In this episode of Owners at Work, we sit down with Todd Leverette and Kyle Chin-How of Apis & Heritage Capital Partners (A&H)—the 2025 recipient of the John Logue Award in Employee Ownership, which we present annually to organizations making a lasting and transformative impact in the field. A&H is a mission-driven investment firm focused on financing worker buyouts that create 100% employee-owned businesses, particularly for workforces that have been historically excluded from ownership. Todd and Kyle share their personal paths into this work, and how A&H is addressing one of the biggest barriers to employee ownership: the lack of accessible capital for business transitions. We talk about the successful deployment of their first $58 million fund—creating over 450 worker-owners and transferring more than $65 million in enterprise value—and their ambitious goals for Fund II, which has already raised $85 million in its first close. The conversation highlights the emotional weight of their work, lessons from the field, and their long-term vision to help make employee ownership a scalable and mainstream model for succession.

The Owners at Work Podcast is a continuation of the biannual Owners at Work Newsletter which ran for 19 years (1990-2019). We are hoping to continue the same conversations and focus on providing updates on everything employee ownership. We plan to interview practitioners with expertise in different facets of employee ownership, academics doing new and interesting research, and most importantly, individuals who have a personal experience with employee ownership, including current and former employee-owners, mid-level to C suite management, and selling owners.
We want to produce a show that engages with relevant questions and provides practical lessons and information. We want this podcast to include the voices of those who practice employee-ownership each and every day. To that end we want to hear from you! We want to highlight what you are doing, whether you are an employee-owned company, a practitioner, or researcher.
***Please reach out via email: oeoc@kent.edu