Pasadena, CA, November 3, 2026 — ACCO’s submission for the 2026 Best Overall ESOP Education Award was selected as the winner for large ESOP member companies (250 or more employee owners) by The ESOP Association (TEA), a national employee ownership advocate based in Washington, DC. TEA made the announcement during its Awards Luncheon on Monday, November 2 at the “Employee Owned 2026” conference. Employee Owned 2026 is a national conference held for employee owners, ESOP company leaders, trustees, advisors and industry professionals and provides four days of education, connection and community.
“It is truly an honor for ACCO to win this award,” said Jeff Marrs, CEO and Chairman. “ACCO competed against other ESOP companies from across the country. For us to win the award says that we are doing a great job in helping to educate our employees about employee ownership and our ESOP.”
Marrs, Chuck Darway, ACCO’s President; Rob Osier, ACCO’s Chief Legal Officer; Erik Dibble, General Counsel; Neville Samuels, Senior Manager Corporate Communications and Chair of ACCO’s ESOP Communications Committee; and Hector Aguilar, Senior Communications Specialist and member of the ESOP Communications Committee, were present at the conference, held at the Aria Resort and Casino in Las Vegas, Nevada.
“This award is special and dear to me,” Samuels said. “Over the years, our ESOP Communications Committee has worked in tandem with the Communications department to develop several visual and digital touchpoints to help demystify our ESOP. Together, we keep employee owners informed, engaged and promote a self-sustaining culture across the full cycle of ownership. We do this through monthly educational ESOP 101 emails; digital and video content provided on ESOP Connect; and our five-course curriculum delivered through ACCO Academy.”
The Annual Awards for Educational Excellence (AACE) recognizes member companies that excel at communicating about Employee Stock Ownership Plans (ESOPs), employee ownership culture, education and community engagement. ACCO won the award because it delivers a “comprehensive, intentional and well executed approach to employee owner education.” The judges looked at how the organization equips employee owners with the foundational knowledge they need as employee owners — from their initial introduction to employee ownership through long-term participation and, ultimately, retirement and distribution decisions.