Minnesota Center for Employee Ownership Expands Community Outreach and Programming in Northern Minnesota

Duluth, Minn., Feb. 1, 2023—The Minnesota Center for Employee Ownership (MNCEO) today announced nationally recognized business consultant and mediator Darren Mozenter has joined the organization to lead community outreach and programming efforts in Northern Minnesota.

Established in 2020, MNCEO provides free and unbiased educational opportunities for business owners, their employees and financial advisors, and community leaders interested in exploring the many different forms of employee ownership, including employee stock ownership plans, employee ownership trusts, and worker-owned cooperatives.

As MNCEO’s first-ever Northern Regional Program Director, Mozenter will be directly responsible for developing strategic, community-based partnerships, as well as expanding the organization’s presence in Northern Minnesota through community conversations, lunch and learns, panel discussions, town hall meetings, and topical webinars. The Northland is currently home 12 companies with employee stock ownership plans and one worker-owned cooperative, including D&M Industries, Lueken Village Foods, and Ulland Brothers, Inc.

“Darren’s more than 20 years of business consulting experience, particularly his work with worker-owned cooperatives, will be instrumental as we continue to scale up in Northern Minnesota,” said MNCEO Executive Director Kirsten Kennedy. “Not only will Darren be able to help us better identify and partner with business owners and economic development leaders, but his marketing communications expertise will also be able to help us share the good news of employee ownership with the community-at-large, including how it can support business continuity, preserve good jobs, reduce the wealth gap, and rebuild local economies in the region.”

Prior to joining MNCEO, Mozenter was a Worker-Owner at the Arizmendi Bakery in Oakland, Calif., where he helped to grow the business by 400%, while simultaneously creating internal structures that solidified operations and governance. Earlier in his career, Mozenter served as an Operational Support Associate at the eight-member Arizmendi Association of Cooperatives (AAC), where his team successfully brought back one partner from the brink of disbanding to being a profitable business with solid internal systems, processes, and high morale. The AAC includes six cooperative bakeries, a landscape design/build cooperative, and a development and support collective.

“For more than two decades, I have seen first-hand the benefits that worker-ownership brings to employees, businesses and their surrounding communities,” said Mozenter. “As a result, I look forward to helping employee ownership become an integral part of the current economic transition that Is happening here in Duluth and across Northern Minnesota.”

Numerous studies have shown employee ownership offers workers at all levels of an organization a piece of the pie, which creates a strong financial future for all. MNCEO helps these business owners and their key stakeholders connect with experienced professionals in the employee-ownership arena to guide them throughout their business transition journey. This may include providing them with articles, case studies, mentors, and recommended service advisors.

In recent years, succession planning has become a growing concern among employees and elected officials around the country as baby boomers begin to retire in greater numbers. In fact, a 2020 study developed by Project Equity on behalf of MNCEO showed approximately 50% of all job-creating businesses in Minnesota are owned by those over the age of 55. These 53,000 businesses employ more than 600,000 workers, with a payroll of $24 billion. The study also estimates 60% of these business owners plan to transfer ownership in the next decade, with the COVID-19 pandemic accelerating this retirement timeline for many. Yet, many business owners do not have a succession plan in place in the wake of what business analysts have referred to as a Silver Tsunami.

“I see so much potential for employee ownership in Northern Minnesota, but not a lot of forward motion on that front. Between the thriving craft business, manufacturing industry, and the natural resources economy, there are so many businesses that are perfectly situated for employee ownership in the region,” said Mozenter.

“In fact, many rural legacy businesses are closing at a record pace across Northern Minnesota because owners are either approaching retirement age or want to move on, but they can’t find buyers. Unfortunately, this leaves those areas with less options for access to goods, services and employment. Sadly, many business owners oftentimes don’t even realize that buyers are right under their very noses,” added Mozenter.

Originally from Southern California, Mozenter resides in Duluth with his wife and daughter. He holds a bachelor’s degree in Peace and Conflict Studies from University of California-Berkeley with a concentration in Business Administration. Mozenter is also the proprietor of Duluth-based Darren Mozenter Mediation and Facilitation, which has served as a trusted, reliable, and neutral mediator, facilitator, and facilitation trainer for more than a dozen companies, including several worker-owned cooperatives and conferences. Today, the company primarily works with the Conflict Resolution Center of Minnesota in their Housing and Harassment Court Mediation programs.

Funding for Mozenter’s position is made possible through a grant from the LaBounty Family Fund.

About the Minnesota Center for Employee Ownership

The Minnesota Center for Employee Ownership is a 501 (c)(3) nonprofit organization dedicated to providing free and unbiased information and resources to business owners and their advisors on the benefits of employee ownership throughout Minnesota. Established in 2020, MNCEO is part of a national network of state centers for employee ownership created by the Employee Ownership Expansion Network, which is committed to closing the wealth gap for all employees. For more information, visit www.mnceo.org.

About the Employee Ownership Expansion Network

The Employee Ownership Expansion Network (EOX) is a 501 (c)(3) nonprofit organization founded in 2018 in Philadelphia, Pa. Its mission is to significantly expand employee ownership in the United States by establishing and supporting a network of independent nonprofit centers for employee ownership. EOX has provided funding and technical assistance to support the opening of 11 state centers for employee ownership. The organization aims to help create one million new employee owners by 2025 by having at least 70% of the U.S. population living in a state with a center for employee ownership.

To learn more, visit www.eoxnetwork.org