MKSK Inc. – a Colombus-based architecture firm – now employee-owned

MKSK Inc. has become an employee-owned company through the creation of a new employee stock ownership plan, or ESOP.

MKSK, a landscape architecture, urban design and planning firm, announced through a news release that it has created an employee stock ownership plan to provide long-term ownership and organizational stability. The move also seeks to “secure the company’s future for its employees and the local communities where it practices,” the release said. That means its 100 employees, split between Central Ohio and six regional offices around the country, are now its owners.

MSKS Inc. ‘s Newest Employee Owners

Employee ownership through an ESOP is a retirement plan that allows employees to have an ownership stake in the firm through a qualified trust. First used in 1974, ESOPs had been adopted by 11,000 companies across the U.S., including more than 300 in Ohio, by 2015. In practice, they encourage companies to stay rooted in a single place and keep employee turnover low because they reward tenure with greater financial stakes.

“The move to an ESOP will only enhance the creative design and planning leadership of MKSK,” CEO Brian Kinzelman said in the release. “As we look to the future, our practice is increasingly in demand as we face the societal challenges of our time. We have been intentional in adding talent to our team, and the retention of these incredible professionals ensures our ability to continually address our communities’ needs.”

MKSK has doubled in size over the last decade. While the company has goals for more expansion, it plans to remain purely a landscape-architecture firm, the release said.

Oakland, California-based ESOP specialist Menke & Associates Inc. advised MKSK in the business transition, designing and installing the Employee Stock Ownership Plan.

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