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 JBoone@nceo.org 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

JOIN TODAY