Neil M. Brozen, CPA*
CEO and Board Chair
Neil co-founded Ventura with Mary Wertz in July of 2016 after providing ESOP trustee services for two institutional trustees for 11 years. He received his CPA license (*inactive) in 1981 and has more than 30 years’ experience with non-ESOP M&A transactions.
Over the course of his career, Neil has been responsible for more than 400 ESOP transactions including new formations, 2nd stage purchases, third-party sales, terminations, refinancing and re-leveraging. He is a nationally-recognized speaker and writer on various ESOP issues because of his vast experience.
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.
Neil is extremely passionate about employee ownership. He has been a member of The ESOP Association and the National Center for Employee Ownership for more than 20 years and served on the board for both organizations. He also is a member of the ESCA Advisory Board. These connections and experiences ensure our clients that they are informed of current issues in the ESOP world.
A strong advocate in increasing the number of employee-owned companies, Neil joined the Board of the Employee Ownership Expansion Network (EOX) in 2019 to help them achieve their goal to add 1 million new employee-owners by 2025 through their state centers. He recently received one of the inaugural EOXcellence Awards from the EOX.
Neil lives with his wife, Mary Wertz, and their adorable dogs, Rocky and Charlie in Minneapolis. He loves to golf and travel.