Chartwell hosted its first event for architecture and engineering clients and prospective relationships who credit employee ownership as a key component of their firm’s success. The Employee-Owned A/E Summit (the “Summit”) was held in Minneapolis, Minnesota and focused on topics important to A/E firm leaders while fostering exclusive peer roundtable discussions throughout the day.
Private equity, higher valuation multiples, and the war for talent have combined to put increasing stress on employee-owned firms in the industry. Our strategically focused Summit was curated to address both the benefits and challenges of employee ownership, while collectively exploring elements critical to driving continued success in a dynamic environment.
Summit Session Topics
Ownership & Compensation Philosophy
- There are several broad goals of shared ownership including protecting culture, generating (and sharing) value, and addressing ongoing capital needs. This presentation addresses sustainability of the employee-owned firm with the perspectives of ownership and compensation philosophy.
Profit Allocation Decision
- Operating profit is used to drive stock price growth as well as to fund bonuses, retirement plan contributions, taxes, repurchase obligations/stock redemptions, and dividends/distributions. This session focuses on ways to balance the allocation of a firm’s operating profit and the implications thereof.
Growth Through Acquisitions
- Whether it’s cultural benefits or real structural financial considerations, employee-owned firms have a lot to offer when pursuing acquisitions. This panel discussion features firms that have leveraged these advantages as they grow through acquisition.
Representative Attendees
Chartwell was thrilled to host 45 leading CEOs and CFOs from over 35 unique A/E firms located across the country. Representative company size ranged from 500 to 5,000+ employees and $25M to 1.0B+ revenue.
Attendee Feedback
“Very relevant and targeted content. Great roundtable discussion groups.”
“Interesting to hear about how others run their companies.”
“Networking with other peers was great.”
“Nice change from other consultant-led symposiums geared towards the A/E market.”
“Prepared presentations were enlightening. Breakout sessions were very effective. Right amount of people in each group.”
“Enjoyed the panel discussion followed by roundtable discussion – it was a good format to introduce a topic and get some perspective before a deeper discussion in the roundtables.”
We thank all attendees for a successful event and look forward to hosting two Summits in 2025. In order to maintain a valuable experience for those who choose to spend their time with us, one Summit will be for small/mid-size A/E firms in June 2025 and another Summit will be reserved for larger A/E firms in November 2025.
Connect with Leah Prescott to learn more about these invite-only events!