Neil M. Brozen, CPA
President, Board Member, Shareholder
Neil co-founded Ventura with Mary Wertz in July of 2016 after providing ESOP trustee services for two institutional trustees from 2005 through April of 2016. He oversees the Relationship Management Team which is responsible for more than 165 ongoing clients in 30 states and 30 transactions a year. Neil also serves as Chair of the Transaction Review and Trust Administration Committees.
Neil is extremely passionate about employee-ownership. Neil is a long-term member of The ESOP Association and National Center for Employee Ownership and has previously served on the Board of Directors for both organizations. He is a member of the ESCA Advisory Board. These connections and experiences ensure clients are informed of current issues in the ESOP world. A strong believer in growing the field of employee ownership, Neil joined the Board of the Employee Ownership Expansion Network in 2019 to help them achieve their goal to add 1 million new employee-owners by 2025 through their state centers. Neil is a nationally recognized speaker and writer on various ESOP issues because of his vast experience.
Over the course of his career, Neil has been responsible for more than 400 ESOP transactions including new formations, 2nd and 3rd stage purchases, third-party sales, terminations, refinancing and re-leveraging.
Neil received his CPA license in 1981 and has more than 30 years’ experience with non-ESOP M&A transactions.
The key to Neil’s success in providing ESOP trustee services is his dedication to providing outstanding service, his intentional and sincere building of relationships, and his common-sense approach to problem solving. His approach to ESOP transactions comes from a business perspective with a critical understanding of ERISA.
Neil lives with his wife, Mary Wertz, and their adorable dogs, Max and Rocky in Minneapolis. He loves to golf and travel.