategy and consistent client experience, the board decided to look for a successor internally and Busser quickly became the leading candidate.
“Leslie is an incredible visionary and her contributions to this firm over the last 30 years are invaluable,” said Clark Pitcairn, Chairman of Pitcairn Company, the holding company. “I had the privilege of hiring her, helping her grow, and watching her journey to become the leader she is today.”
“She was the first female CEO and Chairman of the Board and the first non-Pitcairn family member to serve as chairman. Her passion for our clients and our employees is infectious and under her leadership, Pitcairn is in its best position in 100 years,” he continued. “We’re excited to have Andy take the CEO role and provide the continuity that is so important to our clients as he leads the next phase of growth.”
Under Voth’s leadership, Pitcairn grew as a multi-family office by creating an open architecture investment platform and offering a complete suite of family office services, serving the needs of more than 120 multi-generational families, including 22 single-family offices. She also led the development of Wealth Momentum®, an experience-based family office service model that delivers at the intersection of family and wealth to create better outcomes for clients across generations. Additionally, Voth embraced diversity and inclusion, recognizing the need for Pitcairn’s employees to mirror client families, especially as women decision-makers have become increasingly common.
“I am incredibly proud of everything we have accomplished as Pitcairn has evolved from a single-family office to a modern multi-family office. I feel honored to have led that transition, but of course, it never would have happened without the support of the Pitcairn family, our board, and the wonderful team of professionals who work here,” explained Voth. “When I took this job, the Pitcairn family told me, ‘Make the client experience your north star, and if that goes well everything else will fall into place.’ And it has. Pitcairn has evolved considerably during my tenure and the firm’s needs going forward are different than they were when I assumed leadership. Andy is ideally suited to drive the next phase of growth and I know I leave Pitcairn in good hands.”
“Leslie’s contributions to the growth and maturation of Pitcairn are immeasurable,” said H.F. “Rick” Pitcairn, the firm’s Chief Global Strategist. “It’s a tribute to her acumen that she hired Andy, who is now her successor and will lead Pitcairn on the next stage of our journey. Andy understands our business, our clients, and how to continue the growth trajectory that Leslie set for the company. We could not have chosen an individual better positioned to take Pitcairn into our next hundred years.”
In his current role as President of Family Office, Busser leads Pitcairn’s exceptional team of relationship managers, analysts, and client communications professionals, ensuring that the Pitcairn client experience sets the standard for families of wealth. Throughout his Pitcairn career, Busser has spearheaded the development of the Pitcairn Experience and he continues to position Pitcairn as a leading innovator among family offices. Before joining Pitcairn in 2015, Busser was a partner at Symphony Capital, a healthcare-focused investment manager of private equity and hedge funds.
“I am incredibly grateful to Leslie for bringing me into the Pitcairn organization and for being such an outstanding mentor and friend. She has set a great example for all of our employees and provided wonderful support and guidance for countless clients,” said Busser. “It is an extraordinary privilege to be a part of this firm, and I am honored to be named as Leslie’s successor.”
Pitcairn was established in 1923, but the story really began forty years earlier in 1883, when John Pitcairn founded the Pittsburgh Plate Glass Company, today known as the Fortune 500 Company PPG Industries, which built the family fortune. It was his three sons who established the single-family office. Today’s multi-family office, incorporated as a trust company, has 73 employees (49% female), a 100% open architecture platform of family-focused investments with more than $7 billion in advised assets, and offices in Philadelphia, New York, and Washington, DC, and a presence in Florida.