Kathryn McCarthy

Kathryn McCarthy has extensive, worldwide experience managing the financial affairs of wealthy families and individuals, and for the last 15 years has acted as an independent advisor to families and family offices.

She advises families on a variety of issues relating to their family offices, governance and organizational needs, including strategic planning, family office performance assessment, establishing family oversight committees, creating family offices and integrating family office services with family owned operating businesses. 

In addition to her advisory work, Ms. McCarthy serves on family office boards of directors, private trust company boards, investment committees and protector structures of global families. She is a director of The Rockefeller Trust Company, N.A., serving also on its audit committee.

Ms. McCarthy is a frequent lecturer on topics related to the structure, management and governance of family offices, family investment companies, private trust companies, and global family protectorships and trusteeships.  Her industry participation includes both global family office/family business forums and associations as well as lecturing at academic institutions including the Columbia University and New York University Graduate Business Schools in New York and Imperial College in London.

Ms. McCarthy is a member of the board of directors of SEI Investments (NASDAQ: SEIC).  Is the lead independent director and serves on the audit, nominating and compensation committees. 

Ms. McCarthy is on the editorial advisory board of Trusts & Estates magazine.  Her not-for-profit activities include serving as a Trustee of the Greenacre Foundation founded by a member of the Rockefeller family to operate Greenacre Park in New York City and to support other green spaces and community parks in Manhattan.

Prior to advising family offices, Ms. McCarthy founded and managed family offices. She was the founding President of Marujupu, LLC, the family office of the Sulzberger Family (The New York Times Company), and started the multigenerational family office. She was also a member of the board of directors, the investment committee, and the manager of the Sulzberger Foundation.

Ms. McCarthy was a managing director, a member of the management committee, and the Director of Client Advisory Services at Rockefeller & Co., Inc.  Prior to this role, she was the Senior Financial Counselor at Rockefeller & Co., Inc., where she advised members of the Rockefeller and other families on asset allocation, personal financial planning and strategic wealth management.

Earlier in her career, Ms. McCarthy was the President and co-founder of a wealth advisory firm in New York City and began her professional career in the personal financial planning division of Donaldson Lufkin & Jenrette, Inc. and Alliance Capital Management Corp.

Ms. McCarthy holds an M.B.A in Finance from New York University’s Graduate School of Business Administration, and a J.D. (with honors) from New York Law School. She earned her B.A. from Rosemont College.

In 2020, the Family Firm Institute (FFI) awarded Ms. McCarthy the Richard Beckhard Practice Award to recognize her outstanding contributions to family wealth and enterprise advising.