What happens when private equity comes calling, but selling the company could mean losing the team, culture, and control that built it?

David Jaeger, CEO of Legacy Utility Group and Nor-Cal Pipeline Services, joins Chuck Mazzanti to explain how the company grew from one truck and three employees to 225 employees and approximately $84 million in annual revenue.

When it was time to create liquidity for his father and plan the company’s future, David chose a 49% Employee Stock Ownership Plan instead of a private equity sale.

David takes listeners inside the ESOP transaction, including succession planning, employee communication, banking and surety relationships, transaction debt, union workforce considerations, recruiting, acquisitions, and the challenge of turning employee ownership into a lasting competitive advantage.

IN THIS EPISODE

• Why David chose an ESOP over private equity
• How Nor-Cal grew from one truck to $84 million in annual revenue
• What a 49% ESOP meant for succession, liquidity, and control
• How employee ownership can influence recruiting, retention, culture, and employee wealth
• What construction leaders should know about banking, bonding, governance, and acquisition growth

CONNECT & RESOURCES

Connect with David Jaeger on LinkedIn:
https://www.linkedin.com/in/david-jaeger-654b5154

Learn more about Legacy Utility Group:
https://www.legacyutilitygroup.com/

Learn more about Nor-Cal Pipeline Services:
https://norcalpipe.com/

Connect with Chuck Mazzanti on LinkedIn:
https://www.linkedin.com/in/chuck-mazzanti/

Visit the Construction ESOP Collective:
https://www.constructionesopcollective.com/

Follow the Construction ESOP Collective for practical conversations about construction ESOPs, employee ownership, succession planning, leadership, culture, and long-term growth.

An ESOP can be more than a succession plan. It can become an engine for growth, acquisitions, culture, and employee wealth.

Bob Whalen is the CEO of HB Global and author of Beyond Your Ownership. He joins Chuck Mazzanti to explain how a business purchased for a little over $5 million grew into an employee-owned enterprise that has created more than $300 million in equity value for employee owners.

Hear what it takes to scale through acquisitions, protect an ownership culture, and create lasting value for the people doing the work.

CONNECT & RESOURCES

Bob Whalen on LinkedIn:
https://www.linkedin.com/in/bob-whalen-4023a21b/

Beyond Your Ownership: How Employee Ownership Can Align Your Purpose, People, and Profit:
https://www.amazon.com/dp/1968164170

Learn more about HB Global:
https://hb-global.com/

Connect with Chuck Mazzanti on LinkedIn:
https://www.linkedin.com/in/chuck-mazzanti/

Visit the Construction ESOP Collective:
https://www.constructionesopcollective.com/

Follow the Construction ESOP Collective for more conversations with leaders building legacy, wealth, and stronger construction companies through employee ownership.

What happens after a construction company sells to its employees, and how do you make sure the ESOP thrives long after the founder leaves?

Host Chuck Mazzanti sits down with Bill Duguay, Certified EOS Implementer and former president of a 700-person, 100% employee-owned Texas construction company, for a practical conversation about building durable employee ownership.

Bill shares lessons from inside an ESOP transition, including the transaction’s debt and surety implications; communicating ownership to field teams; aligning leadership, safety, and daily execution; and professionalizing the board as the company moves from a newly leveraged ESOP to a mature organization facing repurchase obligations and growth decisions.

They also explore how EOS can help construction companies run with greater clarity, accountability, predictability, and repeatability, and why a founder’s greatest gift may be building a business that can thrive without them.

In this episode:

• What construction leaders often underestimate about ESOP transactions

• Why surety conversations need to begin early

• How to make ownership tangible for employee-owners

• How boards should evolve through debt paydown, repurchase obligations, and M&A

• Why safety is both a human system and a top company KPI

• How EOS brings project-style discipline to running the business

• What succession planning looks like beyond the founder

Learn more about Bill:

https://implementer.eosworldwide.com/bill-duguay/

Connect with Bill on LinkedIn:

https://www.linkedin.com/in/billduguay-eos-esop-construction

Connect with your host, Chuck Mazzanti:

https://www.linkedin.com/in/chuck-mazzanti/

Learn more about Construction ESOP Collective:

https://constructionesopcollective.com/

Construction ESOP Collective

Built by the crew. Owned by the crew.

Employee ownership is reshaping construction; creating wealth for employees, strengthening companies, and protecting legacies.

Hosted by Chuck Mazzanti, the show features candid conversations with construction leaders, employee-owners, and industry advisors about ESOPs, succession planning, safety, culture, leadership, and shared success.

Hear highlights from our first three conversations, then follow the show so you don’t miss what comes next.

Built by the crew. Owned by the crew.

Learn more: https://www.constructionesopcollective.com