Why Attend?
Executives who run ESOP companies face unique and complex challenges in comparison to running a regular business. It takes special training and understanding of the different requirements, scenarios, and demands of leading in this setting. Leading in an Ownership Setting™ is the only Executive Education program in the nation, run by one of the top business schools in the world and specifically designed to help the top leaders of ESOP companies learn about the details and unique aspects of leading an employee-owned company.
In partnership with the world-renowned Darden School of Business at the University of Virginia, you will spend two weeks on a deep dive into all of the most important topics you need as an ESOP CEO or as an ESOP CFO to do your job well. In addition to sessions taught by leading ESOP-specific experts, courses will be taught by Darden faculty who represent some of the brightest and most innovative minds in business today. The program will continue to provide exceptional leadership and culture training; however it will now also now include an expanded curriculum that provides attendees with more substance in areas like M&A, Finance, Repurchase Obligations, Marketing, and Management that is essential for today’s ESOP Executive.
Who Should Attend?
The CEO program is for current CEOs or Presidents of ESOP companies or for their designated successors, while the CFO program is for current CFOs or their equivalent role. Leaders who find this program most beneficial include:
Experienced Presidents/CEOs and CFOs:
- The program offers you the time and resources for thinking strategically about your leadership agenda for your ESOP company, whether it’s about strengthening your company’s culture, leading change or thinking more deeply about succession and sustainability.
- If you have leadership experience but this is your first time leading an employee-owned company, the program will heighten your awareness of the positive potential of employee ownership as well as provide you with tools to leverage it.
- Specially designed coursework that reflects the unique challenges of running and employee-owned business, on topics like repurchase obligation.
- Updated curricula that emphasize Finance, Management, M&A, and more.
- Peers who understand the challenges and opportunities of leading in ownership context will provide you with a safe and constructive place to talk about company’s issues that may not be appropriate to discuss inside your company.
Incoming Presidents/CEOs and CFOs:
- Enhance your knowledge of yourself as the top leader in your company.
- Learn more about the responsibilities of being in the top leadership role at an employee-owned business.
- Deepen your understanding of how as a top leader you can maximize the opportunities of employee ownership.
- Think through the steps in your transition into the CEO role that will set you up for success.
- Develop a plan for the impact you want to have as a leader of your firm.
- Think through the leadership team you will need around you to complement your strengths and make your company successful.
About The Darden School of Business
The Darden School of Business at the University of Virginia is one of the premier business schools in the U.S. - Darden was recently named the #5 full-time MBA program and #1 public university program by Bloomberg Businessweek, and the #1 public business school in the world by the Financial Times. Darden routinely receives top rankings in Management, Finance, Consulting, and other aspects of its curriculum.
Darden’s top-ranked faculty, renowned for teaching excellence, inspires and shapes modern business leadership worldwide through research, thought leadership, and business publishing. Importantly, Darden incorporates the case study method to learning, which works very well in studying the ESOP model and provides a richer educational experience than a lecture based curriculum.