Luanna McGowan

Luanna McGowan

President, The McGowan Group Inc

Luanna McGowan is the President of The McGowan Group Inc., former National Partner of PricewaterhouseCoopers, and founder of PricewaterhouseCoopers’ Centre for Entrepreneurs and Family Business. She collaborates with professional advisors internationally and she specializes in the areas of succession planning, communication and governance for entrepreneurs, families in business and family offices. Luanna is a skilled facilitator, trainer and lawyer who has received her BA from the University of Western Ontario, her LLB from the University of Western Ontario and her LLM (ADR) from Osgoode Hall Law School. She facilitates discussions among business owners, management teams, and family members to identify needs and objectives and resolve issues. She assists stakeholders to devise plans to meet identified needs and to develop governance structures that suit individual circumstances that are congruent with the business and family dynamic. Luanna also assists families of wealth to review family office services and structures. Over the past 25 years, Luanna has worked with hundreds of clients in facilitation and dispute resolution situations. She works with some of the top global companies and has served businesses from several industry sectors including manufacturing, construction, retail, real estate investment and development, automotive, service industries and also not-for-profit organizations. Luanna is on the Chartered Professional Accountant’s Advisory Committee for the CPA’s National Conference for Business Transitions. She was Chair of the Family Firm Institute (FFI’s) 25th Anniversary Conference, and is a former Director of FFI. Luanna is a former associate member of the Canadian Association of Family Enterprise (CAFE), and previously a member of the Society of Trust and Estate Planners (STEP). She is a past president of the Ontario Association for Family Mediation, a former Trustee with the Hamilton Law Association, a former Advisory Member with the Family Mediation Program for McMaster University, a founding director of Hamilton Community Dispute Resolution Project, and a former Member of the Continuing Education Committee for the Canadian Bar Association. Luanna has taught negotiation at Osgood Hall Law School, litigation at the Ontario Bar Admissions, and has founded, taught at and designed ADR programs for Mohawk College, Niagara College and McMaster University. Luanna is a regular speaker and writer on succession planning, communication, governance and other issues of importance to entrepreneurs, families in business and family offices. She is co-author of a book entitled Succession Planning Toolkit for Business Owners.