How We Did It

All about our culture, including highlights of our charitable contributions, employee Q&As, and our efforts toward diversity, equity, & inclusion

OUR CULTURE

Putting Our People First

Our people are key to our success and are critical to providing exceptional service to our clients. Each employee brings a unique perspective, experience, and background, and we continually prioritize diversity, equity, and inclusion within our firm to value those perspectives and backgrounds. This year, our Women's Resource Group played an important role in enabling our firm's talented women to unite, network, and achieve success.

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Professional Excellence At Our Core

Our colleagues form the foundation of our firm. Every year, we drive business success and put forth incredible effort to help clients meet their goals. Likewise, we aim to ensure everyone can excel at Stout and build long-lasting careers. Read these interviews to get to know some of our outstanding professionals.
"Stout's people and culture drew me to the firm, and I've found them to be even better than expected."
Brian Sadarangani,
Director of Learning
"We serve numerous clients in varying industries, and I wanted to grow with a firm with differing specialty areas."
"I find it very exciting to be at a firm that continues to look for strategic growth opportunities."
"Stout is very entrepreneurial and has allowed our team to truly build a business within a business."
"Stout offers an amazing culture and platform on which to build a leading middle-market financial advisory and capital markets organization."
"I greatly value the firm's dedication to fostering entrepreneurial spirit at all levels – from top to bottom."
"Stout is a firm which sets high expectations for growth and performance and consistently achieves them."

Community Engagement

We take great pride in giving back to our communities and beyond. Our team members across all our offices regularly volunteer on numerous projects, provide financial support for various causes and organizations, serve on non-profit boards, and perform a significant amount of Pro Bono services.

MOVEMENT FOR MEALS

In collaboration with our professional athlete brand ambassadors and their partners, we launched Movement for Meals. This charitable program benefits Food Rescue US and the effort to reduce food waste and insecurity in the country. In 2022, our efforts have enabled Food Rescue US to donate nearly 175,000 meals to food-insecure communities, and our employees have volunteered their time to participate in over 80 food rescues in their local communities.

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Future Leaders in Finance Program

Our Future Leaders in Finance Program took place virtually this year, with 47 students in attendance. This three-day, interactive workshop allowed students to learn about many aspects of the financial services industry and network with financial professionals. The event included a series of presentations, expert panels, and a team case-study competition, with the goal of expanding each student's skillset and knowledge to begin a career in finance.

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Pro Bono Services

One of the most valuable services we offer to the community is our expertise. We not only help individuals with lower incomes involved in matters that can benefit from our expertise, we support the organizations that work to address underlying issues and challenges faced by communities that are often underserved. Since our Pro Bono practice was formed in 2008, we have been engaged in over 200 matters and eclipsed professional fees of $7.3 million contributed to pro bono service. Over the last five years, our annual professional fee contribution averaged $900,000.

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Diversity, Equity,
& Inclusion

MISSION STATEMENT
At Stout, we honor the fundamental value and dignity of all individuals. We are committed to representing and including the unique experiences, perspectives, and backgrounds of our people, partners, and the communities we serve. Our core values embrace a culture of inclusion and the equitable treatment of all team members, starting with our leadership and spreading across the organization. We strive to recruit, develop, and retain individuals with an array of talents, ideas, and experiences that propel the entrepreneurial spirit and exceptionalism that drive our success.
OUR DE&I JOURNEY TO DATE

2004

We expand our Equal Employment Opportunity statement to include sexual orientation and gender identity.

2008

We establish our Pro Bono practice to assist low-income individuals and non-profit organizations.

2013

The Women in Business Scholarship is established with the goal of providing financial assistance to women who embody our core values and ambitions to help them succeed in their pursuit of a business-related career.

2014

We introduce enhanced family-friendly benefits, including an expanded parental leave program for eligible employees.

2017

We contribute to landmark legislation that provides legal counsel for low-income tenants who are subject to eviction, ejectment, or foreclosure proceedings.

2018

We host a national Diversity Conference for our employees.

2019

Christina Carroll is elected to Stout's board of directors, becoming the firm's first female board member.

2020

We introduce a new leadership-sponsored and employee-led diversity, equity, and inclusion framework whose purpose is to lead, develop, and support sustainable actions surrounding five key pillars.

2021

Alan Bowser joins our board, expanding the diverse perspective of the firm's senior leadership team and bringing his experiences as a Chief Diversity Officer to his non-executive, independent advisor role. We sign the CEO Action for Diversity and Inclusion™ pledge. The Diverse Emerging Leaders Scholarship is established to assist diverse emerging leaders who embody our core values and ambitions.

2022

We elevate DE&I initiatives to a corporate DE&I advisory committee to strategically review and advise on company efforts. We implement advanced DE&I recruiting strategies to expand outreach and increase our pool of qualified candidates. We also relaunch our Women's Resource Group to create an all-inclusive environment to unite and empower our firm's talented women.

DIVERSITY METRICS
An important part of building a workforce that reflects the clients and communities we serve is being more transparent about our progress. The below employee demographics report shows how we are progressing against diversity goals. While it is clear there is much more to do, this increased transparency will build greater trust and accountability and ensure our diversity journey continues to proceed with purpose and speed.
Note: 2022 metrics are as of 12/31/22. Race/ethnicity diversity increased 6% YOY (from 17% in 2021), and Gender diversity increased 17% (from 30% in 2021).
SCHOLARSHIPS
DIVERSE EMERGING LEADERS SCHOLARSHIP
New this year, we are proud to announce the opportunity to award scholarships to diverse emerging leaders pursuing a career in business. The purpose of the scholarship is to provide financial assistance to diverse emerging leaders who embody our core values to help them succeed in their pursuit of a business-related career.
WOMEN IN BUSINESS SCHOLARSHIP
Over the last decade, through our Women in Business Scholarship program, we have provided financial assistance to women who embody our core values to help them succeed in their pursuit of a business-related career. Twenty-nine students have received Stout Women in Business Scholarships since the program’s inception in 2013.