Skilled Trades: Who Will Do the Work, and Who Will Take Over?

Annalee Malone, SHRM-CP, CPSP, is a Benefits & Compensation Manager specialising in total rewards for manufacturing and operational workforces. She designs scalable, cost-conscious programmes across compensation, benefits, internal equity, employee engagement and market benchmarking, partnering with Finance, Operations and executive teams. Annalee is a strong advocate for frontline and skilled-trades employees, who are too often treated as an afterthought in workforce policy. She brings a practical view of how rewards, apprenticeship pathways and workforce planning affect hiring, retention and long-term business resilience.

Darren Crosby is an independent private-equity deal facilitator and corporate-credit adviser who works with founders and owners of small and mid-sized businesses on growth, funding and succession. His current work includes reviewing businesses, connecting owners with suitable private-equity partners and supporting roll-up transactions in the skilled trades, including plumbing businesses being brought together ahead of a larger sale. Darren also helps US companies build credit tied to the business itself, which can support working capital, acquisitions and ownership transitions without relying solely on the owner’s personal guarantees. For this session, he brings a practical perspective on what makes a trades business transferable and investable, how owners can prepare for a future sale or succession, and why workforce continuity, financial structure and business value are closely connected. His experience gives the discussion a clear US market perspective on the capital and deal realities behind preserving skilled-trades companies for their next generation of owners and leaders.

Reid Tolley, SHRM-SCP, CMC, is Partner at Talent Matters LLC and Managing Partner of Harrison Assessments International. He brings 35 years of experience in business leadership, human resources, talent development and executive coaching, with a focus on helping organisations build the people and leadership capability they need for long-term success. Reid’s work spans talent assessment, organisation design, change, workforce engagement, performance management, emerging-leader development and succession planning. For this discussion, he offers a practical perspective on the connected challenges facing skilled-trades employers: attracting and retaining the people who keep businesses moving, developing the next generation of leaders, and transferring critical knowledge before experienced owners and operators retire. His experience across manufacturing, professional services, higher education and the US military gives him a broad view of how employers can strengthen talent pathways, build robust leadership benches and make succession part of business sustainability rather than a last-minute response.