Southern Vermont Employee Ownership Forum

When:

Friday, November 6, 2026

Where:

Winston Prouty Center

209 Austine Dr, Brattleboro, VT 05301

Who:

You, if you are a Business Owner interested in selling your business to the employees. Come for the morning Ownership Succession Workshop and stay for lunch to talk with folks in the field.

You, if you are an Employee Owner at an ESOP, Worker Cooperative, or other EO business. Come for the afternoon Employee Ownership Sessions.

Cost: Morning Ownership Succession Workshop - Free! Lunch included.

Afternoon EO Sessions - $20 per person, lunch included.

Agenda for the day:

8:30 - 9:00am Coffee and pastries

9:00am - 12:00pm Ownership Succession Workshop: Selling Business Owners only

12:00 - 1pm Lunch

1:00 - 2:30pm Round 1 of Employee Owner Sessions

2:30 - 3:00pm Networking Break/Roundtables

3:00 - 4:30pm Round 2 of Employee Owner Sessions

4:30 - 5:00pm Snacks and networking

The full-day event features two complementary educational programs designed for different audiences while encouraging shared learning throughout the day.

The morning program, Business Owner Succession Workshop, is an interactive, small-group session designed for business owners who are actively considering retirement, succession planning, or transitioning their business. Participants will work through key questions surrounding business readiness, valuation, timing, financing options, and ownership transition strategies. The workshop will explore a variety of pathways including family succession, third-party sale, management buyouts, employee ownership and others, with a focus on the various types of cooperative conversion available to business owners.

The afternoon transitions to a broader regional forum focused on Employee Owned Businesses, bringing together employee-owned companies, worker cooperatives, business owners and advisors from across Vermont, Southern New Hampshire, and Western Massachusetts.

Afternoon sessions will explore topics including:

  • Facilitation

  • Building ownership culture

  • Open-book management and financial education

  • Employee ownership committees

  • Governance and cooperative leadership

  • Leadership succession

  • Practical tools for existing ESOPs and worker cooperatives

  • Roundtable discussions connecting business leaders and practitioners

    Note:

If you are a current business owner interested in Employee Ownership for the future of your company, please register for the Ownership Succession Workshop. You are welcome to attend the entire day if you want, but that workshop is especially for you!

Hosted by VEOC and BDCC

Register here!