Events

Mock Board Meeting: a Board Discussion of Managing Cash & Capital Allocation in Mature ESOPs

Facilitator: Alex Moss with Brian Ippensen (TI-Trust), Cindy Turcot (Gardener's Supply Company), and Sandy Shoemaker (Shoemaker Consulting)

Learning Objectives:
• Recognize the challenges faced by mature ESOPs who have accumulated material cash balances.
• Analyze the different potential priorities for investing cash and the tradeoffs among them.
• Evaluate the strengths and challenges of pursuing various cash investment strategies to best support the long-term health of their ESOP companies

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Succession Planning: Boards and Fiduciaries

Facilitator: Alex Moss with Avery M. Chenin (SCJ Fiduciary Services)

Most organizations understand the importance of leadership succession development planning. However, they fail to recognize that implementing this with Board members and officers of the company is just as important. This session will start with explaining the roles of Board members and fiduciaries. You will gain an understanding of who is responsible for succession planning and what steps to take to implement this for your organization.

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Managing ESOP Board Conflicts

Facilitator: Alex Moss with Avery M. Chenin (SCJ Fiduciary Services) and Shaylor Steele (Benesch)

Conflicts on a board of directors can undermine decision-making, damage trust, and hinder organizational effectiveness. This session equips participants with the tools to recognize and respond to conflicts within the governance context. Participants will learn to distinguish between internal and independent directors, identify the types and sources of board-level conflicts, and develop practical strategies for addressing them. Through real-world scenarios and guided discussion, attendees will explore how boards can effectively mitigate conflicts, manage difficult dynamics, and, when necessary, take action to remove conflicted individuals—ultimately strengthening board integrity and performance.

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Evaluating and Hiring Effective ESOP Leaders

Facilitator: Kathleen McInerney Kane with Bill Frommelt (Strategic Talent Partners)

Learning Objectives:
‍• Understand how to identify the key skills and abilities that make for an effective ESOP leader.
• Understand the process for evaluating and hiring (internally or externally) for the best possible ESOP leaders.
• Begin to apply this process to your organization.

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Next Up: Preparing Future Generations to Lead

Facilitator: Kathleen McInerney Kane with David T. Paul (Aqua Engineers)

Learning Objectives:
• Identify at least 3 core competencies essential for success in an employee-owned company.
• Articulate one way their personal leadership identity aligns with ESOP values such as transparency, collective responsibility or strategic thinking.
• Describe 2 “takeaway” strategies for stewarding leadership development within their organization.

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Beyond Training: Building a Leadership Development System for Succession Success

Facilitator: Linshuang Lu with Stacey Dolden (SCS Engineers)

Learning Objectives:
• Formulate leadership competencies and how to integrate them into their company.
• Understand how to create leadership development experiences that result in changed behavior.
• Foster senior leader commitment and attention to leadership development and succession.

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Leading through Uncertainty, Change and Crisis

Facilitator: Matthew Hancock with Gary Irwin (Creative Financial Staffing)

Learning Objectives:
• Recognize how you, and those you lead, react to uncertainty, change and crisis.
• Understand new frameworks and skills for leading during times of uncertainty, change and crisis.
• Identify the opportunities provided by uncertainty, change and crisis to foster greater resiliency and growth, organizationally and individually.