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Meet Ria N. Mankee-Sookram: Specialist in Family Business Legacy and Multigenerational Wealth

Ria is our family business dispute resolution specialist. She is a visionary leader in family business advising, with a vast professional network and extensive expertise. Her leadership roles include serving as the Chair of the Family Business Association of the Caribbean and Vice Chair of the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators (TT Chapter). Her dedication to effective solutions, along with her role as a certified trust and estate practitioner, helps families and businesses to navigate succession, exit strategies, governance and family conflicts. Ria is the author of ‘The Seven Domains of the Family Business’, a book which offers practical solutions to family businesses that are building their multigenerational legacy. Ria’s extensive qualifications and practical experience make her a prominent figure in the legal and family business advisory fields.

Learn more about Ria’s impact here .

Get in Touch with Ria

Ria is our family business dispute resolution specialist. She is a visionary leader in family business advising, with a vast professional network and extensive expertise. Her leadership roles include serving as the Chair of the Family Business Association of the Caribbean and Vice Chair of the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators (TT Chapter). Her dedication to effective solutions, along with her role as a certified trust and estate practitioner, helps families and businesses to navigate succession, exit strategies, governance and family conflicts. Ria is the author of ‘The Seven Domains of the Family Business’, a book which offers practical solutions to family businesses that are building their multigenerational legacy. Ria’s extensive qualifications and practical experience make her a prominent figure in the legal and family business advisory fields.

Learn more about Ria’s impact here and here

Membership Affiliations

Our Story

Mankee Advisory’s journey began in the 1960s in Woodbrook when a small family business, named after our founder’s grandmother, took its first steps. While it started with our founder’s grandparents and their children, unforeseen complexities in estate planning created challenges. Driven by the desire to prevent other family businesses from enduring this, the founder of Mankee Advisory, embarked on this mission. Through specialised legal advice and comprehensive estate planning, Mankee Advisory has centred its core values on communication, expertise and trustworthiness. Mankee Advisory advocates for transparent dialogue, strategic planning, and legal vigilance to empower families and businesses to thrive, foster harmony, and safeguard their wealth.

Our Book

The Seven Domains of the Family Business: The Journey to a Multigenerational Legacy

This empowering book is a must-read for all family businesses and their professional advisors who aspire to defy the “shirtsleeves to shirtsleeves in three generations” adage.

Ria Mankee-Sookram, Attorney-at-Law, and Family Business and Wealth Advisor. Ria has dedicated her expertise to helping family-owned businesses create their multigenerational legacy. Now, she shares her invaluable insights and practical solutions to navigate the challenges faced along the family business journey. You will uncover the Seven Domains of the Family Business—a blueprint that every family in business encounters. Whether you are struggling with succession planning, governance, disruption management, conflict resolution, or asset protection, Ria Mankee-Sookram’s guidance will transform your approach.

Purchase Book

"The Seven Domains of the Family Business" is a truly enlightening and empowering read for anyone involved in a family business. Ria’s expertise and wisdom shines through in every page as she presents practical solutions to the challenges faced by family businesses. Her approach to creating a multigenerational legacy is both innovative and insightful, providing families with the tools they need to overcome the 'shirtsleeves to shirtsleeves in three generations' adage. This book has transformed the way I approach my family business, and I now feel equipped to navigate any obstacles that may come our way. Highly recommended!

Patricia D.

As a professional advisor to family businesses, I have found "The Seven Domains of the Family Business" to be an invaluable resource. Mankee-Sookram's deep understanding of the dynamics of family businesses is evident throughout the book, and her practical strategies for creating a multigenerational legacy are nothing short of inspiring. The tips and techniques she shares, from estate planning to conflict resolution, have already made a significant impact on the families I work with. This book is a must-read for anyone seeking to build a lasting and successful family business.

Sarah S.

Ria’s in-depth understanding of our region's culture and values adds a unique and enriching perspective to the challenges faced by Caribbean family businesses. "The Seven Domains of the Family Business" offers practical and tailored solutions to create a lasting legacy that aligns with the Caribbean way of life. As a family business owner myself, I am grateful for the invaluable insights and strategies provided in this book. It has given me a renewed sense of purpose and direction for our family business.

Dinesh R.

"The Seven Domains of the Family Business" is a comprehensive guide that has helped me address the challenges of my family business head-on. You can see Ria’s expertise and dedication in every chapter. The book covers all aspects of family business management, from CEO succession planning to resolving conflicts and protecting assets. The 'ABC' Technique for conflict resolution has been particularly helpful in improving communication within our family and business. I highly recommend this book to anyone looking to create a thriving and lasting family business.

Rajiv K.

Our father did not leave a Will and there were many issues both in the family and in the business that arose as a result. We had siblings working in the business and some who never worked there a day in their life. We engaged Mankee Advisory to help us navigate these challenging and emotional times. Through communication, governance and succession strategies facilitated by the Mankee experts, our family was able to come to an amicable mutual agreement.

Second generation family business

I was unsure of the best way to transition the business and wealth I worked so hard for to the next generation. As a parent, I wanted to achieve fairness in my estate plan and do what was best for my children and future generations. Mankee Advisory helped me have that succession conversation. I gained so much clarity and understanding, even at the first meeting.

Owner and Founder

The first time we saw the LEGACY ECOSYSTEM, we knew we really underestimated the amount of grey area that we overlooked and the potential for conflict we were inviting by not pushing harder for transparency and boundaries. We hit the ground running with Mankee Advisory. It is an on-going process, but we feel more secure having the expertise to help us work though the challenges in our business and in our family.

First generation family business transitioning to the second generation

We engaged several advisors before to help in our succession and estate planning. Mankee Advisory was different. This was our first time working with a legal and family business advisor and it transformed the way we understood the dynamics in our family, in the business and with the owners. We also have such a greater appreciation of our wealth and stewardship now, especially as we saw the LEGACY ECOSYSTEM, which we still refer to even today. We feel lucky to have Ria working alongside our family business and have gained an overall sense of confidence and clarity in our succession and estate plans.

Second generation family business

I was at my wits end when I reached out to Mankee Advisory. My brother and I were no longer on good terms, even though we equally shared the business our father left us and worked together successfully for many years. My three children did not work in the business but his son did. Retirement was fast approaching and we disagreed about the future of the ownership of the business. My brother thought I should sell my half to him or his son to avoid any issues with working and non-working owners in the business. We even disagreed about the valuation. I really wanted to leave my shares for my children. Mankee Advisory helped us open the lines of communication between my brother and me, and among the third generation. It was insightful. We realised that we needed a governance structure to fully and truly support our succession and individual estate plans.

Second generation family business transitioning to the third generation

Our dad died unexpectedly, and I was the only child that worked in the business with him. My wife also worked in the business. After his death, his shares passed to my mother (50%) and the remaining 50% was split among my two sisters and me. It was challenging to say the least to act as a cohesive unit of owners. I felt like my mom and sisters were against my wife and me and there was always tension whenever we had meetings. With Mankee Advisory, we were able to outline our roles and responsibilities, and develop a workable exit strategy, as well as a communication, succession and governance structure that everyone was able to get on board with.

Second generation family business

As time passed, there were differences in the vision that my siblings and I had for our business – and this caused us to drift apart in the family aspect too as it became very emotional and argumentative at times. Ria was professional and objective, and at the same time, she was open and thoughtful – unlike any other advisory we worked with. Each of us really felt heard and understood. We were introduced to the concept of a shared purpose and from there, our plan for the future of the business and the ownership structure just organically grew. We were so much clearer and communication among us improved.

Second generation family business

Ria Mankee-Sookram's book is a true gem for family businesses seeking to build a legacy that transcends generations. This book offers a wealth of strategies and tools to address the unique challenges faced by family businesses. As a next-generation leader in my family business, I have found the succession planning and leadership development insights particularly valuable. This book is a must-read for anyone passionate about ensuring their family business's long-term success and unity.

Mark S

I immediately reached out to Ria after reading her book, ‘The Seven Domains of the Family Business: The Journey to a Multigenerational Legacy.’ It was recommended by one of my good friends and is so practical and helpful for anyone that has a family-owned business. As a founder, I had a vision of building exactly that for my future generations – a multigenerational legacy. Ria helped me understand what I needed to do for this to become a reality. She walked me through, step by step, areas that I was hesitant to confront and unclear about. I feel more confident that my children, grandchildren and future generations will benefit from my hard work.

First generation business owner

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