09:00 AM - 10:00 AM (Pacific)
10:00 AM - 11:00 AM (Mountain)
11:00 AM - 12:00 PM (Central)
12:00 PM - 01:00 PM (Eastern)

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Overview

An ESOP, or employee stock ownership plan, provides a tax-advantaged solution that can meet a company’s needs in a variety of situations. ESOPs can be used to generate shareholder liquidity, create a market for the shares of a closely held company, increase employees’ productivity by making them beneficial owners, and support a tax-advantageous exit strategy for departing shareholder(s). SES ESOP Strategies’ Sean-Tamba Matthew and Mark Russell will provide an introduction to ESOPs, including the options, mechanics, benefits, risks and ideal candidates.

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Panelists

Sean advises companies, business owners, boards of directors and employee stock ownership plan (ESOP) trustees on transactional, corporate governance and formation matters related to the design and implementation of ESOPs. Sean’s work includes drafting and negotiating agreements and other documents for stock purchases, leveraged buyouts, mergers, reorganizations and corporate governance and formation matters. 

Sean began his career as a corporate transactional lawyer, with a focus on mergers and acquisitions, private equity, fund services, venture financing and marketplace/P2P lending. His experience also includes advising nonprofit, charitable and other tax-exempt organizations and social enterprises. 

Sean serves on the Advisory Board of Talley Management Group, a ESOP-owned company based in Mt. Royal, NJ. In addition to his professional work, Sean serves as a member of the Board of Directors of Independence Mission Schools, a network of 15 independent Catholic schools providing a transformative education to children of all faiths across Philadelphia, and Nutritional Development Services of the Archdiocese of Philadelphia, an organization dedicated to alleviating food insecurity in Southeastern Pennsylvania. 

Education

• Temple University Beasley School of Law, J.D., 2013
• University of Pennsylvania, B.A., Political Science, 2008

Mark is head of the finance group at SES ESOP Strategies, a Stevens & Lee Company, and a Senior Managing Director at Griffin Financial Group where he works with clients and their principals, providing M&A advisory services and private placements of debt and capital. He works extensively with business owners, evaluating their business and personal situations and assisting in preparing for succession of or exit from their businesses by performing an exhaustive analysis of alternatives (including management buyouts, ESOPs, recapitalizations, and minority or majority sales of the business) to ensure business owners have all of the information necessary to decide the best path to achieve their goals. Finally, he assists business owners in optimizing the strategies designed to achieve the desired outcome. 

As a non-practicing CPA and a lawyer, Mark’s background provides an important link between clients and their accountants and lawyers to creatively address accounting, tax and financial planning issues. 

Mark is a former National Tax-Product Development Manager for PricewaterhouseCoopers, LLP in Washington, D.C., where he was responsible for conceiving creative corporate tax planning strategies and analyzing publicly available information to determine the applicability of those strategies. He was also responsible for implementing large projects and coordinating project teams and corporate personnel. 

Mark is a Certified Financial Planner (CFP). He holds Series 79, 7 and 66 licenses from FINRA. 

Education 

• Georgetown University Law Center, LL.M. in Taxation, with distinction, 1996
• Texas Tech University School of Business, MBA, 1995
• Texas Tech University School of Law, J.D., 1995
• Texas Christian University, BBA in Accounting, 1992
  
  

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