Missouri Center for Employee Ownership Hires Executive Director

By Samantha Herron.
Updated Dec 7, 2021

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (PRWEB) December 07, 2021 - The Missouri Center for Employee Ownership (MOCEO) is pleased to announce the hiring of Keith Davenport as its first Executive Director to further its mission of expanding the number of employee owned businesses in the state which has proven to help reduce income and wealth disparity, increase community wealth, retain jobs in communities, and create a more vibrant, participatory economy.

Keith brings a wealth of experience from the nonprofit and public sectors and is passionate about investing in Missouri communities through the expansion of employee ownership, said Sean Power, a member of the MOCEO Board of Directors. We are excited to connect his experience to help MOCEO deliver on its mission, which will deliver significant benefits to businesses and communities in Missouri and eastern Kansas. As Executive Director, Keith will lead networking and programming initiatives to connect with business owners, financial advisors, bankers, accountants, attorneys, economic development professionals, community leaders and government officials about the long-term benefits of employee ownership.

There are more than 40,000 businesses in Missouri owned by baby-boomers and the pandemic accelerated retirement plans for many of them, said Roy Messing, Director of State Operations for Employee Expansion Network and President of MOCEO. Many of these businesses have no succession plans, which can imperil their very existence. Having Keith leading the efforts in Missouri will go a long way in keeping businesses and jobs in communities by increasing employee ownership.

Keith comes to MOCEO from Johnson County, Kansas Government, where he served in community relations for the County Managers Office and Johnson County Mental Health Center and led communications efforts on mental health during the pandemic. Prior to local government, Keith served in a number of program manager and executive roles in the higher education and nonprofit sectors, including six years at Johnson County Community College. Keith is a graduate of Olivet Nazarene University, Nazarene Theological Seminary, and the University of Missouris Truman School of Public affairs.

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The Missouri Center for Employee Ownership (MOCEO) is a 501(c)(3) and serves as the central hub for employee-owned businesses in Missouri and eastern Kansas. Its primary mission is to educate business owners and their advisors (lawyers, bankers, accountants, wealth advisors) on the benefits of employee ownership via Employees Stock Ownership Plans (ESOPs), worker cooperatives, and Employee Ownership Trusts (EOTs). MOCEO conducts seminars, provides resources, case studies, articles, and a list of service providers who can assist with employee ownership transitions. To learn more about the organization, register for events, or support their work please visit http://www.moceo.org. MOCEO is one of 10 state centers within the Employee Ownership Expansion Network (EOX).

The Employee Ownership Expansion Network is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization whose mission is to significantly expand employee ownership in the United States through establishing and supporting a network of independent non-profit Centers for Employee Ownership. Since officially launching in 2019, Employee Ownership Expansion Network has provided funding and technical assistance in the opening of ten state centers for employee ownership. The goal of the Employee Ownership Expansion Network is to have at least 70% of the United States population living in a state with a center for employee ownership, with the aim of creating one-million new employee owners by 2025. Learn more at http://www.eoxnetwork.org.