Event Information
Tuesday, December 3, 2024
The S. Dale High Leadership Center
3:00 pm - 5:30 pm
Welcome to the event Exploring Exit Strategies: Direct Employee Ownership and ESOP Models! Join us on Tuesday, December 3, 2024 at 3:00 at The S. Dale High Leadership Center to learn about the benefits of direct employee ownership and ESOP models. Discover how these strategies can help you transition out of your business while empowering your employees. Don’t miss out on this opportunity to explore new possibilities for your business’s future!
Presenters will be Drew Mousetis, Executive Director, Tandem Center for Shared Business Success and Alex Puskar, Partner, Barley Snyder.
AGENDA:
3:00-4:30pm – Workshop
4:30-5:30pm – Light refreshments and networking
WORKSHOP DESCRIPTION:
Exploring Exit Strategies: Direct Employee Ownership and ESOP Models
Navigating exit strategies as a business owner can be complex, and employee ownership models offer powerful solutions for a successful transition. These models not only provide a pathway to preserve your business legacy but also engage and reward your employees, ensuring the long-term success of your company.
Two key employee ownership models offer different approaches to meet unique business needs: Direct Employee Ownership and Employee Stock Ownership Plans (ESOPs). Direct Employee Ownership is well-suited for businesses seeking a gradual and flexible transition of ownership, offering advantages like adaptability and cost-effectiveness. In contrast, ESOPs provide an indirect ownership structure through a regulated retirement plan, which can bring significant tax benefits and is typically used for major ownership transitions.
By understanding the benefits of these employee ownership models, you can make informed decisions that support your business, employees, and community. When done effectively, these strategies can enhance employee engagement, facilitate succession, and secure your business’s future as a valued, community-rooted employer. Upon completion, participants will be able to distinguish between these two models and recognize their potential impact on succession and legacy planning.
Drew Mousetis, Executive Director
Tandem Center for Shared Business Success
Drew Mousetis is Executive Director at Tandem Center for Shared Business Success. Tandem is a nonprofit that works with business owners and their advisors to implement profit sharing and/or direct employee ownership for the benefit of all employees and all owners. Tandem uses a 5-phase process to help businesses achieve their goals which may include employee recruitment and engagement, owner liquidity, ownership succession, and preserving legacy.
Before joining Tandem, Drew was a lead consultant and employee owner at Cargas where he worked in a vibrant culture of employee engagement, profit sharing, and direct employee ownership. He was a member of the Employee Ownership Impact Team where he promoted direct employee ownership to employees of Cargas. Prior to Cargas, Drew was Director of Finance at The GateHouse.
Alexander "Alex" Puskar, Partner
Barley Snyder, LLC
Alex is a partner in Barley Snyder’s Business and Tax practice groups. His practice includes extensive experience with mergers and acquisitions, including assisting clients with the establishment, use and operation of, and acquisitions involving employee stock ownership plans. He works with officers, directors and shareholders of closely held businesses on an array of organizational matters, such as entity formation, compliance, contract review, tax planning, and business succession planning. He also counsels non-profit organizations in mergers, acquisitions and fundamental change transactions, as well as filing for tax-exempt status and general compliance issues.
Alex graduated magna cum laude from the University of Pittsburgh, where he received both his B.A. and J.D. He also earned an LL.M. in Taxation from Villanova University’s Charles Widger School of Law.
Alex is a former summer associate at Barley Snyder and is the Chair of the firm’s summer associate program recruiting committee. Alex is a native of Lancaster County and currently resides in East Petersburg with his wife and daughter.
