Minnesota Center for Employee Ownership Names New Executive Director During Employee Ownership Month

MINNEAPOLIS, Oct. 19, 2022—The Minnesota Center for Employee Ownership (MNCEO) today announced former North Branch Mayor Kirsten Kennedy has joined the organization as its new executive director to help further its mission to promote the use of employee ownership as a tool to retain jobs in communities, reduce income and wealth disparities, and create a more participatory economy for all residents across the state.

As executive director, Kennedy will be responsible for leading MNCEO’s networking, fundraising, and programming initiatives to educate business owners, their employees and financial advisors, and elected officials in Minnesota about the prospect of and long-term benefits of employee ownership.

“Kirsten brings a wealth of public and private sector experience to MNCEO at a time of unprecedented growth for the organization,” said Steve Storkan, executive director of the Employee Ownership Expansion Network. “Kirsten’s commitment and passion for investing in Minnesota communities through the expansion of employee ownership will serve her well in our organization’s most senior leadership role.”

Prior to joining MNCEO, Kennedy was selected from a pool of 946 candidates to complete a prestigious Bush Fellowship focused on improving community health. Earlier in Kennedy’s career, she served as a statewide health improvement partnership administrator in Chisago County, where she was responsible for supporting the implementation of policy, systems, and environmental changes focused on healthy living.

From 2014 to 2018, Kennedy also served as the mayor of North Branch, a city in Central Minnesota with more than 10,500 residents. During Kennedy’s time as mayor, her public policy initiatives were focused on economic development, affordable housing, infrastructure repair and development, and supporting housing for people with chronic mental health challenges and homelessness. As mayor, Kennedy was also an early advocate of the North Star Solar Project, one of the largest energy facilities in the Midwest, which can produce enough power for approximately 20,000 homes.

Kennedy holds a bachelor’s degree in Psychology and a master’s degree in Political Advocacy and Leadership from the University of Minnesota-Duluth. She also holds certificates in Continuous Improvement Management and as a Six Sigma Lean Black Belt in Healthcare from the Management and Strategy Institute.

“I look forward to helping re-imagine the way businesses are owned in Minnesota via employee ownership, which will spread economic power and reduce wealth inequality for all people, particularly women and people of color in our state,” said Kennedy on her recent appointment.

Kennedy replaces MNCEO Founding Executive Director Sue Crockett, who will retire after more than 30 years of leading --more--

Kirsten Kennedy October 19, 2022 Page 2

employee-ownership advocacy organizations in the Upper Midwest, including the Minnesota / Dakotas Chapter of The ESOP Association. As one of the foremost thought leaders on employee ownership in the U.S., Crockett will now serve as chair of the MNCEO Board of Directors, effective Nov. 1.

“I can’t think of a better time to celebrate Sue’s many accomplishments on behalf of employee-owned businesses in Minnesota than during Employee Ownership Month,” said Storkan. “Not only was Sue instrumental in helping MNCEO launch at the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, but her unparalleled leadership skills are in large part responsible for our exponential growth and community building since that time.”

Established in January 2020, MNCEO provides free and unbiased educational opportunities for business owners, their employees and financial advisors, and community leaders interested in exploring the many different forms of employee ownership, including employee stock ownership plans, employee ownership trusts, and worker-owned cooperatives.

It has been shown that employee ownership offers workers at all levels of an organization a piece of the pie, which creates a strong financial future for all. MNCEO helps business owners, their employees, and their advisors connect with experienced professionals in the employee-ownership arena to guide them throughout their business transition journey. This includes providing them with free and unbiased articles, case studies, and recommended service advisors.

In recent years, succession planning has become a growing concern among employees and elected officials around the country as baby boomers begin to retire in greater numbers. A 2020 study developed by Project Equity on behalf of MNCEO showed that approximately 50% of all job-creating businesses in Minnesota are owned by those over the age of 55. These 53,000 businesses employ more than 600,000 workers, with a payroll of $24 billion. Project Equity’s report also estimates 60% of these business owners plan to transfer ownership in the next decade, with the COVID-19 pandemic accelerating this retirement timeline for many. Yet, many business owners do not have a succession plan in place in the wake of what business analysts have referred to as a Silver Tsunami.

“After a statewide search for a new executive director, I feel confident Kirsten is uniquely qualified to not only continue Sue’s extraordinary work at MNCEO, but build upon it to reach even more business owners in the wake of Minnesota’s quickly approaching Silver Tsunami,” said Storkan.

About the Minnesota Center for Employee Ownership

The Minnesota Center for Employee Ownership is a 501 (c)(3) nonprofit organization dedicated to providing free and unbiased information and resources to business owners and their advisors on the benefits of employee ownership throughout Minnesota. Established in 2020, MNCEO is part of a national network of state centers for employee ownership created by the Employee Ownership Expansion Network, which is committed to closing the wealth gap for all employees. For more information on MNCEO, visit www.mnceo.org.

About the Employee Ownership Expansion Network

The Employee Ownership Expansion Network (EOX) is a 501 (c)(3) nonprofit organization founded in 2018 in Philadelphia, Pa. Its mission is to significantly expand employee ownership in the United States by establishing and supporting a network of independent nonprofit centers for employee ownership. EOX has provided funding and technical assistance to support the opening of 11 state centers for employee ownership. The organization aims to help create one million new employee owners by 2025 by having at least 70% of the U.S. population living in a state with a center for employee ownership. To learn more, visit www.eoxnetwork.org.