45 years strong. One stage. Your moment. The NCEO Annual Conference turns 45 in 2027! After a record-breaking year in 2026, the room has never been bigger, the stakes have never been higher, and the opportunity has never been more real.
The NCEO Annual Conference is the employee ownership community's largest annual gathering, and we're opening the floor to the voices who will shape where the field goes next. If you are a thought leader, an expert practitioner, an EO storyteller, or simply someone with hard-won expertise in employee ownership, we want to hear from you.
This is the conference where the employee ownership community comes together to learn, connect, and set the agenda for what's next. Don't watch from the audience—help lead the conversation.
August 24–October 19, 2026: Call for Speakers
Early December 2026: Speaker Acceptances/Regrets Sent Out
February 19, 2027: Presentation Material Deadline
March 12, 2027: Speaker Registration Deadline
March 12, 2027: Hotel Booking Deadline for Speakers
April 12–15, 2027: Event Dates
“I have been to about a dozen of these so far and I see how well the NCEO listens to feedback and adjusts accordingly. This was the best one yet, kudos! I am still taking away knowledge, insight, inspiration, and homework each time.”
2026 Annual Conference Attendee
Watch the Call for Speakers and Speaker Portal walkthrough!
Effective Governance: roles, responsibilities, and best practices for employee-owned company boards and fiduciaries
Structure and Launch: how employee ownership works and the roadmap for your first three years
EO as a Competitive Advantage: leveraging ownership as a market differentiator
Workforce Systems: attracting, developing, and retaining employees in an ownership environment
Culture and Engagement: how ownership becomes behavior, not just structure
Education and Open-Book Management: building financial fluency and line-of-sight accountability
Financial and Operational Sustainability: ESOP operations, protecting and strengthening long-term viability
Sharing your knowledge and experience with employee-owners
Gaining exposure, brand awareness, and leads
Showcasing yourself or your organization as an expert within the employee ownership community
Inspiring other employee-owned companies by showcasing what you are doing within your own company
Creating more awareness nationally for employee ownership
If you work for an employee-owned company, you'll receive one free registration for an employee-owner from your company who is speaking.
We have made it easier than ever to apply to speak.
If you're submitting a panel or workshop with multiple speakers, a complete profile—name, email, headshot, and bio—is required for every panelist before the session proposal can be submitted. You're welcome to submit this information on behalf of your co-panelists. We've upgraded how proposals are submitted this year. If you have questions while submitting, email us at eventhelp@nceo.org.
If you wait until the day before the deadline, you risk not finalizing your submission.
Following the October 19 deadline, your submission will be reviewed both internally and externally by our selection committee consisting of NCEO staff, board members, and peers. Our conference is for employee-owners, and topics outside of employee ownership will be considered but not treated with the same weight. Please note that selection preference will be given to speakers who have demonstrated excellence in meeting speaker deadlines and have been rated higher in previous NCEO speaking engagements.
If selected to speak, you will be notified by email by early December 2026. You will have ten days to accept your speaking slot. Session times will be communicated once all speaking slots have been accepted or declined.
Want to get the most benefit from the 2026 Annual Conference?
Register a group of 3 or more and get $100 off per person for any tier
Group pricing does not apply to the initial conference promo.
