Baltimore OIA Program

Ownership in Action WORKSHOP SERIES

October 20, 2025 | Baltimore, MD

Mastering ESOP Repurchase Obligation: A Hands-On Workshop for CFOs

2026

Annual Conference

We invite you to join us in Milwaukee!

Use code ESOP to save $50 on your Annual Conference registration.

Learn more at annualconference.nceo.org.

SPEAKERS DUKE ALLEN Christine Hurt

During his 18 years at SC&H, Allen has proven to be extraordinarily versatile as he manages the financials for the firm and its nine service lines, and handles all functions of the Employee Stock Ownership Plan (ESOP). In the community, he is treasurer of the St. Josephs Athletic Association and serves on the board of directors for the Republican Club of Hanover and the McSherrystown Youth Wrestling Club. He graduated from Coastal Carolina University with a bachelor of arts degree in psychology and received his master’s in accounting from the University of South Carolina.

JESSICA BRANDENBURG Jessica Brandenburg, CPA, MBA, is the Chief Financial Officer of MyPath, a human services company that provides services to adults and children with disabilities. Before joining MyPath, Jessica worked in the service and consumer packaged goods industries in organizational structures ranging from small entrepreneurial start-ups to private equity owned businesses.

RON BROWN Ron Brown is President/CEO and Chairman of the Board of State Utility Contractors, Inc., a utility construction company based in Monroe, NC. He holds a degree in Mechanical Engineering Technology from UNC Charlotte, joined the company in 1986, and has served in various roles before becoming President in 2016. Brown has also held significant leadership positions within the Carolinas AGC, including Board Chair in 2019, and was honored with their 2023 Hall of Fame Award

THOMAS DUDLEY Thomas Dudley is a Director at ButcherJoseph & Co., where he focuses on delivering strategic advisory services to ESOP-owned companies, including ownership structure optimization, recapitalization planning, and long-term sustainability strategies. He brings a unique blend of analytical rigor, deep experience in employee ownership, and a passion for building purpose-driven businesses. Prior to joining ButcherJoseph, Thomas was the founding CEO of Certified Employee-Owned (Certified EO), the national certification program for employee-owned companies. Under his leadership, Certified EO set the national standard for what it means to be “employee-owned” and grew its membership to over 700 companies.

EVENT SPONSORS THANK YOU TO OUR SPONSORS FOR MAKING THIS EVENT POSSIBLE!

MEMBER RESOURCES Repurchase Obligation Toolkit As an ESOP matures, retirees and other former employees convert the shares in their ESOP accounts into cash. Ultimately, it is the company’s responsibility—called its “repurchase obligation”—to ensure the availability of cash to buy those shares.

AGENDA: OCTOBER 20 TIME

TOPIC

8:00 AM

Registration & Refreshments Waterview A-C Foyer

9:00 AM

Welcome & Workshop Kickoff: Why RO Matters Now Kimberly McCourtney, NCEO

9:15 AM

Decoding Repurchase Obligation: Rules & Policy Impact Joe Marx, Principal Jessica Brandenburg, MyPath

Live Webinars & Replays

10:15 AM

Refreshment Break

Stay up to date on ESOPs and equity compensation with online presentations on legal, governance, HR, communications, and financial topics from our Compass online learning series. Both live and recorded webinars are free for NCEO members.

10:30 AM

Building Your Repurchase Forecast: A Hands-On Modeling Session Dustin Pirie, ESOP Analytics Ron Brown, Board of State Utility Contractors

12:00 PM

Working Lunch and Peer Insights Roundtables

Repurchase obligation is almost always manageable if the company plans for it, but without planning, the repurchase obligation can constrain companies' ability to invest in growth and, in extreme cases, can make the ESOP unsustainable. This toolkit is a guide to the NCEO resources that can help you adequately plan for your repurchase obligation and become a more sustainable ESOP company. It is divided into four parts:

Toolkit Categories The rules for repurchase obligation Planning for repurchase obligation Approaches to financing the repurchase obligation Maintaining a sustainable plan

We offer approximately 45 live ESOP webinars every year. Each webinar is recorded and then placed into our Replay Library for you to re-watch at your convenience.

NCEO live webinars offer continuing education credit for CPE and SHRM. Find out more information about webinars at www.nceo.org/live-webinars.

Additional Resources 1.Creating a Sustainable ESOP Distribution Policy by Barbara Clough, Michael Fischer, Tina Langlois, Corey Rosen, and Kevin Rusch: Learn how to manage distribution policies to remain employee-owned in the long term.

2.Sustainable ESOPs by Corey Rosen: Understand how to remain successfully employee-owned for the long term.

3.The ESOP Repurchase Obligation Handbook: Discover essays and survey results on ESOP repurchase obligation and how companies deal with it.

All Speakers Waterview A-C

Learning Objectives: To equip finance leaders with the actionable knowledge, practical tools, and strategic insights necessary to proactively forecast, fund, and manage their ESOP repurchase obligation, ensuring the long-term financial health and sustainability of their company. This intensive, workshop-driven program is distinct from general sessions at our Annual Conference or Forum, offering a unique hands-on experience tailored for finance professionals.

SPEAKERS CHRISTINE HURT

Christine Hurt Christine Hurt is the CFO of Ayers Saint Gross, a 100% employee-owned, multidisciplined design firm. Her expertise includes over 30 years managing accounting, HR, and IT functions in the built environment. Christine has a passion for sharing knowledge in a clear and approachable way, especially when it comes to complex issues of financial literacy. She appreciates working at an employee-owned company where everybody has a role in ensuring the firm’s long-term success. Christine is a member of the board of trustees of Baltimore Chamber Orchestra and a mentor to several students at University of Delaware, her alma mater.

TINA LANGLOIS

Christine For over Hurt 15 years, Tina has worked with boards of directors, trustees, and management teams of ESOP-owned companies to develop custom solutions for achieving long-term sustainability. With a deep expertise in ESOP repurchase obligation and plan design consulting, she leads the execution of comprehensive studies which provide analyses of the financial impact of funding all future capital claims, considering a company’s strategic objectives in relation to its ownership structure, and exploring issues related to compensation programs and optimal capital structure. Throughout her career, Tina has worked with hundreds of companies of all sizes in diverse industries across the country.

AGENDA: OCTOBER 20 TIME

TOPIC

1:00 PM

Funding the Obligation: Cash Flow, S Corp Strategies, & Balancing Growth Workshop Thomas Dudley, Butcher Joseph Duke Allen, SC&H

2:30 PM

Strategic Levers: Impact on Share Value & Releveraging Deep Dive Tina Langlois, Chartwell

3:30 PM

Refreshment Break

3:45 PM

Building a Sustainable ESOP: Integrated Strategic Planning Joe Marx, Principal Christine Hurt, Ayers Saint Gross

4:45 PM

Expert Panel Session (Implementation Roadmap) Kimberly McCourtney, NCEO

5:30 PM

Networking Cocktail Reception The Raven

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JOE MARX

Christine Joe MarxHurt is vice president of ESOP consulting at Principal. He specializes in

assisting companies in the analysis, design, implementation, and operation of ESOPs, repurchase obligation planning, and ESOP administration. He is a frequent presenter at various national and regional conferences and workshops. He is a member of the New York State Society of CPAs, The ESOP Association, and the NCEO. He also serves on the finance committee of The ESOP Association, is active in the NY/NJ and New England Chapters, and is on the strategic planning committee for the NJ/NY and PA Centers for Employee Ownership.

KIMBERLY MCCOURTNEY Christine Hurt

Kimberly brings extensive and diverse experience to her role as peer network manager at the NCEO. Having spent 18 years in Alaska, she developed a deep understanding of complex supply chains, manufacturing, distribution, sales, retail, and business management. As a former senior vice president at an employeeowned company, she played a key role in the ownership transition, employee ownership culture, and communications. Passionate about fostering collaboration, she is dedicated to strengthening the NCEO’s peer network, supporting employeeowned companies and their partners, and driving engagement to enhance the impact of employee ownership.

DUSTIN PIRIE Christine Hurt

Dustin Pirie is the founder and CEO of ESOP Analytics, a company dedicated to helping ESOP companies manage repurchase obligation and build sustainable forecasting models. He holds an MBA from the University of Iowa and brings over a decade of experience in the retirement industry. He founded ESOP Analytics not only to deepen his understanding of the challenges ESOP companies face but also to gain firsthand experience in the realities of running a business. Outside of work, Dustin enjoys spending time on the golf course.

ESOP Finance Working Group Included with NCEO Membership Join the ESOP Finance Working Group (FWG), a small, focused community of finance professionals from NCEO member companies. This exclusive group offers an opportunity to engage in in-depth discussions with peers from other ESOP companies and invited experts in the field, sharing ideas, best practices, and insights to drive your organization forward.