Joseph Borowski, CFA

Director, Valuation & ESOP Advisory
jborowski@gbq.com
(614) 947-5213 – Columbus
(317) 423-0150 – Indianapolis

Mr. Borowski is a Director of GBQ Capital Advisors and a partner of GBQ. Mr. Borowski’s practice focuses on assisting business owners with ownership transition planning and execution, with specialties in valuation advisory and ESOP advisory.

Valuation Advisory Experience

Mr. Borowski has over 18 years of experience, including more than 2,000 valuation engagements involving businesses and business interests of privately held and publicly traded companies nationwide and internationally. Mr. Borowski’s primary areas of expertise include ESOP advisory, mergers and acquisitions, shareholder transactions, ownership transition planning, estate and gift taxation, fairness opinions, fair value measurements (e.g., purchase price allocations, goodwill impairment testing, equity-based compensation), going-private transactions, bankruptcies and reorganizations, buy-sell agreements, restricted stock opinions, pre-IPO planning, shareholder disputes, and other tax, litigation, and corporate-related matters.

Mr. Borowski is dedicated to educating the community on various valuation topics through frequent writing and as a speaker at conferences, educational institutions, and in-house seminars.

ESOP Advisory Experience

Mr. Borowski has been involved in over 1,000 ESOP advisory and valuation engagements, and more than 75 ESOP transactions. ESOP services provided include ESOP feasibility studies, initial ESOP valuations, ESOP implementation consulting, transaction advisory and structuring (company-side and trustee-side representation), annual ESOP valuations, fairness and solvency opinions, ESOP valuation report reviews, ESOP dispute consulting and advisory and ESOP trustee advisory.

Mr. Borowski has been active in the ESOP community for years, and is a frequent speaker at national, regional, and local ESOP conferences for the ESOP Association and other employee ownership-specific organizations.

Other Experience

Mr. Borowski is active in several professional and community organizations, currently serving on the board of directors for the Columbus chapter of the Association for Corporate Growth (ACG).

Prior to joining GBQ, Mr. Borowski served in the operations department of Morgan Stanley Credit Corporation, the mortgage lending unit of the international financial services company.

 

Education

  • Miami University (OH) – B.S., Business Economics

Professional Accreditation

  • CFA – Chartered Financial Analyst

Associations and Memberships

  • CFA Institute
  • CFA Society of Columbus
  • The ESOP Association (Valuation Advisory Committee Member)
  • National Association for Employee Ownership
  • Association for Corporate Growth (Board Member)
  • Leadership Columbus (Class of 2017)
  • Ohio Employee Ownership Center

Speaking Engagements

  • “ESOP Company Acquisitions: Recent Trends and Items to Consider”; Indiana ESOP Association Conference; March 2024
  • “ESOP Company Acquisitions: Recent Trends and Items to Consider”; OH/KY ESOP Association Conference; March 2024
  • “ESOP Valuations: What You Need to Know”; Ohio Employee Ownership Center; Akron, OH; April 2023
  • “Navigating the New Normal”; ESOP Association; Lansing, MI; April 2023
  • “How a Trustee Reviews the Valuation Report”; ESOP Association; Columbus, OH; March 2023
  • “Buy-Sell Agreements: Address Now or Distress Later”; Conway Center; Webinar: March 2023
  • “How a Trustee Reviews the Valuation Report”; ESOP Association; Indianapolis, IN; March 2023
  • “Navigating the New Normal”; ESOP Association; Sandusky, OH; October 2022
  • “From Feasibility to Reality: A Company’s Journey to ESOP Ownership”; ESOP Association; Lansing, MI; April 2022
  • “What’s Impacting Valuations, and Business Value?”; Ohio Employee Ownership Center; Akron, OH; April 2022
  • “What’s In Store for Your Valuation?”; ESOP Association; Columbus, OH; March 2022
  • “How to Effectively Communicate Financial Information in the New Environment”; 7th Annual Great Lakes Regional ESOP Conference; Sandusky, OH; September 2021
  • “GBQuarterly: Is an ESOP Right for Your Company?”; GBQ; Columbus, OH; September 2021
  • “What’s in Store for Your ESOP Valuation?”; Ohio Employee Ownership Center; Webinar; May 2021
  • “Caring for Your Infant ESOP”; Ohio Employee Ownership Center; Webinar; August 2020
  • “ESOPs and Contractors: A Savvy Business Succession Strategy”; BDO Alliance USA Conference; Webinar; May 2020
  • “Estate and Business Succession Planning”; Wendy’s Franchisee Association; Webinar; May 2020
  • “How to Prepare Better Projections”; ESOP Association; Indianapolis, IN; March 2020
  • “Assessing the Feasibility of an ESOP”; GBQ; Columbus, OH; October 2019
  • “Ownership Transition, ESOPs & Next Gen: The Future of Your AE Firm”; GBQ; Columbus, OH; August 2019
  • “Parenting an ESOP Company Through its Stages of Life”; ESOP Association; Lansing, MI; April 2019
  • “Think Like an Investor: A Discussion of Options to Monetize the Value of Your Business”; GBQ; Columbus, OH; March 2019
  • “Tax Reform Roundtable”; ESOP Association; Sandusky, OH; October 2018
  • “Potential Impacts of Tax Reform on ESOP Companies”; ESOP Association; Lexington, KY; August 2018
  • “Identifying Ownership Transition Options in the Contracting Industry”; GBQ; Columbus, OH; February 2018
  • “Fundamentals of ESOP Repurchase Obligation”; ESOP Association; Sandusky, OH; October 2017
  • “ESOPs: The Basics + Recent Developments”; Worthington Estate Planning Council; Worthington, OH; August 2017
  • “Sharing Business Information to Engage Employee Owners”; ESOP Association; Lansing, MI; April 2017
  • “Valuation: The Cornerstone of an M&A Transaction”; OSU Moritz College of Law; Columbus, OH; December 2016
  • “Put Your Valuation Knowledge to the Test”; ESOP Association; Louisville, KY; August 2016
  • “Getting Your ESOP Off to a Good Start”; ESOP Association; Louisville, KY; June 2015
  • “Managing Your Benefit Levels and Repurchase Obligation”; ESOP Association; Indianapolis, IN; March 2015