Tools for Effective ESOP Communications

Presenters

Rich Armstrong is president of The Great Game of Business, Inc. A subsidiary of SRC Holdings Corporation. As an employee-owner of SRC Holdings, Rich has more than 17 years of experience in employee ownership and Open-Book Management practices. The Great Game of Business is a group of experienced Open-book Management practitioners who are passionate about helping businesses create a high involvement, performance-driven, ownership culture that generates growth and success for both the organization and its people.

Ben Foley is a technical specialist at Van Meter Industrial and has been with the company since 2004. VMI is an electrical wholesale distributor founded in 1928. VMI has 330 employees in 12 different locations in Iowa. In 1993 VMI became 10% employee owned with the implementation of the Employee Stock Ownership Plan. VMI became 100% employee owned on January 1, 2005. In the summer of 2003 VMI formed an ESOP Committee and members were elected by their peers to represent the different locations. Ben has served on the committee since 2007. His goal is to communicate the basics of the plan and to cultivate the culture of employee ownership to his fellow employee owners.

Robert Gross is a managing director of Prairie Capital Advisors, Inc., a middle-market financial advisory firm specializing in succession planning and the implementation of exit strategies. Prairie Capital's expertise in ESOPs includes valuation, structuring financing, and managing the ESOP process in over 150 transactions.

Marilyn Marchetti, senior vice president, joined GreatBanc Trust Company in 1999. She has more than 20 years of experience in administering all aspects of employee benefits law. She has worked extensively with employee stock ownership plans (ESOPs) and has represented clients in virtually every aspect of ESOP transactions including a number of ESOP transactions for Fortune 500 companies. Marilyn has been instrumental in developing and structuring international ESOPs for multinational U.S. corporations and has been a featured speaker at ESOP conferences in the United States, Europe, China, and Africa. She is the founder of the Illinois Chapter of the ESOP Association and served as chapter secretary in 1993 and 1996 and treasurer in 1995.

Renee M. Rettler, CPC, QPA, is a consultant in Retirement and Investor Services of the Principal Financial Group. Her areas of expertise are ESOP and 401(k) plan consulting, communication, administration, and compliance review. Renee is a graduate of the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater with a degree in Finance. She is a member of The ESOP Association and NCEO.

Loren Rodgers is a project director and the director of research at the National Center for Employee Ownership, where he specializes in ESOPs, communications, employee involvement, and best practices for employee ownership companies. Active in the field since 1995, he works with firms at all stages of developing ownership cultures, speaks extensively, and has written dozens of articles on topics including employee motivation, open-book management, corporate governance, ESOP education, and business literacy.

Corey Rosen is the executive director of the National Center for Employee Ownership, a non-profit membership and information organization. He co-founded the NCEO in 1981 and has been its director ever since. Corey has spoken on various subjects related to employee ownership all over the world-with government, business, and union leaders-and he is regularly quoted in leading magazines and newspapers. He has appeared on national television and radio programs, and has authored four books on employee ownership, and more than 100 articles for various business, academic, and professional publications. He has authored or co-authored several of the NCEO's practical and research publications.