Aziz El-Tahch

Aziz El-Tahch, CFA, is the President of the ESOP Advisory group at Stout, where he leads the firm’s valuation, transaction advisory, and consulting services for companies already owned by an Employee Stock Ownership Plan (ESOP), or companies considering ESOP ownership. He advises ESOP trustees and fiduciaries, business owners, boards, and management teams across the full spectrum of ESOP-related services, from initial feasibility and transaction advisory (including fairness opinions) through ongoing valuation and ESOP sustainability consulting, with a particular focus on large and structurally complex situations. Aziz has played a central role in some of the largest and most complex ESOP transactions ever completed.

Beyond transaction and valuation advisory work, Aziz is responsible for the strategic direction of Stout’s ESOP Advisory practice and is widely recognized as a thought leader in the industry. He has presented frequently at national conferences and has published numerous articles on ESOP-related topics. He is an active participant and serves in a leadership or advisory Board capacity of ESCA, Expanding ESOPs, the Rutgers University Center for Employee Ownership, and the NCEO.

Aziz also serves on the boards of several ESOP-owned companies, including Integration Innovation, Inc. (i3), an aerospace and defense firm; Cathedral Holdings, Inc. (d/b/a Essential Ingredients), a specialty chemicals distributor; and Paddock Publications, Inc., publisher of The Daily Herald. He previously served on the boards of Stout, Point B, Inc., Dynetics, Inc., and Pinnacle Solutions, Inc.

Prior to joining Stout, he was a Senior Investment Analyst at a New York-based alternative assets fund with approximately $500 million under management, where he focused on structured credit, CDO and CLO securities, and mezzanine lending to middle market companies. Before that, Aziz held various roles in the transfer pricing groups at Deloitte and Arthur Andersen.