On May 12, 2026, McKinley founder Ken Dull and Cornerstone’s Rich Novak shared the real story of transferring ownership of a commercial construction firm to the Key Employee Group that helped build it. A process that took over 10 years, which included timely pauses, a rejected acquisition offer, and a financial mechanism most business owners have never heard of.
McKinley’s ownership transition began in 2011, when Ken joined a peer advisory board, and culminated in 2025. In between: two advisory engagements that paused or ended, a formal M&A search, an acquisition offer rejected by Ken, a global pandemic, and a leadership development program that met semi-monthly for over three years.
The takeaway: the timeline is always longer than you think. If you haven’t started the conversation, the best time to begin was last year. The second best time is now.
Ken engaged an M&A firm, went through due diligence, and received an acquisition offer. He rejected it. Three things mattered more than maximizing sale price: taking care of the employees who built McKinley, preserving the culture they had created, and continuing McKinley’s legacy of community involvement in Wilmington.
McKinley explored every standard avenue: employee buyouts, bank financing, ESOPs, and direct sale. A colleague suggested the Popeye Plan, a strategy developed by attorney Ron Clausen designed specifically for internal ownership transfers to family members or key employees.
Clausen has an example that demonstrates the core problem the Popeye Plan solves: a $1 million business can leave the owner with as little as $420,000 after taxes, while the buyer repays $1.5 million, including interest.
The Popeye Plan works differently. Over time (typically 5 to 10+ years), the new owners purchase a small initial stake at the original share price and receive options to acquire additional shares. As redemptions proceed, the new owners’ percentage grows.
This is not a do-it-yourself strategy. Ken’s advisory team included his CPA, his attorney, the Cornerstone team, and direct consultation with the Clausen Law Group.
Ken was candid that his initial assumptions about who would lead McKinley changed over time and that tenure didn’t predict readiness. The successor team needed construction skills they already had, plus financial acumen, strategic thinking, and the broad operational knowledge required to run a company, not just build buildings.
Once the Key Employee Group was identified, Ken invested in his people before transferring ownership: semi-monthly leadership coaching for over three years, EOS implementation, behavioral assessments, and team-building exercises. Selection was a process that took time.
Ken compared his relationship with McKinley to parenting. A good parent has to let the child fall, make mistakes, and learn. He announced months in advance that he would step away for an entire summer, forcing the team to operate independently. Chad Hodges his primary successor, used Ken as a sounding board rather than a crutch. The proof: in the final year of the transition, the McKinley team delivered the best year in company history.
Ken was emphatic: Exit planning requires a team. His included:
He credited the peer advisory experience with breaking through the isolation that comes with ownership and providing honest feedback he couldn’t get anywhere else. His advice: don’t try to figure this out alone. The people who have been through it can show you what you can’t see from inside.
The Center for Private Business provides business owners with peer networks we call Forums, expert programming, and confidential space to work through decisions like these before they become urgent.
Kevin works with recruitment, outreach and members in the Wilmington and Eastern North Carolina region, through Carolina Beach, Jacksonville, Morehead City, Fayetteville and New Bern.
