Pewaukee-based OwnersEdge, a holding company for several communication and technology, automation, media, and manufacturing businesses, announced this week that it has completed a planned leadership succession process transitioning back to a single-chief executive officer structure.

Effective July 1, co-CEO Rob Dillon will assume the sole role of CEO and co-CEO Christine Adee will retire from day-to-day leadership, following 13 years with the organization.

OwnersEdge is a 100% employee-owned ESOP company.

“Chris has been an important part of the OwnersEdge story from the beginning,” said Dillon. “For 13 years, she has been deeply committed to our businesses, our employee owners, and the broader ESOP community. She helped support the acquisition growth that shaped OwnersEdge into what it is today, and she has been a strong advocate for employee ownership across the country.”

Dillon has more than two decades of business leadership experience, including work as a management consultant serving Fortune 500 and other large public companies, time as a business owner and entrepreneur, and executive leadership roles at BAYCOM and OwnersEdge. Prior to its acquisition by OwnersEdge in 2017, Dillon was president and owner of Communications Service Wisconsin (CSW), which he led for five years. Following the acquisition, Dillon continued as president of BAYCOM, one of the operating companies in the OwnersEdge portfolio.

He became co-CEO of OwnersEdge in January 2024.

Adee joined CC&N in 2013, the legacy operating company from which OwnersEdge was established. When OwnersEdge was formally founded in 2015, Adee served as chief financial officer of the holding company before being named co-CEO in 2023.

“What gives me confidence in the future of OwnersEdge is the depth of talent across the executive team and our operating companies, the quality of the businesses in the portfolio, and the long-term mindset that exists throughout the organization,” Adee said. “This transition is part of a thoughtful plan that has been years in the making, and I know the future is bright for our employee owners.”

In January, OwnersEdge appointed John Hooyman as chief financial officer.

“Employee-owned companies have a unique fiduciary responsibility,” Hooyman said. “Every financial decision we make has a direct impact on the long-term wealth of our employee owners. That accountability is built into how we manage this business, and it’s what makes OwnersEdge a strong and sustainable organization for the long term.”