Building Effective ESOP Leadership : How to Evaluate and Hire with Purpose

Bill Frommelt brings more than two decades of senior‐level operating and finance leadership to his current role as Principal & Recruiting Practice Lead at Strategic Talent
Partners. Drawing on integrator experience in small and mid-sized companies—as well as board work in both for-profit and nonprofit settings—Bill specializes in executive search for ESOPs, other privately held enterprises, and organizations running on EOS®. He has successfully completed numerous CEO, COO, and CFO searches, helping owner-led companies fortify leadership teams and chart sustainable, employee owner-focused growth.

Bill’s career spans multi-site P&L management, organizational design, and business development. This blend of operational rigor and talent strategy enables him to see beyond titles and identify leaders who can scale culture, efficiency, and profitability. Educated at the University of St. Thomas (B.A., Exercise Science) and the University of
Minnesota (B.S., Physical Therapy; M.H.A.), Bill approaches every engagement with the values he learned in his family’s small Iowa business—hard work, partnership, and unwavering integrity.

A resident of Woodbury, Minnesota, Bill and his wife, Jennifer, keep busy with their four children’s activities. He also devotes time to youth-sports coaching, community-building projects, and the occasional home-improvement adventure.

Todd Johnson is a Principal & Recruiting Practice Lead at Strategic Talent Partners, where he directs the firm’s internal recruiting team, refines core delivery processes, and nurtures key client and partner relationships. Since joining CorTalent in 2014 and guiding its 2024 merger with KeyStone Executive Search to form Strategic Talent Partners, Todd has helped shape a recruiting practice that aligns exceptional leadership talent with ESOPs, EOS®-run companies, and other growth-oriented private businesses. 

Leveraging an early career in corporate HR, Todd excels at building consultative partnerships with entrepreneurs and leadership teams. He invests deeply in coaching STP staff—prioritizing personal development, accountability, and operational excellence—while ensuring clients’ business needs translate into hires that accelerate value creation for employee-owners. 

Outside the office, Todd and his wife, Jenna, can be found chasing their children, Wesley and Brooklyn, from playgrounds and beaches in summer to hockey rinks and gymnasiums in winter. A loyal Minnesota sports fan, he squeezes in a game whenever his schedule allows—often en route to the family cabin in Grand Rapids, MN.