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.

This episode provides the background on both Warrants and SARs in an ESOP transaction. The typical usage of synthetic equity structured within a deal can create a solid win-win for the shareholders and the company. Within the topic, the podcast uses the Nicolas Cage film “Knowing” as an example to explain how a warrant and SAR model help to predict the future just like so that we can create a lasting legacy for the company and a successful reward for those that are taking on the future risk of the enterprise.

On this podcast episode we interview Jason Ireland, President of Industrial Supply Company (ISCO), a distributor of manufacturing parts who went 100 percent ESOP last year. Jason explains the step by step process their 100-year-old company went through to transition to an ESOP process. The company was part union and part non-union, providing some background for some companies dealing with that reality. There is even a ghost in this story…but he cannot be part of the ESOP (it’s an ERISA thing). We discuss the consensus building process with multiple shareholders and Jason’s future generation as part of the leadership to steer the company into the future of employee ownership making the employees part of this family.