The daunting task of reducing the racial wealth gap and preserving the beacons of hope provided by successful minority-owned businesses in the United States requires immediate action and cannot wait for the highly unlikely passage of more sweeping policy changes. There is, however, one underutilized solution for addressing these issues that is available now: an employee stock ownership plan (“ESOP”).
Our speakers will explain how they have used this vital tool for increasing the wealth of Black and brown workers while providing the region’s business owners with an opportunity to get liquidity at fair market value from their businesses. They will discuss how some of the largest privately-held U.S. companies are ESOP-owned (e.g. Wawa, Publix, Sheetz, etc.) and how some of our local companies have followed suit (e.g. NewAge Industries, Pennoni, American Refining Group, Graham Company, etc.).
This virtual event will bring national and Philadelphia-based experts and entrepreneurs together to provide an update on current realities, introduce new opportunities for impact investors to invest in employee ownership conversions, and inspire action.
Speakers:
- Sean-Tamba Matthew, Shareholder of Stevens & Lee/SES ESOP Strategies
- Todd Leverette, Partner at Apis and Heritage Capital Partners
- Derek Green, Philadelphia City Councilmember, Chair of the Committee on Finance and Disabilities and Vice Chair of the Committees on Aging and Law and Government
- Bill Stockwell, Chairman and Chief Technical Officer at Stockwell Elastomerics