Employee Stock Ownership Plans

Paul Trost

Executive Director, Esop Advisory Group Head

Paul Trost is an executive director of the ESOP (Employee Stock Ownership Plan) Advisory Group. He is dedicated to helping bankers and their privately held clients evaluate the benefits of selling stock to an ESOP and therefore creating liquidity for the owners in the transaction. He also assists them with understanding ESOP-related issues throughout the lifecycle of an ESOP, including newly established and mature plans.

Paul came to J.P. Morgan in 2016 from GreatBanc Trust Company, joining there in 2014 through their acquisition of North Star Trust Company in their ESOP fiduciary services group for 10 years. Previous to GreatBanc, he was employed by Duff & Phelps, LLC focused on corporate valuation matters, ESOPs, ERISA, fairness opinions and related corporate finance transactions.

Paul received a Bachelor of Arts degree in Economics from the University of Illinois in Urbana, IL and holds a Master of Business Administration from John M. Olin School of Business at Washington University in St. Louis, MO.

Paul is a recognized expert and frequent speaker in the ESOP Community. He is a member of the ESOP Association headquartered in Washington, D.C and serves on their Valuation Advisory Committee. Additionally, Paul is an active member of the National Center for Employee Ownership.