Charleston’s Southern Charm a Big Hit With ESOP Professionals

With record-setting attendance driven by increased attention on the public release of the Biden Administration Department of Labor’s proposed adequate consideration regulation draft, The ESOP Association’s Professionals’ Forum was a huge success. This one-of-a-kind in the ESOP community allows our professional service providers to engage in deep discussions on important topics and help inform the Association on issues and priorities. Since its inception as a small, informal gathering years ago, the Professionals’ Forum has become a “must attend” annual event, with attendance breaking 400 this year in Charleston, South Carolina.  

The first day opened with seminars for young professionals on mock ESOP transactions, plus networking and personal branding seminars to help attendees in the early stages of their ESOP careers. An expanding part of the Professionals’ Forum, the focus on young professionals in the Association’s membership has helped build stronger business development skills and drawn increased interest in recent years. 

The following day included meetings of The ESOP Association’s Professional Advisory Committees, followed by six sessions covering key issues facing the ESOP professional community. The Professional Advisory Committees provide an opportunity to discuss and surface pressing issues, allowing ESOP practitioners to share insights, strategies and developments. The afternoon sessions covered topics including Roth Features in ESOPs, Top Four Trustee Issues, and Partial ESOP Considerations, among others.  

The opening general session featured TEA president and CEO, Jim Bonham, speaking about the recently introduced – and then withdrawn – adequate consideration regulation released by the Biden Administration. The ESOP Association has been the leading voice advocating for a fair and transparent adequate consideration regulation on behalf of its membership. ESOP professionals feel the effects of the DOL’s longstanding refusal to issue a formal rule in this matter – the unlevel playing field means more lawsuits, more investigations and often costly settlements. The draft regulation made public before Inauguration Day is the result of a mandate from Congress included in the SECURE 2.0 Act, which passed in 2022.  However, the Biden DOL’s proposal has been met with a great deal of trepidation by The ESOP Association’s members. Thankfully, it has been withdrawn by President Trump’s Executive Order which effectively created a regulatory freeze.  

The withdrawn regulation now allows The ESOP Association to work with the Trump Administration and Congress to end the bias at DOL and EBSA that is threatening ESOPs which was only confirmed with the Biden DOL rule draft. Jim Bonham and a panel of some of the foremost ESOP experts discussed the current status of the adequate consideration regulation as well as strategies the Association will be pursuing to achieve a favorable rule.

The final day covered two major topics for attendees – the Association’s advocacy efforts and an update on Association events. The ESOP Association is the only trade association with extensive advocacy efforts dedicated to the interests of all ESOPs and the professionals who serve them, a key contrast with other employee ownership groups. Attendees received an overview of the Association’s advocacy tools, issues, and programs, while a panel of Association volunteer leaders spoke about their involvement in advocacy. Professionals bring a welcome and important dimension to the Association’s public policy efforts, and the crowd was encouraged to engage in their chapters and at TEA’s National Conference. 

Additionally, there are major updates and developments on the Association’s events. The biggest news is about the newly reimagined Employee Owned Conference in Las Vegas, with information being released throughout the year about the exciting changes coming for the world’s largest employee ownership event. TEA chapter events also continue to grow, while the Association has launched a CFO Summit, additional executive education programs, and continues to lead in advocacy at National Conference in May.

Many thanks and appreciation go to the Chair of the Advisory Committees, Cara Benningfield, and the Advisory Committee chairs who devoted their time to develop compelling programming for ESOP professionals. The lively discussions, peer-driven topics, and open forum general sessions are a testament to their planning and efforts creating a program that benefits their peers. 

One other source of buzz around the Professionals’ Forum was the location change to Charleston, South Carolina. Historically, TEA’s Professionals’ Forum has been held in New Orleans, but Super Bowl events (and commensurate cost increases) surrounding this week prompted a change in venue.  Charleston, and the Charleston Place hotel, was a welcoming environment for the more than 400 attendees, who enjoyed the southern hospitality, shrimp and grits, biscuits, and oysters. The ESOP Association will be evaluating survey information and feedback about the location and venue to help drive decision making about the 2026 Professionals Forum.