Experts who can assist in creating an ESOP/Co-op, or in Succession Planning
We at RMEOC have talked at length with each of the the professionals below, and are confident of their interest and commitment to employee ownership. Costs of consultation are to be determined by the business owners or employees and the consultant. RMEOC has received no payment from any of these experts for the listing.
RMEOC does not warrant the accuracy of this list's information. Please send any additions or corrections to ldunn@rmeoc.org.
ATTORNEYS AND CPA'S WHO SPECIALIZE IN ESOPS
From Wikipedia: An employee share ownership plan (or "stock ownership", abbreviated to "ESOP") is the practice of companies giving staff members shares in their company as part of their salary. An Employee Share Option Plan (ESOP) is a defined contribution employee benefit plan that allows employees to become owners of stock in the company they work for. It is an equity based deferred compensation plan. Under the ESOP plan, companies provide their employees the opportunity to acquire the company's shares at a reduced price over a period of time.
Nancy Crow, Attorney at Law
Pendleton Friedberg Wilson & Hennessy P.C.
1875 Lawrence St., 10th Floor
Denver, CO 80202-1898
303-839-1204 Office
ncrow@penberg.com
Mike Sanchez, Attorney at Law
Sherman & Howard
633 17th Street, 30th Floor
Denver, CO 80202
303-299-8114 Office; 303-885-5632 Cell
msanchez@sah.com
Greg Weiss, MBA CPA/CFF, CVA
Harper Lutz Zuber Hofer & Associates, LLC
1580 Lincoln Street, Suite 1100
Denver, CO 80209
303-486-0010 Work; 303-913-3158 Cell
weiss@hlzcpa.com
“The concept of broad-based ownership combined with open-book management has always fascinated me because of the impressive operating results which often accompany such a combination of philosophies.”
Sandy Shoemaker, CPA
EKS&H - Ehrhardt Keefe Steiner Hottman P.C.
7979 E. Tufts Ave
Denver, CO 80237
303-846-3349 Direct Line; 303-740-9400 Office
sshoemaker@eksh.com
A full service CPA firm: “Business owners transitioning their company to a new generation of leaders have several options, including an Employee Stock Ownership Plan (ESOP). The professionals at EKS&H strive to become trusted business advisers by guiding companies toward a future that ensures employees growing the business today will be leading it tomorrow.”
ATTORNEYS WHO SPECIALIZE IN COOPERATIVES
Linda Phillips, Attorney at Law
Dean, Dunn & Phillips LLC
650 S. Cherry St. # 620
Denver, CO 80246
303-756-6744 Office
linda@lawatddp.com
Linda and her firm are dedicated to creating and helping with the governance of cooperatives. She has worked with and been part of creating a number of cooperatives in Colorado, the most recent being the conversion of Namaste Solar Electrical, Inc. from a corporation to a worker cooperative. She too is interested in talking with any company owner who would like more information about selling their company to their employees via a cooperative or converting to a cooperative enterprise. Linda can also assist with cooperative tax information and financial restructuring in order for a company to be taxed on a cooperative basis.
Russell Wayman, Attorney at Law
1475 Delgany St, #801
Denver, CO 80202
650-743-5408 Cell
wrw646@gmail.com
Russell assisted in putting together the co-op called Green Cleaning for Life, LLC, stating that “most entities (like coops) do not chose the cooperative form of organization, preferring the much more common LLC...” “There is no reason, however why a cooperative cannot work in the right circumstances in Colorado. I would be happy to talk with anyone interested in learning more.”
CONSULTANTS WHO WORK WITH CO-OPS OR ESOPS
Kevin Ruble
Aspen Strategic Leadership, Principle
3739 Evergreen Parkway, Suite 1001
PO Box 3388
Evergreen, CO 80437-3388
214-893-7681
kevin@aspenleadership.net
Kevin and partners consult in the area of ownership culture development, mediation services within employee ownership groups and development of top-tier ESOP companies. The primary function of Kevin's company is to serve as independent, outside board members for ESOP companies.
Whitney Walpole
Culture Counts, Founder and President
540 S. Forest
Denver, CO 80246
303-350-8124
whitney@culturecounts.biz
Whitney's experience as a business owner provides a solid foundation as a backdrop to her more intuitive wisdom as a coach and consultant. For the past 8 years, Whitney has focused on creating success for herself and other business owners through Culture Counts, a national coaching and consulting firm specializing in developing CORE Performance cultures.
Lee Gearhart
PLG Consultants, Inc., QuickBooks® Professional Advisor and Enterprise Solution Provider
303-914-9230
lee@qbteacher.com
PLG Consultants Inc (PLG) is a business consulting organization with special emphasis in the areas of using QuickBooks® in a various company environments, CEO Coaching that allows an organization to place emphasis on strategic planning based on the need to generate revenue and control costs. PLG has been setting-up, cleaning-up and teaching QuickBooks® for over 10 years. PLG uses a lot of today’s technologies to give our clients the best training experience.