You can never have enough acronyms in your life, right? That certainly seems to be true in the pharma world. But these days there’s a new acronym kid in town at DKP.
ESOP.
Admittedly this was a new one to most of us on the team. But now it’s part of our everyday vocabulary. So what does this crazy-sounding acronym mean anyway?
European Symposium on Programming? Emergency Seal Oil Pump? Engineering Software Open Platform? Enhanced Switch Operation Program?
Well, technically all of these are real-life usages of the ESOP acronym. But none of them matter to us at DKP.
Around here, the only ESOP you’ll hear us talking about is this one: Employee Stock Ownership Plan.
Our CEO and founder, Denise K. Pierce, officially converted DKP to an Employee Stock Ownership Plan, or ESOP, in 2021, essentially turning DKP into an employee-owned company—something almost unheard of in our field.
The benefits of becoming an ESOP are plentiful, and for Denise, the decision to sell her company to the team was a no-brainer.
“I wanted DKP to always be independent and for us to be able to operate in our areas of maximum expertise and impact. We have been and always will be specialists, not generalists, working with clients around the country to ensure access to oncology, rare disease, and cell and gene therapy products. We’re here to stay as leaders in this unique niche now as an employee-owned company,” shares Denise.
Employee ownership means long-term stability and consistency, and everyone on the team has skin in the game. We’ve always been united around our mission of providing patients access to life-changing treatments. As an ESOP, we’re more focused than ever on achieving that mission as a group of employee owners.
But it isn’t just Denise gushing enthusiastically around our new business structure. Many of our clients and partners have expressed excitement for the change. And, of course our employee owners have plenty to say, too:
“Being an employee owner means that I have the opportunity to directly impact the success story of DKP. It is a clear message that I am valued and the work I do matters.” – James Long, Senior Manager Clinical Pharmacy Services
“I am most excited for the future of our company and what this means for our culture. We already pride ourselves on being an employee-centered company where everyone has a voice. Becoming an ESOP will support and expand those aspects of our culture.” – Kaity Walker, Administrative Guru
“As employee owners, we are actively preserving DKP’s culture, which continues to be a large factor in our success.” –Kristin Hart, Consultant
“We see a lot of our competitors getting acquired or merging. While DKP has a 22+ year history, this is just another signal that we are independent, unique, and here to stay.” – Jennifer Smith, Chief Commercial Officer
DKP has a longstanding history as a leader in the biopharma market access space. And with the recent shift to an ESOP, we can all confidently say that we believe the best is yet to come.