In this episode of Owners at Work, we talk with Mike Brady of 40 Million Owners about how the firm helps ESOP companies grow through strategic, values-aligned acquisitions. Mike explains how their three-phase framework—design, execution, and integration—guides employee-owned firms through M&A while preserving their ownership culture. We discuss how 40 Million Owners came to be, how it is focused on filling a key gap for lower middle market ESOPs lacking internal deal expertise, and how its 2025 acquisition by 3LS demonstrates the model in action. Mike also shares lessons from his career at PwC and Greyston Bakery, and how employee ownership can drive lasting wealth and systemic change.
Mike Brady is the CEO and co‑founder of 40 Million Owners, where he advises business leaders on shared ownership strategies and drives the firm’s mission to expand employee ownership by enabling ESOPs to grow through strategic acquisitions. Mike previously served as President and CEO of Greyston Bakery, one of North America’s most influential social enterprises known for pioneering Open Hiring, an employment model that creates economic opportunities for people historically excluded from the workforce. Earlier in his career, Michael was a strategy consultant with PwC before becoming part of the leadership team at FAST Search and Transfer. Mike was the Vice President of Global Mobile & Media Solutions at FAST when the business exited to Microsoft for $1.2 billion. In addition to his business leadership, Mike is an Academic Partner at Fordham University’s Gabelli School of Business and a board member at WorkLife Partnership, an organization that provides critical support to low- and moderate-income workers facing economic barriers. Mike holds an MBA from The Wharton School of Business at the University of Pennsylvania and lives with his wife and two sons outside of New York City.
This episode of the Owners At Work podcast is sponsored by Eide Bailey.With over 25 years of experience, Eide Baily provides a full range of ESOP services, including feasibility and succession planning analysis, corporate audit and tax compliance, mature ESOP consulting, and sustainability analysis for mature ESOP companies.
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
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