Wells Fargo hired Cecilia Loftus to join its growing national ESOP advisory practice team as SVP and eastern regional director based in Philadelphia,

“This is an exciting time to be involved in the ESOP community,” said Kim Abello, head of Wells Fargo’s national ESOP advisory group. “Cecilia’s extensive background and leadership experience will immediately contribute to the support of our 400-plus ESOP customers nationwide and those business owners considering an ESOP as a possible exit strategy.”

In her new role, Loftus will apply specialized ESOP knowledge in employee benefits, transaction structuring and credit analysis to help 44 regional middle marketing banking offices in Eastern and Midwestern states serve the growing need for ownership transfer.

Approximately 70 million baby boomers privately own more than two-thirds of all businesses with employees. With an estimated $10 trillion in family-owned businesses expected to change hands by 2025, tax-advantaged employee benefit plans have become an attractive choice for owners preparing for retirement.

In 1975, just one year after ESOPs were created as part of the Employee Retirement Income Security Act, approximately 1,500 ESOPs were created, covering about 250,000 employees, according to the National Center for Employee Ownership (NCEO).

Today, approximately 7,000 ESOPs include 13.5 million U.S. workers, the center reports. Wells Fargo currently serves five of the top 10 companies on NCEO’s list of America’s 100 largest majority employee-owned companies.