Ruth’s career began as a litigator where she quickly learned that win/lose approaches are less than optimal when relationships are at the heart of what matters.
She leveraged her legal background to pursue a career in mediation, honing skills in effective communication practices, conflict management, and good decision making. Today, Ruth is recognized as a valued family wealth advisor. She draws upon her international background in law, mediation, governance, and education to help families navigate the complexity that arises where power, money and love overlap.
“When significant financial resources overlay family or intimate relationships, there can be a tendency to at best put off and at worst completely avoid the important but difficult conversations and the critical work families need to engage in.”
Ruth has spent the past 15 years of her career pursuing her great passion of working alongside families where the shared hope and aspiration is to realize the true meaning of wealth as well being. She engages with individual family members, couples, siblings, and families as a whole, using time-tested models and frameworks supported by meaningful learning to create the conditions where both the quantitative and qualitative aspects of significant financial resources are in balance.
“Traditional planning prepares the assets for the family; I am much more interested in preparing the family for the assets. Families of wealth need both.”
Ruth holds an honors law degree from the University of Edinburgh, Scotland, and numerous credentials in mediation and conflict management. She was one of the first Canadians to be designated a Family Enterprise Advisor (FEA) and she is a Fellow of the globally recognized Family Firm Institute (FFI). Prior to joining The Lovins Group, Ruth held positions at PwC running the PwC Centre for Entrepreneurs and Family Business, Vice President of Private Wealth at a large Canadian financial institution and ran her own private consulting firm. She teaches Governance in the FEA Program which is delivered at three Canadian Universities and is a lead adjudicator in the FEA designation process.