Corey Rosen
ESOP Pioneer Robert Smiley Dies at 81
Robert Smiley, one of the pioneers of ESOPs, died at the age of 81 on November 13, 2024. Bob was a past president of the ESOP Association and was instrumental in its foundation. He was an early and generous supporter of the NCEO and served on our board for several years.
He was the founder and board chair of the Benefit Capital Group, an ESOP banking and advisory firm. He formed Benefit Capital, Inc., which provided advice to ESOP deals worth over $5 billion over 30 years. He was also a contributing author to the NCEO’s Journal of Employee Ownership Law and Finance, which was published from 1989 to 2010, and was the managing editor of Employee Stock Ownership Plans: ESOP Planning, Financing, Implementation, Law and Taxation, a definitive publication on ESOP legal, financial, and administrative issues. It was updated annually until 2013.
Mr. Smiley also served on the faculty of the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) Extension and was a trustee for the Reason Foundation, a free-market think tank, for nine years. He also served in the Navy. Bob was a key player in the development of the NCEO and ESOPs, and we will all miss him.
