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Employee Ownership Blog
Loren Rodgers

Loren Rodgers

The Assistant Secretary of Labor in Conversation with the NCEO

On September 19, 2024, the Assistant Secretary of Labor, Lisa M. Gomez, attended the NCEO’s Fall Forum to address attendees. In her role as the head of the Employee Benefits Security Administration (EBSA), Assistant Secretary Gomez is involved in key issues that affect the employee ownership community, including both regulation and promotion.




Loren Rodgers

Assistant Secretary of Labor Gomez: Employee Ownership Is Life-Changing

On April 30, 2024, Assistant Secretary of Labor Lisa M. Gomez spoke at the NCEO’s annual conference in Tampa, Florida. Assistant Secretary Gomez leads the Employee Benefits Security Administration (EBSA). As the head of EBSA, she is at the center of some of the most important decisions affecting ESOPs and employee ownership. 


Loren Rodgers

Private Equity Giant Blackstone Commits to Employee Stock Grants

On May 21, the Wall Street Journal reported that the alternative asset manager Blackstone would grant equity to the 18,000 employees at its portfolio company Copeland (alternative non-paywalled version at MSN). The Journal article states that under a new initiative Blackstone plans to announce this week, the practice of broad-based ownership interests for employees will apply “to all new deals going forward in which its private-equity business buys control of a company.”




Loren Rodgers

NCEO Board Election Opens January 3

The election for the NCEO’s board of directors opens on January 3 for three-year terms that begin on April 1, 2024. NCEO members in good standing will receive an email on January 3 with the subject line "Invitation to the ballot for the NCEO board elections," which will include a link to a confidential electronic ballot. Directors will be selected through this election and by appointment by the existing board. Balloting will end on January 19.


Loren Rodgers

Succession Planning Beyond the CEO

When it comes to replacing the chief executive, every company knows it needs to make a plan, even if it doesn't have one yet. But what about succession planning for other key leaders and roles? More than one cohort of the NCEO’s CEO network dug into this topic last month. Rather than try to cover succession planning comprehensively, this blog post shares some of the thought-provoking ideas from those discussions.