Inheritance

Beyond Money

Speakers

Iain Spear, Business Advisor, Family Business Solutions

Daniel Aponte Prypchan, Chief Financial Officer and Certified Practising Accountant (CPA)

Date and Time | Friday 22 May, 11:15am - 12:00pm

Inheritance Beyond Money: Trust, Betrayal and the Need for Clarity explores the emotional and practical realities of succession. Drawing on lived experience, Daniel Aponte Prypchan and Iain Spear share stories of conflict, broken trust and the costs of unclear inheritance.

Daniel reflects on how multi-generational trauma shaped his journey and his quest for healing and why understanding a family’s history of trauma is essential to prevent passing it on. Iain highlights how structure, through boards, constitutions, transparent Wills and governance tools can create awareness, provide clarity and reduce conflict before it escalates.

Together, they reveal how families can transform painful dynamics into opportunities for resilience and continuity. You'll leave with practical insights to approach succession with honesty, protect family bonds and build legacies rooted in trust and respect.

Inheritance beyond money

To view the full speaker line-up at the Family Business Conference, click here.

About Iain Spear

Iain Spear is an Accredited Family Business Advisor based in Melbourne, specialising in conflict management within family enterprises.

Originally from the UK, Iain spent over three decades in his own second-generation family business in seafood processing. Starting on the factory floor during school holidays, he rose through the ranks to become CEO, guiding the company through expansion into fishing vessel ownership and management. During this time, he became a leading figure in the UK shellfish industry, serving on multiple national and regional boards and representing the sector in European Union and bilateral negotiations — invaluable preparation for his later work in navigating complex family and business dynamics.

After a challenging exit from his family business, Iain relocated to Australia, where he became an Accredited Family Business Advisor through Family Business Australia (FBA). Drawing on both his professional expertise and personal experience, he now helps other families avoid the pitfalls he once faced.

Strategic, pragmatic, empathetic, and honest, Iain focuses on succession planning, governance, and mentoring—typically, though not exclusively, with second-generation family businesses. Outside his advisory work, he serves on the board of a not-for-profit disability charity in southeast Melbourne, coaches his son’s soccer team, and remains a loyal (and long-suffering) West Ham United fan.

About Daniel Aponte Prypchan

Daniel is a Chief Financial Officer and Certified Practising Accountant (CPA) with more than two decades experience supporting Australian businesses. Daniel’s experience spans entertainment and industrial sectors, where his services include financial control, governance, restructuring, production accounting, tax/reporting, and board-facing management.

Daniel has held senior financial roles with Hi-5 Australia Pty Ltd, Ovation Media (Ovation Channel), and Storco Storage Systems, a multigenerational Australian family business. He has also supported a range of family businesses within Australia and overseas.

Raised in a family business dynamic, Daniel has helped manage his own family investments in the hospital and pharmaceutical industries, farming, real estate, and construction. He also has lived experience tackling the challenges that come with inheritance, succession planning, inter-family feuds and political and legal disputes.

Venezuelan born, Daniel experienced first-hand the challenges of managing family enterprises during periods of severe political and economic upheaval. Following the destruction of his families’ businesses under the late Hugo Chavez, Daniel helped oversee his family’s asset management, rebuilding business and investment activities overseas.

These lessons have equipped him with significant expertise in conflict resolution, succession planning, and transforming family relationships—skills he now applies when advising families through complex transitions.

Daniel is a regular presenter at Family Business Network (FBN) events worldwide and previously served as part of the FBN NextGen global leadership team, helping design international programs for emerging family leaders.

He is a certified conflict-resolution consultant, a member of Family Business Association (FBA), and a Now Gen member of FBN International. Through his family’s US-based not-for-profit organisation, Psychiatry, Philosophy & Arts, Daniel supports projects that promote mental health and the empowerment of female writers across several countries.

Grounded, pragmatic, and globally aware, he brings together financial discipline and human understanding to help families and organisations stay strong, connected, and built to last.