Leading in an
Ownership Setting™
An Educational Partnership of the Employee Ownership Foundation & University of Virginia, Darden School of Business
An Educational Partnership of the Employee Ownership Foundation & University of Virginia, Darden School of Business
Part 1: July 21-24 2025
Part 2: December 01-04 2025
Add to CalendarPart 1: May 19-22 2025
Part 2: October 20-23 2025
Add to CalendarComing Soon
Executives who run ESOP companies face unique and complex challenges in comparison to running a regular business. It takes special training and understanding of the different requirements, scenarios, and demands of leading in this setting. Leading in an Ownership Setting™ is the only Executive Education program in the nation, run by one of the top business schools in the world and specifically designed to help the top leaders of ESOP companies learn about the details and unique aspects of leading an employee owned company.
In partnership with the world-renowned Darden School of Business at the University of Virginia, you will spend two weeks on a deep dive into all of the most important topics you need as an ESOP CEO or CFO to do your job well. In addition to sessions taught by leading ESOP-specific experts, courses will be taught by Darden faculty who represent some of the brightest and most innovative minds in business today. The program will now also now include an expanded curriculum in areas like M&A, Finance, Repurchase Obligations, Marketing, and Management that is essential for today's ESOP Executive.
This unique program helps top executives maximize their ESOPs by fostering employee owner engagement that directly impacts the company’s bottom line, coupled with up-to-date course curricula on relevant topics such as Finance, M&A, Repurchase Obligations, Marketing and Management.
The intensive two-week program offers an unparalleled opportunity to learn at one of the nation’s top business schools with other ESOP executives and form lasting relationships and networks. The EOF facilitates ongoing networking for program alumni, helping you grow and maintain valuable connections.
In addition to cohorts for CEOs, we now offer a CFO-specific curriculum for senior ESOP financial leaders. Enhance your skills and build your ESOP CFO peer group, join the waitlist to receive notice of registration opening in advance of the general public.
In addition, the Foundation now has flexibility to add other ESOP Executive, like CHROs, in future classes.
The Darden School of Business at the University of Virginia is one of the premier business schools in the U.S. - Darden was recently named the #5 full-time MBA program and #1 public university program by Bloomberg Businessweek, and the #1 public business school in the world by the Financial Times. Darden routinely receives top rankings in Management, Finance, Consulting, and other aspects of its curriculum.
Darden’s top-ranked faculty, renowned for teaching excellence, inspires and shapes modern business leadership worldwide through research, thought leadership, and business publishing. Importantly, Darden incorporates the case study method to learning, which works very well in studying the ESOP model and provides a richer educational experience than a lecture based curriculum.