François de Visscher - Fourth Generation Wisdom
Sat Jan 31 2026
The Private Capital podcast spent a delightful afternoon with François de Visscher, a fourth-generation family member of the Belgian multinational firm Bekaert, which was founded in 1880. François has been a longtime and respected consultant and banker to family offices and family businesses, and it was a real pleasure to listen to his accumulated wisdom. We spoke about what families get right and wrong about direct investing, where families have an edge over private equity funds, and how to compete for top talent against the Street. Most interesting of all were the rules their family created for joining the family business. By requiring education and experience outside the business, family members often found their own successful careers outside the family business.
François M. de Visscher is a Belgium-born advisor with more than 30 years of experience advising business-owning families across the United States, Canada, Europe, the Middle East, and Latin America. He advises family ownership groups, family offices, and family companies on liquidity, capital needs, intergenerational wealth transfers, governance, restructuring, and mergers and acquisitions. In 1990, he founded de Visscher & Co., a leading independent advisory firm for family and closely held companies that has advised more than 300 family enterprises worldwide. He previously founded Wall Street's first Family Business Group at Smith Barney and most recently co-founded FODIS LP and Family Capital Partners, and serves as a senior advisor and associate partner at Cambridge Advisors to Family Enterprise.
François is a shareholder and former director of his own family's global enterprise, N.V. Bekaert S.A., headquartered in Belgium and founded by his great-grandfather in 1880. Today, the Bekaert Group generates approximately $5 billion in annual sales, operates in more than 120 countries, and is publicly traded while remaining controlled by the Bekaert family across five generations. Mr. de Visscher has served on the company's board of directors and as a member of the family council.
François is Honorary Consul of Belgium in the United States. He holds a Bachelor of Economics (Honors) from Université Catholique de Louvain, and an MBA from Rutgers University.
Please enjoy my conversation with François de Visscher.
de Visscher Advisors: https://www.devisscher.com/about-us
FODIS LP: https://www.fodisllc.com
If you like these discussions, please subscribe or leave a review.
NOTE: This podcast is for educational and entertainment purposes only. Anything said by the guests or host should not be construed as legal or investment advice. Thanks for listening.
Joe Reilly is the head of Circulus Group, a family office network, and the host of The Inheritance Podcast.
FOLLOW JOE: https://twitter.com/joereillyjr
WEBSITE: https://circulus.substack.com/
INHERITANCE PODCAST: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-inheritance-podcast/id1644964
If you like this show, leave us a rating or review. I appreciate it.
S5E2
©2026 Joe Reilly
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The Private Capital podcast spent a delightful afternoon with François de Visscher, a fourth-generation family member of the Belgian multinational firm Bekaert, which was founded in 1880. François has been a longtime and respected consultant and banker to family offices and family businesses, and it was a real pleasure to listen to his accumulated wisdom. We spoke about what families get right and wrong about direct investing, where families have an edge over private equity funds, and how to compete for top talent against the Street. Most interesting of all were the rules their family created for joining the family business. By requiring education and experience outside the business, family members often found their own successful careers outside the family business. François M. de Visscher is a Belgium-born advisor with more than 30 years of experience advising business-owning families across the United States, Canada, Europe, the Middle East, and Latin America. He advises family ownership groups, family offices, and family companies on liquidity, capital needs, intergenerational wealth transfers, governance, restructuring, and mergers and acquisitions. In 1990, he founded de Visscher & Co., a leading independent advisory firm for family and closely held companies that has advised more than 300 family enterprises worldwide. He previously founded Wall Street's first Family Business Group at Smith Barney and most recently co-founded FODIS LP and Family Capital Partners, and serves as a senior advisor and associate partner at Cambridge Advisors to Family Enterprise. François is a shareholder and former director of his own family's global enterprise, N.V. Bekaert S.A., headquartered in Belgium and founded by his great-grandfather in 1880. Today, the Bekaert Group generates approximately $5 billion in annual sales, operates in more than 120 countries, and is publicly traded while remaining controlled by the Bekaert family across five generations. Mr. de Visscher has served on the company's board of directors and as a member of the family council. François is Honorary Consul of Belgium in the United States. He holds a Bachelor of Economics (Honors) from Université Catholique de Louvain, and an MBA from Rutgers University. Please enjoy my conversation with François de Visscher. de Visscher Advisors: https://www.devisscher.com/about-us FODIS LP: https://www.fodisllc.com If you like these discussions, please subscribe or leave a review. NOTE: This podcast is for educational and entertainment purposes only. Anything said by the guests or host should not be construed as legal or investment advice. Thanks for listening. Joe Reilly is the head of Circulus Group, a family office network, and the host of The Inheritance Podcast. FOLLOW JOE: https://twitter.com/joereillyjr WEBSITE: https://circulus.substack.com/ INHERITANCE PODCAST: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-inheritance-podcast/id1644964 If you like this show, leave us a rating or review. I appreciate it. S5E2 ©2026 Joe Reilly