Keeping Businesses Local: Succession as Economic Development 

Panelists: Joel Burstein, Beam Collaborative 

Overview: Small business succession is often treated as a private issue for the owner, but when a local business closes without a plan, the impact reaches employees, families, customers, neighborhoods, supply chains, and the regional economy. This interactive session will explore why business continuity matters to all of Pittsburgh — not just business owners — and how earlier succession planning can help preserve jobs, protect community assets, and keep locally built businesses rooted in the region. 

Every Exit Path, Compared Live: AI Tools for Modern Business Succession  

Panelists: Sonali Kothari, Zolidar 

Overview: 80% of owners who try to sell never find an external buyer. We’ll use Zolidar’s AI-powered tools and model real business exit scenarios, comparing employee ownership and third party sales apples-to-apples. Built for owners and the advisors who guide them. Get your free Day Zero Guide pre-work and explore Zolidar Pitt2026 Resources. 

Financing Small Business Succession  

Panelists: Eric Swift, Institute for Entrepreneurial Excellence; Siena Kane, Urban Redevelopment Authority; Denise Graham-Shealey, Neighborhood Community Development Fund; Ian Iuliucci, Northwest Bank 

Overview: This session is for business owners who want to learn how to finance the plans they’ve made for the business succession — for the business owners who want to understand the financing available to a future buyer interested in purchasing their business, or for the employees, family members, or private individuals looking to purchase an existing business. In this session you will meet lenders who will provide examples of financing legacy businesses, co-operatives, and everything in between. These lenders will talk about the ins and outs of small to mid-sized business financing, so you can be best prepared when the time comes to bringing capital to your next big move. 

An Introduction to Employee Ownership 

Panelists: Kevin McPhillips, Pennsylvania Center for Employee Ownership; Edward C. Renenger, SES ESOP Strategies; Melissa Bizyak, Grossman, Yanak, and Ford; Scott Moon, The Baker Project 

Overview: This session explores the various forms of Employee Ownership, identifying which is most appropriate for your business. The Session will have a particular focus on the most common one – The Employee Stock Ownership Plan (ESOP). With insights from experienced nationally recognized experts in Legal, Financial and Organizational Planning, attendees will learn the basics and important aspects of employee ownership. They will also receive tools to explore further how EO can dramatically improve profitability, and reward owners.

Building Future Leaders 

Panelists: Albert Ciuksza, Solutions 21; Alex Moss, Praxis Consulting 

Overview: For many small business owners, succession planning stalls not because they lack the will to transition, but because they don’t see who could possibly take their place. This session addresses that challenge head-on. Featuring consultants who work at the intersection of leadership development and employee ownership, this conversation explores how business owners can build the bench they need — and the culture that makes ownership transition feel less like a leap of faith and more like a natural next step. Albert Ciuksza from Solutions 21 and Alex Moss from Praxis Consulting will share practical strategies for identifying and developing future leaders, fostering a culture where employees think and act like owners, and helping founders who are proud of what they’ve built find a path forward that honors their legacy without requiring them to simply hand over the keys and hope for the best. 

Exit to the Community: The Worker Cooperative Exit Strategy 

Panelists: Ron Gaydos, Keystone Cooperative Development Center; Kristen Barker, Co-op Cincy; Scott Trumbull, Working World; David Lidz, Streetwell 

Overview: Owners of a viable business with reliable employees are solidly positioned to make an orderly change in ownership through sale to the employees. The current business owner gets a fair price for all their hard work, the employees who helped to make the business grow strong can share in its value, and the business has a lasting legacy in the community. In this session, we will present the option for business owners making the move toward retirement using the fastest growing cooperative model: the worker-owned cooperative. Takeaways will be to learn about the worker cooperative business model in general, the pathway businesses can take to employee ownership, identify some of the resources that support the process and the transaction, what makes worker cooperatives successful, and hear what it’s like to be a worker owner and an owner making the transition to seller. Bring your business stories and your questions! 

Acquisition Through Employee-Owned Business Networks 

Panelists: Adam Smith, HB Global; Jon Sirken, Hyper Networks; Jeanette Webster, Evergreen Cooperatives; Martin Berry, Evergreen Cooperatives; Emma Sherrie, Evergreen Cooperatives; Shatara Murphy, University of Pittsburgh 

Overview: For business owners considering acquisition as a succession path, finding the right acquirer can mean the difference between a legacy preserved and a culture lost. This session explores how mission-aligned acquiring organizations approach the process of bringing companies into their portfolio while protecting what makes those businesses valuable. Panelists from Evergreen and HB Global will share how they evaluate acquisition opportunities, what they prioritize (and what they don’t), and how they support the companies they acquire without losing what made them successful. Leaders from acquired subsidiaries will tell their stories firsthand — why they chose acquisition, what the process was like, and what life looks like on the other side of a transition.

Perpetual Purpose Trusts 

Panelists: Patrick Gallagher, Management Science Associates; Greg Kimble, Signature Vacuum; Michael Palmieri, Ohio Employee Ownership Center; Gregory Daugherty, Porter Wright Morris and Arthur; Raymond Parker, Williams Coulson 

Overview: For business owners looking to exit while preserving their company’s legacy, Purpose Trusts are a flexible succession option. While Purpose Trusts can establish company governance that commits the business to a wide set of priorities and values, Employee Ownership Trusts (EOT) are a form that commits the business to the wellbeing of the employees. This session will explain how Purpose Trusts and EOTs work, how they are governed, and how they can be structured to protect jobs, preserve mission, and allow employees to share in the company’s success. The panel will include business leaders who have used Purpose Trust and EOT structures in real-world ownership transitions. They will share why they chose this path, how their trusts were designed, and what advice they would give to other owners considering whether this model fits their succession goals.