Eva Lianos
Calling all trailblazers of employee ownership, pioneers of workplace engagement, and champions of business growth! The NCEO is thrilled to announce the much-anticipated 2025 Annual Employee Ownership Conference, taking place amidst the majestic peaks and inspiring vistas of Salt Lake City, Utah, from April 14–17, 2025.
Loren Rodgers
One theme of most speakers at our conferences is that ownership culture makes employee-owned companies outperform their competitors. People say that because it’s true and supported by data from many independent researchers. The NCEO is proud to have contributed to that finding.
Grace Dawson
The NCEO’s first Membership Mixer was held on August 15 at employee-owned Hell’s Kitchen in downtown Minneapolis.
Eva Lianos
What will your legacy be? We are thrilled to announce our lineup of distinguished speakers and NCEO members for our upcoming “Is an ESOP Right for You?” event on October 21–22 in Phoenix, Arizona. This event promises to deliver invaluable insights and practical guidance for companies exploring the transition to an employee stock ownership plan (ESOP).
Corey Rosen
A new report by Curt Lyon and Julie Menter of Transform Finance, Employee Ownership: Overview for Mission-Oriented Investors, identifies 53 funds in the U.S. and Canada that invest partly or entirely in employee-owned companies. Twenty-two of these funds focus only on employee ownership and target raising $1.6 billion to invest. The other funds, which target raising $3.8 billion, invest only some of their assets in employee ownership companies. Five funds focus just on ESOPs, while the others focus on non-ESOP equity sharing.
Corey Rosen
The 2026 proposed appropriation for the Department of Labor (DOL) passed by the House Appropriations Committee lacks funding for state employee ownership offices authorized by the WORK Act that the Senate Appropriations Committee recommended in July. That committee is recommending an initial $2 million for 2025 to help fund state employee ownership outreach programs. The Senate committee also urged the DOL to finalize its ESOP valuation regulations.
Ramona Rodriguez-Brooks
This September in Indianapolis, I’ll have the honor of joining Jen Briggs on the Fall Forum main stage for our keynote conversation, “Brewing Potential: Leadership Strategies for Employee-Owned Businesses.” Jen is an insightful and experienced leader, and we will present a candid “beer with the boss”-style keynote focused on building effective leadership that prioritizes high-performance culture. As we start our engines and prepare to #racetoIndy, I’d like to share a few of the landmark themes Jen and I plan to explore in the keynote.
Madelyn Hammack
On July 25, the National Economic Council (NEC) hosted a meeting on employee ownership in the White House compound that gathered representatives from federal agencies, legislative offices, and the employee ownership community, including the NCEO’s Loren Rodgers. As Joseph Blasi, speaking as a representative of the Treasury Department, noted, never before has a presidential administration hosted such a prominent inter-agency meeting on employee ownership.
Corey Rosen
The comment period for a proposed Department of Defense (DOD) rule allowing 100% ESOP-owned companies to receive sole source follow-on contracts ends on July 29.
