In the next few weeks, Melink Corporation will become an employee-owned company. As the founder, owner, and CEO, I have decided to sell my shares to an Employee Stock Ownership Plan (ESOP), which will then distribute shares to our full-time employees over time.
The reason is simple: I want our employees to feel ever more invested in Melink and its vision, mission, and values. And I want them to become beneficiaries of their investment of time, passion, and sacrifice when they retire.
After 31 years of building Melink Corporation into a national sustainability and clean energy leader, I will continue serving as CEO but increasingly focus on strategic and long-term opportunities. For example, after implementing the ESOP, I will focus on designing and constructing our second Zero-Energy headquarters for future growth and expansion. I will also continue innovating new products and services, with our most recent ones being PositiV® and Manifest™. And I will serve as CEO of Melink Solar & Geo, a sister company of Melink Corporation, with the goal of mainstreaming the two most promising building technologies (solar PV and geothermal HVAC) from an energy and carbon reduction standpoint.
As many know, Melink Corporation could have been sold to a public company or private equity firm. The market is ripe for mergers and acquisitions in this new low-tax environment. But I did not want to make my legacy about selling out to the highest bidder and then losing everything I spent my life creating. My vision is that Melink Corporation should become a billion-dollar company by helping lead the Clean Energy Revolution and solving one of the world’s most serious challenges: climate change. And I want to ensure that our family and high-performance culture thrives … and inspires other companies on how to achieve organizational excellence.
Moreover, the ESOP will allow Melink to attract and retain the best possible talent. Rather than our employees only buying stocks and mutual funds of other companies through their 401K plans, they will own the very company in which they spend the majority of their time and invest their hearts, minds, and souls. They will be even more proud to sell our awesome solutions and provide great customer service. They will respect and honor, but also hold accountable, their fellow workers all the more with their best efforts and intentions. Success will beget success.
This is not a get-rich quick scheme. It is a "build wealth slowly" plan. And it is a commitment and investment in our employees that will empower everyone to think and act like owners...And serve as true leaders to the world at large, our country, and our communities.