In this episode, we sit down with Kevin Birch, Regional Manager at CNA Surety, to explore best practices for contractor ESOPs. A key theme throughout our conversation is communication—and lots of it. One of the biggest mistakes a contractor can make is surprising their surety with news of an ESOP transaction. Kevin strongly recommends that contractors—whether general or specialty—get their surety agent and company involved early in the process. Doing so allows the proposed ESOP structure to be reviewed and vetted, ensuring buy-in from your surety partner. Throughout the podcast we discuss how critical it is to present models that illustrate valuation, cash flow projections, debt structure, and pro forma balance sheets. These elements are essential for the surety to properly underwrite the transition and help avoid issues with your bonding line after the ESOP is in place.

The show “Band of Brothers” offers a perfect example of leadership from the character of Captain Sobel and provides examples of overcoming obstacles to establish a strong culture. Specifically, the show provides an example of an employee-centric culture: a culture that embodies a solid group of employees ultimately banding together. This episode covers the 5 c’s of an employee-centric culture: Commitment; Care; Celebration; Communication and Community. The topic might be helpful to assess wherever you are in your journey to an ESOP as you build, improve, or sustain the culture of your business.

In this episode the podcast discusses the recent uncertainty with the economy and how this effects the ESOP world. Considering this, the podcast interviews senior level banker Chris Cucci with Climate First Bank. Chris’ bank does financing for ESOP deals all over the United States, providing valuable perspective on ESOP financing credit decisions in light of the first quarter of 2025. While the future of recent economic events in unpredictable, the important take away from this episode is to build your ESOP around the ability to flex with any changes in the economy.