Welcome Back
Evan takes the EO+WD newsletter reins; Donald Trump takes D.C.; Project Equity is 501(c)3. And we compile a short, sweet newsletter for your weekend:
📝 What We’re Writing
In his second EO+WD post, Evan explores the state of ESOP regulations understand the new presidential administration
Professor Hand kicked off another semester of his Democracy class over on Democracy in 500 Words and considered what a consolidated theory of democracy might include
🗞️ Three Things To Know
Following the inauguration, President Trump froze all pending Executive Branch agency regulations, including the DOL’s draft regulatory guidance published last week
The ESOP Association welcomes the move while advising the new administration to:
Reject the Safe Harbor regulation entirely
Make amends to the Adequate Consideration regulation
They also analyze the Biden Administration’s now-frozen draft adequate consideration rule, comparing it to their 2024 model regulations
The ESOP Association is hiring a Chapter Director
Employee Ownership Canada announced Michael Ras as its new CEO
🔍 More News and Analysis
Project Equity is now a standalone 501(c)(3) non-profit!
The ICA Global Research Conference extended its deadline for abstract and panel submissions to January 29th
Project Equity outlines its initiatives to expand employee ownership in 2025
Pete Stavros, founder of the non-profit Ownership Works, advocates for employee ownership to fix where capitalism doesn’t work
Bill Duguay highlights how the Entrepreneurial Operating System assists the organization of ESOPS
🌇 What’s Coming Up
January 24: The Skoll Centre’s Towards Purpose: Redesigning Business From Within
NEW | January 31: Rutgers’s webinar “Valuation and Financial Fairness Considerations in ESOP Transaction”
February 3-4: NCEO hosts Is an ESOP Right for You? in Austin, Texas
February 5-26: NCEO hosts four Communications Committee Crash Courses sessions on how to navigate the world of employee ownership
February 20: The Employee Ownership Transition: A Deep Dive, a workshop on the process of selling to an employee ownership trust (in Scotland)
NEW | March 11: SXSW panel discussion “This is Not Woke Capitalism, this is the Future of Business,” in Austin, Texas
March 27-28: The Rocky Mountain and Texas/Oklahoma chapters of the ESOP Association host their 2025 regional conference in Phoenix, Arizona
April 9-10: The Aspen+Rutgers Employee Ownership Ideas Forum in Washington, DC. Tickets will be released via the Aspen EOP mailing list
NEW | April 14-17: NCEO’s 2025 Annual Employee Ownership Conference in Salt Lake City, Utah
May 6-8: Community Spaces Network and Community Vision’s Social Purpose Real Estate Summit (h/t Gretchen B)
NEW | July 8-11: The 5th Global Research Conference of the International Cooperative Alliance in Montréal, Canada
October 23: The 3rd Annual Employee Ownership Conference in Ankeny, Iowa
🚨ICYMI
Alison Lingane highlights the opportunities and challenges of pitching EO to retiring business owners, for the Federation of American Scientists:
