Missouri Center for Employee Ownership - MOCEO

08/06/2026

For 169 years, The Callaway Bank has been building trust, serving communities, and putting people first. 🏦

Founded in 1857 and headquartered in Fulton, MO, The Callaway Bank is Missouri’s oldest independent community bank—and an employee-owned company through its Employee Stock Ownership Plan (ESOP).

That means the person helping with your mortgage, managing your business account, or greeting you at the teller window isn’t just an employee—they’re an owner with a stake in the bank’s future.

Rooted in values like fairness, respect, integrity, and honesty, The Callaway Bank continues to pair old-fashioned community banking with modern financial services.

169 years of history. A future built by employee-owners.

08/06/2026

What if the future of work isn’t just about adapting to AI—but owning a piece of what comes next?

As AI reshapes the economy, the conversation around who benefits from that growth matters more than ever. TIME explores the idea of an “ownership economy” where workers can share in the value they help create.

That’s why employee ownership matters. When employees have a stake in the business, they have an opportunity to build wealth while helping shape its future.

Read more from TIME: https://time.com/article/2026/07/15/ai-should-give-rise-to-an-ownership-economy/

“AI is transforming how our economy operates, and a wide range of voices are unifying around a shared goal: expanding worker equity ownership,” writes Lynn Forester de Rothschild.

07/31/2026

Private equity is devouring the economy as boomer entrepreneurs exit — but there's a competitor stepping up, and it's employee-owned. 💼

A new Inc. article breaks down how ESOP-driven rollups are giving companies like Burns & McDonnell, Ferrellgas, and Parsons a real alternative to PE, one that preserves culture and builds long-term value instead of extracting it.

📖 https://www.inc.com/bill-fotsch/private-equity-has-a-new-competitor-and-its-not-what-youd-expect/91355933

Employee ownership through ESOP-driven rollups is emerging as a powerful alternative to private equity, enabling companies to grow through acquisitions

07/30/2026

It was a pleasure attending Cafe de Empresarias yesterday! Look forward to our continued partnership.

Special thanks to The Hispanic Chamber, Maddie Rhodes Cultural Heritage Center, Ana Nubia Duin, Helen Ortiz-Turley, Sharon Forni, Missouri SBDC at UMKC, Paola Zapata, and KC SouceLink.

Amy Lothallen of ESS Companies
Rich Armstrong of The Great Game of Business
Kjersti Cory of SCJ Fiduciary Services
Brad Dunn of CK Supply
Mason Eisenberg of GreatBanc Trust Company
Jill Hathaway of Missouri SBDC at UMKC
Steve Storkan of The Employee Ownership Expansion Network
Julie Leonhardt of The Missouri Center for Employee Ownership

07/30/2026

Congratulations to Rost, Inc. — Missouri's Employee Ownership Trust (EOT)! 🎉

This is a huge milestone for our state! EOTs are a newer, more flexible model of employee ownership — well-established in the UK and only beginning to gain traction in the US, though popularity is growing fast.

A little about Rost, Inc.: Founded in 1985 by brothers Tim and Toby Rost while attending the University of Missouri, the company has grown into one of central Missouri's premier full-service landscape firms, now operating seven divisions spanning design, installation, maintenance, irrigation, wholesale, retail garden centers, and tree farms.

The company has remained family-oriented for both the Rost family and the employees who helped build it — many of whom have stayed on for decades, even in a seasonal industry. As the founders looked toward the future, Co-Founder Toby Rost shared that the EOT structure offered the most benefits and flexibility for their exit plan, helping to create a roadmap for the company's management and lasting benefits for employees.

Huge congrats to Tim, Toby, and the entire Rost team on this forward-thinking move — protecting their culture, their people, and their legacy for generations to come! 👏

📖 Read the full story: https://www.common-trust.com/blog/rost-employee-ownership-trust

Rost, Inc., a multigenerational Missouri landscaping company, transitioned to employee ownership through an Employee Ownership Trust (EOT) to help preserve its culture and independence.

07/25/2026

What a great event!

launched the STL Employee Ownership Initiative today. Thanks to WEPOWER, Washington University in St. Louis - Olin Business School, Democracy At Work Institute, & Heritage Capital Partners, Peter Boumgarden, Charli Cooksey, Emmy (Maria) Allison, Tristan Tahmaseb, ButcherJoseph & Co., Ryan Sawall, P.E., McCarthy Construction, Brad Dunn, CK Supply, Scott Moon, PathLight Law Project for Employee Ownership, Pennsylvania Center for Employee Ownership, Wendell Covington, Jr., Brandi Brooks, and Gail Sharpe for coming together to share the importance and potential impact can have on St. Louis businesses, employees, and communities.

Thank you to all of the community partners who attended. We can't move this forward without you.

If you missed it, there will be lots of opportunities in the future. Connect with us at https://moceo.org/stleo.

07/24/2026

🎙️ New episode of Owners at Work: "Purpose Trusts and EOTs: Expanding the Ownership Conversation"

In this episode, Zoe Schlag of Common Trust and Mark Hand of the Purpose Trust Ownership Network (PTON) dig into the growing momentum behind Employee Ownership Trusts (EOTs) in the U.S. They break down how EOTs offer a flexible, values-aligned path to employee ownership—especially for founders who want to protect their mission, reward employees, and skip traditional exit routes like private equity. You'll also hear real EOT transition stories and get a preview of the first-ever PTON conference coming to Austin in early 2026.

🎧 Listen now: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/purpose-trusts-and-eots-expanding-the/id1498114744?i=1000725720490

Podcast Episode · Owners at Work · September 4, 2025 · 47m

07/23/2026

We can't wait to see everyone this afternoon! 🎉

MOCEO is excited to share the launch of the St. Louis Employee Ownership Initiative — a new partnership between MOCEO and WEPOWER dedicated to growing employee ownership throughout the St. Louis region.

If you're in the St. Louis area, join MOCEO, WEPOWER, and Olin Business School's Koch Center for Family Enterprise for the "Owning Our Future" business luncheon, focused on employee ownership, succession, and the future of locally rooted businesses in St. Louis.

📅 When: July 23, 2026 | 11:00 a.m. – 1:30 p.m.
📍 Where: Olin Business School, 1 Snow Way Dr, Saint Louis, MO 63130
🔗 More info/Register: https://secure.everyaction.com/xlEXAzAWZEGY-JfXR-4iMg2

Hope to see you there!

07/20/2026

💡 The future of business succession may look different from what you think.

A recent Forbes article explores the growing momentum behind Employee Ownership Trusts (EOTs) in the U.S.—another way business owners can preserve their legacy while investing in the people who helped build it.

Employee ownership isn't just about an exit. It's about creating a lasting impact for employees, businesses, and communities.

Read more here: https://www.forbes.com/councils/forbesnonprofitcouncil/2026/05/27/in-the-us-employee-owned-trusts-enter-the-exit-space/?utm_source=substack&utm_medium=email

For many entrepreneurs, the dream is to hand off their business to their children. But what happens when the next generation has different plans?​

07/15/2026

MOCEO is excited to share the launch of the St. Louis Employee Ownership Initiative – a new partnership between MOCEO and WEPower dedicated to growing employee ownership throughout the St. Louis region. If you are in the St. Louis area, we invite you to join MOCEO, WEPOWER, and the Olin Business School’s Koch Center for Family Enterprise for the “Owning Our Future” business luncheon:

: July 23, 2026, from 11:00 a.m. to 1:30 p.m.
: Olin Business School, 1 Snow Way Dr, Saint Louis, MO 63130

The “Owning Our Future” luncheon is focused on employee ownership, succession, and the future of locally rooted businesses in St. Louis. I hope to see you there!

More info/Register: