Leslie Dashew

Chairman of the Board | Cofounder

Leslie Dashew has specialized in working with families in business for over 30 years. She brings her prior experience in family therapy and organizational development to her practice.

Author

Co-author

Overview & approach

Leslie’s focus is assisting families gain clarity about their vision for the future and develop comprehensive, integrated plans to achieve those goals.

She helps clients gain harmony in the family and prosperity in their businesses.

Leslie provides objective, expert perspectives to her clients so that they gain understanding of their situations and the ability to make needed changes.

She carefully assesses each situation to develop specialized solutions in collaboration with her clients so that their work has the highest probability of sustained success.

Experience & skillsets

She is skilled at working with people in very complex situations to work through conflict, confusion, disorganization and dysfunction. Leslie’s mission is to help her clients utilize, develop, and appreciate their capabilities and those of the people whose lives they touch.

As a pioneer in the field of family business consulting, Leslie is a founder of the Aspen Family Business Group and the author of four books in the field. She has worked with her colleagues to develop leading-edge tools and knowledge that help families in businesses all over the world. She serves as a mentor to other professionals and speaks to professional and business organizations around the globe. Her contributions to the field have been recognized by the Family Firm Institute with their highest accolade, the Richard Beckhard Award.

Projects & achievements

Helping an entrepreneur engage his family in considering a transition to a true family business that will continue for future generations.
Working with a sibling team in conflict to address their issues and develop a compelling new vision and commitment for the future.
Sharing best practices of families in business with a client who wants to ensure she’s doing everything possible to assure success in the 4^th generation of her family business.
Engaging a 3^rd generation family in professionalizing their leadership team and developing an effective board of directors.
Working with a couple to collaborate more successfully in sharing their values and wealth with their children.
Advising a 6^th generation family on how to develop a family council that fosters collaboration among dispersed cousins who share assets and need to oversee them together.
Helping two partners who no longer wish to work together plan a constructive exit strategy that helps each achieve their individual goals.
Helping parents determine a successor for their family business while ensuring the well-being of offspring who won’t hold that position.
Developed and taught Global Family Business at Thunderbird School of Global Management

Personal life & academic background

Leslie enjoys hobbies such as cactus gardening, folk art collecting, traveling, photography, sailing, and kayaking.

Additionally, she is currently on the Phoenix Symphony Board. Past community involvement has included service on the McDowell Sonoran Conservancy Board, the Scottsdale Cultural Council, and the Pitzer College Board of Trustees.

Leslie is married to Jack Salisbury, and they have two adult children, Baileigh and Brett, and a grandson, Robin.

She graduated from Pitzer College with a degree in organizational psychology and the University of Michigan with a master’s degree in psychiatric social work.