Safe Space is a podcast for Family Business Leaders and Next Gens exploring the financial, human and social capital of family businesses.
In each episode, trusted advisor Francesco Lombardo, will share a conversation with a diverse range of guests, offering you practical tools and guidance to help you navigate the unique familial relationships within family businesses.
How do you protect a family legacy across generations? Val Montagnana-Wallace reveals how authentic storytelling and shared family narratives solve deep succession challenges and foster connection.
Building a multi-generational legacy requires more than a flawless estate plan—it requires a shared identity. When family businesses transition to the next generation, facts and figures are easily forgotten, but the emotional narratives and foundational stories endure. Without a clear internal narrative, successors often struggle with their place in the family history, leading to succession friction and a lost sense of purpose.
In this episode of Safe Space, host Francesco Lombardo sits down with Val Montagnana-Wallace, CEO of the family-owned creative agency Hyphen – Stories, Well Told. Val transitioned from a primary school teacher to leading a business founded by her husband and brother, giving her a uniquely human perspective on managing complex family dynamics. She explains why uncovering and sharing your family's authentic history is the ultimate tool for emotional governance and lasting unity.
We explore how the stories we tell ourselves—both internally and externally—shape the future of the family enterprise. Val shares how leaning into vulnerability allows families to bridge generational divides, heal unspoken conflicts, and foster genuine connection. By crafting meaningful narratives, founders can pass down their true legacy, ensuring the next generation feels anchored in their roots rather than burdened by rigid expectations.
Whether you are navigating a difficult generational transition or simply want to document your family's journey before it fades, this conversation provides an actionable roadmap. Learn how authentic storytelling transforms family business transitions from purely structural handoffs into deeply connected, purpose-driven legacies.
Connect with me here:
• https://www.linkedin.com/in/francesco-lombardo-fea-496a7966/
• https://www.facebook.com/VeritageFamilyOffice
• https://www.youtube.com/@VeritageInternational
• https://veritage.ca (https://veritage.ca)
1 Sept 2026
Finding Your Inner Superpower with Scott Feld
How do we prepare the next generation to handle family legacy? Scott Feld reveals how to reprogram default beliefs and build inner confidence in future family business stewards.
Building a lasting multi-generational legacy isn't just about financial inheritance or structural governance—it starts with the emotional health of the children who will one day carry it. Without genuine self-worth and resilience, even the most pristine estate plan can collapse under the weight of self-doubt, fear of failure, and the intense anxiety of stepping into big shoes.
In this episode of Safe Space, host Francesco Lombardo sits down with youth mindset expert, award-winning author, and founder of The Power-UP Experiences, Scott Feld. Drawing from over 30 years of coaching kids, teachers, and young entrepreneurs, Scott reveals how family business owners can help the next generation unlock their inner superpowers before they ever step into the boardroom.
We tackle the core root of succession anxiety: default beliefs. Scott explains how the subconscious programming formed in early childhood shapes how future leaders handle high-pressure responsibility, personal failure, and internal pressure. Through practical visualization tools, positive self-talk, and purpose-driven parenting, Scott demonstrates how to protect young successors from imposter syndrome and help them build lasting confidence from the inside out.
Whether you are a founder preparing your children for future leadership or a parent wanting to cultivate emotional governance in your family system, this conversation delivers human-centered tools to align personal growth with generational continuity. Learn how shifting focus from external performance to internal empowerment transforms anxious heirs into grounded, self-aware stewards capable of thriving on their own terms.
Connect with me here:
• https://www.linkedin.com/in/francesco-lombardo-fea-496a7966/
• https://www.facebook.com/VeritageFamilyOffice
• https://www.youtube.com/@VeritageInternational
• https://veritage.ca (https://veritage.ca)
26 May 2026
Beyond the Trust: Holistic Planning for Generational Wealth
Protect your generational wealth by building a stronger foundation. Author Buddy Thomas shares his 50-year roadmap for holistic planning and active family estate planning that unites your legacy.
Leaving an inheritance is easy. Passing on a sustainable, thriving legacy is incredibly difficult. Most wealthy and aspirational families spend millions on legal structures and tax loopholes, yet completely neglect the emotional and relational capital required to keep that wealth from dissolving across generations.
In this episode of Safe Space, we are joined by veteran wealth strategist and author of Love Wisdom Money, Buddy Thomas. With over five decades of hands-on experience working directly with trustors, trustees, and beneficiaries, Buddy has witnessed firsthand why traditional financial planning fails. He reveals why placing love and wisdom ahead of the actual currency is the only way to meet both your legal and moral responsibilities as a family fiduciary.
In this conversation, we solve for:
The Currency Disconnect: Why passing down money without passing down the family values that gave it meaning creates a destructive legacy.
The Power of Holistic Planning: How to engage in deep financial and estate planning that actively protects your family's relational health.
Continuous Family Engagement: Practical frameworks to keep the next generation involved in ongoing conversations about wealth, fostering true alignment and cohesion.
If you are a "Family Champion" or a leader managing a family office, Buddy's grounded, story-driven guidance provides a blueprint for true succession planning. It's time to stop looking at your legacy as a math problem and start building a generative ecosystem that safeguards your family's true wealth for decades to come.
Connect with me here:
• https://www.linkedin.com/in/francesco-lombardo-fea-496a7966/
• https://www.facebook.com/VeritageFamilyOffice
• https://www.youtube.com/@VeritageInternational
• https://veritage.ca (https://veritage.ca)
Who has been a guest on Safe Space with Francesco Lombardo
Names identified in recent episode analyses. Showing up to five guests.
Dr Sandra Primiano
Jen Risher
Dave Specht
Ana Maria Guerrero Carvajal
Tom McCullough
Reach and audience
Public platform figures. Ratings count people who left a rating, not total listeners.
YouTube views
1,772
Score snapshot 15 Sept 2025
Apple Podcasts (US)
5.0 / 5
5 ratings
Podcast Authority Score: 67 / 100
A composite of feed quality, social presence, YouTube performance and engagement. Read the methodology.
Quality
76
Social presence
0
YouTube
68
Engagement
76
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