The Fall ESOP Forum unites the employee ownershipcommunity for three days of learning and community building. In a changing economic landscape, the employee ownership community remains strong. We share ownership; we stick together. As employee-owners, you have the unique opportunity to chart your company’s path forward for yourself and your community.
The Fall ESOP Forum
Best Practices in Employee Ownership
SEPTEMBER 14–16, 2020
Up-to-date best practices: choose from 40 break-out sessions designed to give you the information and tools you need to ensure the health of your ESOP in the wake of COVID-19 and beyond.Connect with your peers: meet face-to-face with others who share your title, industry, or challenges via built-in video conferencing.Expert consulting: schedule virtual meetings with ESOP experts for you and up to two members of your team.Unique learning opportunities: join our Lunch & Learn sessions and special topic roundtable talks for small-group learning.
Bringing our community together – virtually.COVID-19 has changed the way we interact. We’re committed to utilizing the best technology to bring the community together.
• Forty expert-led breakout sessions created to give you theinformation and tools you need to ensure the health of yourESOP in the wake of COVID-19 and beyond.
• Themed networking events designed to connect you withyour peers. Meet with attendees by industry, job title, ESOPconcern, and more.
• Opportunities to meet with ESOP experts one-on-one andget the guidance you need.
• Peer networking events in one-on-one and small groups.• Access to all Forum sessions for thirty days after the Forum
is over.
Forum registration includes:
IN 2019 WE WELCOMED:
501 Attendees
From 42 states, Canada, and Japan.
Represented industries include:Architecture & Engineering Firms, Breweries, Construction & Manufacturing, Food Service Companies and Restaurants, Healthcare and Pharmaceuticals, Retail and E-Commerce, Sports and Adventure, and Technology
REGISTER TODAYRegistration Fees Members NonmembersFirst Registrant $200 $500Additional Registrants $150 $450
Reinventing Your ESOP: HOW TO STAY AHEAD OF THE CURVE Does your ESOP have a
story of reinvention? Share it with us for a chance to win two free virtual Forum registrations.
SHARE YOUR STORY
Keynote speaker Joseph Motz, CEO of the employee-owned Motz Corporation, will share how they reinvented themselves throughout their history, including during this COVID-19 crisis.
Workshops are half-day sessions focused on sharpening critical job skills, resulting in the betterment of you as an employee-owner and your ESOP.
CULTURE & COMMUNICATIONS: CRASH COURSEThis interactive workshop reinforces the fundamentals of culture and communication at ESOP companies. Get the best practices you need to set your fellow employee-owners up for success and elevate employee-owner understanding of their ESOP and their business. We’ll close out the day with a group activity to advance their financial literacy that attendees can take home to their companies.LEARNING OBJECTIVES:• Learn the fundamentals of developing an
ownership culture• Strengthen your communication strategies to
further engage employees• Improve financial literacy among all employees
using the “Profit & Cash” workshop
• Culture & Communications: Crash Course• High-Involvement Planning Accelerator• Essentials for a Sustainable ESOP
Choose from these topics:
Workshops
This workshop is presented in partnership with:
HIGH-INVOLVEMENT PLANNING ACCELERATORStrategic planning doesn’t have to be an onerous experience, High-Involvement Planning takes strategic planning out of the board room and gives it to the people who must make it happen. A strong ‘HIP’ planning process consistently involves, informs, and educates your entire organization on the realities of the marketplace and the strategic goals of the company. When people understand, they buy-in, when they buy-in, they commit, and when they commit, they execute!No matter your current level of strategic planning, the Accelerator will jump-start your planning process and your business for growth. LEARNING OBJECTIVES:• Get alignment amongst your employee-owners• Hone in on your critical numbers, measurements and
action plan• Discover the tools to nail your 3-month and 1-year plan• Boost your growth and innovation engine
ESSENTIALS FOR A SUSTAINABLE ESOPResearch shows that employee-owned companies perform better than their peers both in economic downturns and in expansions. This session digs into the practices and strategies that are behind the employee ownership advantage, including the keys to long-term sustainability and resilience in the face of COVID-related turbulence. From plan design, repurchase obligation, and strategy and cash management to leadership development and ownership culture, participants will leave this session with ideas they can immediately implement at their companies.LEARNING OBJECTIVES:• Understand the interaction of financing, plan
design, and repurchase obligation• Explore strategies ESOP companies have used to
manage cash for the long run• Get best practices in corporate governance, executive
compensation, and leadership development
This workshop is presented in partnership with:
This workshop is presented in partnership with:
Workshops
For the most up-to-date agenda, see the online program:
COMMUNICATION AND CULTURE • Aligning Your Company’s Brand and Culture Through Effective
Communication• Best Practices: Boost Your ESOP Company’s Sustainability.• Communicating: Why Ownership Matters Today• Culture by Design• ESOP Basics: Example of ESOP Rollout Communication• ESOP Basics: What You Need to Communicate to Others• Getting the Right Feedback through Employee Surveys• Improving the Ownership Mindset Through Business and
Financial Literacy• Inspiring Accountability in Employee Owners at All Levels• Lead Like a Human: A Guide for Fostering Ownership Mentality• Leading an ESOP In Crisis or Difficult Problems• Selecting and Developing Leaders for an ESOP• Tailoring the Message to Employee-Owners
ESOP FEASIBILITY & PLAN DESIGN• Create an ESOP Distribution Policy
and Understand the Impact onRepurchase Liability
• ESOP Basics: ESOP Distributions• ESOP Feasibility – Is an ESOP Right
for You?• Minority vs. Majority ESOPs: Issues
and Opportunities
ESOP SUSTAINABILITY • As an ESOP Matures! Evolving ESOP
Sustainability: A Case Study• Capital Planning Through the Life
Cycle of an ESOP• ESOPS: Get it Right• Funding and Managing the
Repurchase Obligation
Forum ProgramONLINE PROGRAM
For the most up-to-date agenda, see the online program:
GOVERNANCE AND FIDUCIARY ISSUES • Best Practices: Board Governance for Inside and
Independent Outside Directors• Best Practices: Governance, RFPs, and the Process
for Plan Advisors• Executive Compensation• Consider This: Selling an ESOP Company• How to Create a Lasting Partnership Between the
Board and Trustees• Interaction between the Internal Trustee and the
Valuation Firm• Internal vs. External Trustee – Practical and
Fiduciary Considerations• Legislative and Regulatory Update• State of ESOPs: The Next 10 Years• The DOL and ESOPs
FINANCING AND VALUATION • ESOP Basics: Valuation 101• ESOPs and Estate Planning• Forecasting Profit and Loss for ESOP Valuations• New and Notable ESOP Valuation Issues• Types of ESOP Financing
PLAN ADMINISTRATION AND OPERATION• Accounting and Valuation for ESOP Companies:
The Chicken and The Egg • Caring for your Newborn ESOP• ESOP Administrative Timeline Workshop
Forum ProgramONLINE PROGRAM
NETWORKING EVENTS & RECEPTIONS
Join us for Meet & Greet sponsored by Faegre Drinker Biddle & Reath LLP
Opening Reception sponsored by Prairie Capital Advisors, Inc.
Speed Networking sponsored by BKD LLP
Free PlayWe all need a break from our computer screens now and again.
Take a break. Get a snack. Rack up some points in our Forum contests. Join a Lunch & Learn. Schedule a video chat with another attendee. This time is yours!
Can’t miss events
®
Thank you 2020 Fall ESOP Forum sponsors.Together we help the ESOP community thrive.Sponsors
CPAs & Advisors
PMS 7734
PMS WHITE
PMS 7734
ONE COLOR LOGO FOR WHITE BACKGROUND
TWO COLOR LOGO
LOGO WITHOUT BOX
ESOP STRATEGIES
A STEVENS & LEE/GRIFFIN COMPANY
SWERDLIN& C O M P A N Y
®
SPONSORSHIPS ARE AVAILABLE! Contact Events Director Jordan Boone at [email protected] for information. SPONSOR THE FORUM
ESOP Champions
ESOP Leaders
ESOP Supporters
Basic Sponsors
The National Center for Employee Ownership (NCEO) is a nonprofit organization whose mission is to make employee ownership thrive. We provide practical resources and reliable information about adopting employee ownership and ensuring it reaches its full potential. We are the main publisher on employee stock ownership plans, equity compensation plans, and ownership culture.
BECOME A MEMBERNCEO members receive a variety of benefits and strengthen the employee ownership community. Whether you are interested in employee ownership for your own company or for those you advise, the NCEO can help you navigate complex decisions, avoid costly mistakes, and take practical steps to make employee ownership thrive.
NCEO member resources:• Free live and recorded webinars• Personalized ESOP answers from
NCEO staff• Bimonthly newsletter• Web content like ready-to-use
documents, research reports, the ESOP Q&A, a Lender Directory, and more
• Networking opportunities• Discounts on events and publications
About the NCEO
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