Previously, Commissioner Roy worked for Johnson & Johnson, working with major teaching hospitals for their anti-infective / analgesic division. She also served on the Board of Trustees for Quinsigamond Community College from 2017-2021.
PANEL: GROWING TOGETHER: ESOPS & FISCAL STRATEGIES FOR CANNABIS
STEPHEN JAMES Founder & Independent Trustee | SCJ Fiduciary Services
Stephen C. James is the Founder and an Independent Trustee for the SCJ Fiduciary Services Team. He founded the company in Louisville, KY in 2008. Steve spent many years practicing in public accounting for CPA firms, and afterwards served as a Controller, Chief Financial Officer(" CFO "), and Chief Operation Officer(" COO ") for several companies.
Amongst his accomplishments during his almost 37-year tenure as a finance professional, Steve introduced Employee Ownership to Mortenson Family Dental( now Mortenson Dental Partners), one of the first Dental Practice ESOPs in America. In 2019, he left Mortenson to focus 100 percent of his time towards his passion for Employee Ownership.
Steve has overseen hundreds of ESOP formations and transactions and now serves as trustee for Employee-Owned Companies across America. Steve graduated from the University of Louisville with a degree in accounting and became a Certified Public Accountant in 1988.
JASON LUTER Chair of ESOP Practice and Co-Chair of the Dallas Office | Blank Rome
Clients value Jason Luter’ s direct approach and matter-of-fact counsel on all aspects of employee stock ownership plans(“ ESOPs”) and transactional matters. Fortune 500 and privately held companies, private equity groups, middle-market and emerging growth, and venture capital companies all turn to Jason for trusted counsel on ESOPs, transactional and financing matters, employee benefit plan design, deferred compensation plans, cashand equity-based incentive plans, and severance arrangements. He also advises on tax qualification, error correction, fiduciary responsibility, and employee benefits and executive compensation aspects of corporate transactions, in addition to litigation involving the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974(“ ERISA”). Jason guides clients in ESOP transactions, including seller-financed and leveraged and non-leveraged buyouts as part of ownership succession transactions.
Jason is ranked by Chambers USA, which quotes sources saying,“ Jason is extremely knowledgeable and a pleasure to work with” and“[ h ] e is well known in the ESOP space.” Employee Stock Ownership Plans(“ ESOPs”).
Jason advises clients on the design and implementation of ESOP transactions and provides ongoing legal counsel to ESOP-owned companies. He also represents independent fiduciaries in their role as purchaser in an ESOP transaction. His practice includes leveraged and non-leveraged buyouts, mergers, acquisitions, and the structuring and financing of ESOPs involving private equity. Jason also advises employers on the implementation of executive compensation arrangements that complement the ESOP structure and the culture inherent in an ESOP-owned company
State of the Cannabis Industry Conference • 8