About Legacy Path Advisory
Auckland-based advisors focused on family business succession planning—built from years of sitting with owner-managers across Aotearoa.
Why we exist
Family firms carry more than balance sheets. They carry surnames on the warehouse wall, apprenticeships started at sixteen, and quiet fears about whether the next generation wants the same life. Legacy Path Advisory exists to make succession planning a structured conversation—not a crisis triggered by illness, divorce, or a bank review.
Origin
The practice began in Auckland after years advising privately held companies where ownership and management sat in the same kitchen. We saw capable families stall because no one wanted to be the first to name an uncomfortable option. We built a counsel model that slows the talk enough for every shareholder to be heard, then documents choices so the firm can keep trading while the handover unfolds.
How we work
- Face to face first. Hard topics land better in the same room. We use Customs Street East for many sessions and travel when the business base is outside Auckland.
- Family and firm, separately then together. We interview individuals before we facilitate the group, so quieter voices are not drowned out.
- Advisor-friendly. We write roadmaps your solicitor and accountant can act on. We do not pretend to replace legal or tax advice.
- Pace that matches harvests and busy seasons. Engagements flex around peak trading periods common to growers, builders, and manufacturers.
People
Mira Southwell
Founding advisor. Background in privately held company board support and family meeting facilitation. Leads Succession Roadmap engagements.
Callum Ngata
Advisor focused on ownership transition framing and next-gen readiness coaching. Often the first point of contact for Waikato and Bay of Plenty clients.
Values we hold in the room
Candour without theatre. We name conflicts early rather than wrapping them in soft language that later surprises the family.
Respect for founders’ labour. A handover is not a verdict on the past; it is a design for the next chapter.
Local context. Employment norms, trust structures, and rural ownership patterns in New Zealand shape what “fair” looks like—we do not import generic overseas playbooks wholesale.
Community
We occasionally host closed roundtables for owners mid-handover—small groups, Chatham House rules, no sales pitch. Ask us when the next gathering is scheduled if that format would help your family.