IERFU Columbus Program

June 15–16 | Columbus, OH

An In-Depth Look at Employee Stock Ownership Plans

Tell us about your experience!

SPEAKERS Lindsay Isaac Lindsay Isaac is the director of education at the NCEO. In her role, she supports the development and improvement of employee ownership communication and education as well as ownership culture and employee engagement. She earned her BA from New York University. Her passion for employee ownership stemmed from her nine years of experience in the EO space, working on both the company and service provider side.

Juanpablo Wright Talking about employee-owned businesses always gets Juanpablo’s blood pumping. Great EO companies consistently and continually educate their employee-owners on the fundamentals about what it means to be an owner. Recently, Axia Home Loans, an ESOP established in 2016, was acquired. This experience provides Juanpablo a unique full-cycle perspective to discuss his experience from the start of an ESOP to the successful exit of one. As the director of growth and strategic planning for Axia Home Loans, Juanpablo strived to solve problems and drive value for the company by assessing challenges, collaborating with others to establish a clear path forward, and ensuring people were connected to relationships that generated solutions.

Andy Manchir Dan Markowitz

Andy Manchir is a partner in the Business Valuation and ESOP Services groups at Katz, Sapper & xxx Miller (KSM) and is a co-chair of the firm’s ESOP Services Group. KSM professionals combine the depth of ESOP valuation and financial advisory experience with the breadth that comes from the firm’s position as a leader in the areas of audit, tax, and consulting services. Andy is an active member of the NCEO and The ESOP Association and is the past chair of The ESOP Association’s Valuation Advisory Committee. He is also a trustee of the Employee Ownership Foundation (EOF).

Dan Markowitz Dan Markowitz is the leader of Boulay’s ESOP practice. He specializes in audit and other financial reporting engagements for ESOP-owned clients in a variety of industries including retail, engineering, professional services, and manufacturing and distribution.

Dan provides financial and consulting services to ESOP companies, including ESOP feasibility studies, quarterbacking of ESOP transactions, ESOP sustainability projects, repurchase obligation studies, and managing annual ESOP administration.

Brian Bornino Brian D. Bornino, CPA/ABV, CFA, CBA, is the managing director and national practice leader for GBQ’s Valuation & ESOP Advisory practice. Brian has led 4,000+ valuation engagements during his career, including 2,000+ ESOP projects. Brian’s ESOP practice specializes in ESOP valuations, feasibility studies, formations, transactions, and advisory. Brian is also involved with valuations for various other reasons related to transactions, estate & gift planning, and other corporate and shareholder planning purposes.

Brian has been active in the national valuation and ESOP community for 30+ years, is a frequent speaker on valuation- and ESOP-related issues, and is based in Columbus, Ohio.

SPEAKERS Sean-Tamba Matthew Sean advises private funds, independent sponsors, companies, business owners, boards of directors, and employee stock ownership plan (ESOP) trustees on transactional, corporate governance, and formation matters related to the design and implementation of ESOPs and advises clients on general corporate matters and mergers and acquisitions. Sean is a frequent guest speaker on a range of employee ownership topics.

Tim Rettig Tim Rettig is a second-generation serial ESOP entrepreneur. Tim started Intrust IT in 1992 while in college at the University of Cincinnati. As the company grew, it was ranked on the Inc. 500|5000 list six times and has been recognized as a Best Place to Work in Cincinnati twelve times. Tim transitioned the company to be employee-owned via an employee stock ownership plan (ESOP) in 2019, just like his father Jay Rettig did with his company Software Solutions in 2004. Tim has a life goal to create over 10,000 employee-owners through his advocacy of employee ownership.

Greg Daugherty Greg regularly assists business owners with their succession plans, particularly to their employees through the formation of employee stock ownership plans (ESOPs), employee ownership trusts (EOTs), and other equity compensation arrangements. Greg’s background in ERISA and executive compensation provides a foundation for advising clients with these matters and many other employee benefit and executive compensation matters. He represents publicly traded and privately held companies, tax-exempt organizations, and boards of directors, compensation committees, and management teams for these entities.

Nick Francia As a partner of The Capital ESOP Group, Nick Francia focuses on educating business owners on taxefficient exit strategies. He is committed to helping clients recognize their options, understand the pros and cons of each strategy, and choose the best succession plan for themselves and their families. Nick also creates tailored cash flow models comparing the taxable sale of privately held businesses and a tax-deferred sale to an ESOP under §1042 of the Internal Revenue Code. Nick earns his clients’ trust through open, transparent communication and by working with clients’ tax and legal advisors to construct an overarching strategy.

Learning Objectives: You will learn how to assess whether an ESOP suits your company and, if so, how to finance it. You will also learn how to make choices concerning allocation, vesting, distribution, voting rights, and what to do with sale proceeds. You will gain the necessary information for setting up a plan, including critical legal, valuation, and administrative issues. You will also learn about creating an influential ownership culture and why that is important.

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

MEMBER RESOURCES ESOP TRAINING PROGRAMS The NCEO offers live remote training programs for boards and fiduciaries. The programs are presented by NCEO Founder Corey Rosen or NCEO Executive Director Loren Rodgers.

Customizable training is 90 minutes long and costs $500.

We also offer an online training program on how ESOPs work. Based on a series of recorded webinars, it uses adult learning model-based quizzes to turn test takers into knowledgeable ESOP committee members and fiduciaries. This training costs $100.

ESOP Pre-Feasibility Toolkit A collection of resources to help you determine if an ESOP is right for you and, if so, what steps to take next. This toolkit includes readings, webinars, ready-to-use sample documents, resource lists, and research that draws on the NCEO’s decades-old history of talking with business owners, conducting research, and distilling common lessons and best practices into an easily usable format.

The ESOP Pre-Feasibility Calculator Structured as a responsive Microsoft Excel workbook, this NCEO member benefit allows you to take the actual numbers and data relevant to your business and get a sense of how an ESOP will work for you, how to structure the transaction, and what considerations to know, arming you with vital knowledge before you start the ever-necessary feasibility study with a service provider firm.

Additional Resources Understanding ESOPs by Corey Rosen and Scott Rodrick: A general introductory guide to ESOPs for public and private companies.

Who Should Own Your Business After You?: This 8-page, full-color booklet answers frequent questions, describes the sale process, and features critical research findings on the impact of employee ownership.

Finance Toolkit & Lender Directory: This toolkit helps NCEO member companies secure financing, either for an ESOP transaction or commercial lending, and includes guidelines on best practices when seeking funding and a directory of bank and non-bank lenders with ESOP experience.

AGENDA: JUNE 15 TIME TOPIC 9–9:30 AM

Registration & Refreshments

9:30–10 AM

Welcome! What is Employee Ownership?

Lindsay Isaac | NCEO

10–11 AM

An ESOP Company Perspective Juanpablo Wright

11–11:10 AM 11:10–12:15 PM

Coffee Break ESOP Transaction Structures & Assessing Feasibility Andy Manchir | Katz, Sapper & Miller

12:15–1:15 PM

Lunch with Experts | Roundtable Topics

1:20–2:05 PM

Plan Design & Operations Dan Markowitz | Boulay

2:10–2:50 PM

Determining Stock Value Brian Bornino | GBQ

2:50–3:25 PM

Afternoon Break

3:30–4:30 PM

Financing an ESOP Sean-Tamba Matthew | SES ESOP Strategies

4:40–5:20 PM

Roundtable Discussions

5:30–6:30 PM

Networking Cocktail Reception | Sponsored by Grand Ballroom Foyer

Publications Beyond Engagement ESOPs and Corporate Governance Executive Compensation in ESOP Companies Selling Your Business to an ESOP The ESOP Company Board Handbook Understanding ESOPs

AGENDA: JUNE 16 TIME TOPIC 7:30–8:30 AM 8:40–9 AM

Breakfast Roundtables

Welcome & Recap Lindsay Isaac | NCEO

9:05–9:45 AM

My Multi-Generation ESOP Story Tim Rettig | Intrust IT

9:50–10:30 AM

Fiduciary Responsibilities Greg Daugherty | Porter Wright

10:30–10:40 AM

Coffee Break

10:40–11:20 AM

Investing in the 1042 Rollover Nick Francia | The Capital ESOP Group at UBS

11:25–12 PM

NCEO-Led Q&A / Debrief

Upcoming Events 2026 FORUM

WEBINARS

Phoenix, AZ Sheraton Phoenix Downtown August 26–28, 2026

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.

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.

2026 Forum We invite you to join us in Phoenix!

Use code ESOP to save $50 on your Forum registration.

Learn more at forum.nceo.org