Loren Rodgers
Excellence in Governance: Resources from the NCEO
The NCEO's board excellence toolkit and candidate directory launched on September 23, 2021, during the Fall ESOP Forum.
Employee Ownership Blog
Loren Rodgers
Loren Rodgers
Advertisement at the World Series Highlights Employee Ownership
Long-time ESOP-owned company Clif Bar is running a one-minute advertisement during the 2021 World Series that prominently features Clif Bar's employee-owners showing pride in their product and their company, and introducing themselves and their coworkers as employee-owners.
Loren Rodgers
Four Paths to Employee Ownership
The NCEO recently published a table that highlights the main characteristics of four types of employee ownership, found in our web article Employee Ownership for Closely Held Companies: ESOPs, Equity Grants, Trusts, and Worker Cooperatives. The article explores tax treatment, typical uses, financial payout to employees, governance, typical costs, and more. It is a living document, and we welcome your feedback!
Loren Rodgers
NCEO Article Encourages States to Create Employee Ownership Programs
An August 9 article by NCEO founder Corey Rosen on the website Governing, Employee-Owned Companies Could Use a Government Nudge, argues for state and local programs to provide outreach and technical assistance to help educate business owners about employee ownership. Rosen cites extensive research to make the case that promoting employee ownership is one of the most cost-effective economic development policies these entities can pursue. The article provides an overview of efforts in several states and local governments, with a major focus on Colorado (see our July 26 community conversation, How Colorado is Taking the Lead on Employee Ownership). Governing is a prominent website (formerly a print magazine) for state and local legislators and executives.
Loren Rodgers
Get the Most Out of the Fall ESOP Forum
You can get a big picture overview of all things related to making an ESOP company work well at the Fall ESOP Forum, but most people I talk with have one aspect of ESOPs at the top of mind. We structured the Fall Forum with four tracks so you can be confident that you can focus on building your knowledge and getting ideas you can implement. Get our Fall Forum curriculum guide (PDF) to help choose the best sessions to attend based on your areas of interest or job focus. See the Fall Forum program for a searchable list of sessions and speakers; you also can filter by track. If you haven't registered yet, be sure to register now.
Loren Rodgers
Using Employee Ownership to Recruit New Employees
Businesses across the country are struggling to find, hire, and retain the employees they need, so this finding from the General Social Survey (reported on in our blog) should be welcome news to everyone responsible for recruiting at an employee-owned company: “Democrat or Republican, female or male, black or white, union or non-union, a majority of respondents said they prefer to work for a company with employee share ownership.”
Loren Rodgers
Two Observations from CEOs About Leading in the Pandemic
One of the perks of my job is that I get to talk a lot with people from employee-owned companies, and I have noticed two themes in my conversations with CEOs around the country in recent weeks.
Loren Rodgers
An Update to the Community: Why the Fall Forum Will Be Fully Virtual
As you've probably heard by now, our 2021 Fall ESOP Forum will now be exclusively an online event. While this news is disappointing to all of us who were eager to reunite with the ESOP community in person, we’re very excited for the Forum’s virtual shift and all the ways we’ll connect in our online format. Both of us were excited to travel to San Diego: As the NCEO’s board chair and CFO of member company Realityworks, Mary was planning to lead a team from Realityworks and was also looking forward to having face time with service providers and other ESOP peers. Loren, among many other things, was looking forward to meeting some of the new NCEO staff in person for the first time!
Loren Rodgers
Applications Being Accepted for 2021 Marilyn Perkins Claassen Scholarships
The Certified Equity Professional Institute (CEPI) at Santa Clara University is accepting applications for the 2021 Marilyn Perkins J. Classen Memorial Scholarships. CEPI Senior Director Alex Florea noted that "this is a great opportunity for individuals in the equity compensation industry to earn their CEP designation." The two $5,000 awards support study and certification as a certified equity professional (CEP). Applications are available online and will be accepted until August 20.