Owners at Work Podcast
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 talk to YOU!
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, whatever your relationship to the employee-ownership community is.
***Please reach out via email: oeoc@kent.edu
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Episodes
Season 6
Episode 1: Building Employee Ownership Collaboration
In this episode Chris Cooper sits down with Jim O’Brien founder and current President of Go2Partners, a 100% ESOP Company. We talk about the interesting way in which Go2Partners was founded and funded by...More
Episode 2: How Expanding ESOPs Plans to Unlock Trillions in Wealth for Workers
In this episode,, Chris Cooper sits down with Jim O’Brien, we speak with Danny Massey from Expanding ESOPs, a new national initiative focused on dramatically scaling employee ownership through policy change and public advocacy...More
Season 5
Episode 1: The European ESOP – A New Model of Employee Ownership
In this first episode of season five we speak with David Ellerman and Tej Gonza of the Institute for Economic Democracy about a new model they have developed which combines features of the ESOP and worker cooperative models...More
Episode 2: Employee Ownership in the Americas: A Path to Shared Prosperity
We speak with Rodrigo Fernandez del Valle and Gonzalo Hernandez Gutierrez about an edited book they published, which includes chapters on employee ownership contributed by practitioners, researchers, and thinkers worldwide. Their goal?...More
Episode 3: Gina Schaefer on the Power of Telling Your Story
We publish the audio of the Keynote Address of our 38th Annual Ohio Employee Ownership Conference given by Gina Schaefer. Her story of how her company came to be, her approach to building culture within the business...More
Episode 4: Measuring the Impact of Employee Ownership in the United Kingdom
Much of the work for raising awareness and advocating for supportive policies for its further expansion relies on the collection of data. In this episode, I sit down with Campbell McDonald, of Ownership at Work to talk about his...More
Episode 5: The State of the Sector - Worker Cooperatives
The second most common form of employee ownership in the United States is the worker cooperative. On this episode I sit down with Olga Prushinskaya and Jamie Pockrandt of the Democracy at Work Institute to discuss...More
The world of employee ownership is experiencing a proliferation of different models for bringing employees into the ownership of a company. In this episode we discuss Direct Stock Ownership model with Chip Cargas who...More
Season 4
Episode 9: The Fund for Employee Ownership's Reflections on the Kendeda Fund's Big Bet Grant
In this episode we speak with Jeanette Webster and Emma Sherrie who head up the Evergreen Cooperatives' Fund for Employee Ownership...More
Episode 8: Nexus Community Partners' Reflections on the Kendeda Fund's Big Bet Grant
In this episode we talk with Patty Viafara and Christina Nicholson who both work for Nexus Community Partners' Worker Owner Initiative...More
Episode 7: Project Equity's Reflections on the Kendeda Fund's Big Bet Grant
In this episode we speak with Alison Lingane, co-founder and Chief Innovation and Investment Officer at Project Equity...More
Episode 6: ICA Group's Reflections on the the Kendeda Fund's Big Bet Grant
In this episode we speak with David Hammer, Executive Director of ICA Group...More
Episode 5: Cooperatives at Work with George Cheney
For too long cooperatives have been cast to the margins of our economy and discussions around economic development and community building. In this episode we sit down with George Cheney and discuss his new....More
Episode 4: Unpacking the Meanings of Ownership
If one thing is true, its that the word ownership has baggage – every person has a different conception of what it means. In this episode we speak with Chris Mackin, and talk about how the multiple meanings of ownership....More
Episode 3: Preparing for a Sale - What You Need to Know
In this episode Chris Cooper speaks with Eric Zaleski and Michael Rosendahl of PCE Investment Bankers, about what business owners should be thinking about, and doing, to prepare for a business succession. In many...More
Episode 2: Economic Outlook and What it Means for Company Valuations
In this episode we sit down with two valuation experts, Eric Flickinger and Matt Silla of Apple Growth Partners, and discuss the economic trends we saw in 2022 and what their general outlook for 2023 is. We also discuss...More
Episode 1: From Family-Owned to Employee-Owned – The Hamill Manufacturing Company
In this episode we speak with Jeff Kelly, former CEO and selling owner of Hamill Manufacturing about what led him to sell the company to employees and how it helped ensure the legacy of this family owned business...More
Season 3
Episode 9: Lessons From the Field: Communicating Ownership
In this episode we sit down with Bina Smith, who is the Human Resources Generalist and Communication Committee Chair at Palmer Donavin, a 100% employee-owned company. Drawing on Bina's experience we...More
Episode 8: The EO State Centers (Owner to Owner Rebroadcast)
So, what exactly are state employee ownership centers, what do they do, and why do we need more of them? This episode is a re-broadcast of an interview originally aired by Owner to Owner – another EO-podcast. We talk...More
Episode 7: Maintaining Culture Through Rapid Growth and Change
In the past two years, Butler/Till has nearly doubled its workforce, opened up a new headquarters, and implemented a hybrid work option – all while navigating covid. In this episode, we speak with Deanna Colombo about how...More
Episode 6: Reinventing Companies, Capitalism, and Who Owns What
We sit down with Corey Rosen and discuss the new book he recently co-authored with business reporter John Case. The interview is wide ranging and touches upon what's driving economic inequality today how employee...More
Episode 5: LLC ESOPs? The Facts, Risks, and Possibilities
It is common understanding that only C-corporations and S-corporations can sponsor Employee Stock Ownership Plans (ESOPs). But is this indeed the case? In this episode we speak with Mike Sorice about how LLCs can...More
Episode 4: Third Party Administrators - The Who, What, When, and Why
In this episode we speak with Pete Shuler of Blue Ridge ESOP Associates and go into the mechanics of ESOP administration and talk about Third Party Administrators (TPAs) what they do and why they...More
Episode 3: New Research - How Employee-Owned Companies Weathered Covid-19
A growing body of research shows that employee-owned companies outperform traditional companies on a range of measures but is has this pattern continued through covid-19? We speak with researches at the NCEO about...More
Episode 2: Cooperative Development in Ohio - Reports from the Field
In this episode we speak with Jonathan Welle of Cleveland Owns and Ellen Vera of Co-op Cincy – two Ohio-based nonprofits that are working around cooperative development and community wealth building. We dig into...More
Episode 1: The State of the State Centers
In this episode we speak with Steve Storkan, Executive Director of the Employee Ownership Expansion Network (EOX) - a national nonprofit focused on establishing and supporting a network of independent State Centers...More
Season 2
Episode 11: Growing Employee Ownership Through Acquisitions
In this episode we speak with Chris Fredricks, CEO of Empowered Ventures and Tim Rettig CEO of InTrust IT, both of whom are focused on growing the employee ownership sector through acquisitions of other mid-market...More
Episode 10: Employee Ownership Updates: Taking Stock and Looking Forward
In this episode we take stock of employee ownership developments in Ohio and discuss how covid has impacted businesses and employee-owned companies from a macroeconomic perspective First, Mike Palmieri...More
Episode 9: How Wise Consulting Maintained its Ownership Culture Through Covid-19
In this episode we speak with Eamon Muholland, Senior Consultant at Wise Consulting and current head of the company's communication committee. We discuss how the company, a relatively new ESOP, maintained its...More
Episode 8: Building Community: How A Few Cool Hardware Stores Transitioned to Employee Ownership
In this episode we speak with Gina Schaefer and Courtney Belew of A Few Cool Hardware Stores about their recent transitions to employee ownership and what that means for their community, workplace culture...More
Episode 7: Rethinking Your Company's Repurchase Obligation
In this episode we speak with Josh Young of UBS about how ESOP companies can rethink their approach to repurchase obligations in a way that...More
Episode 6: Preserving Beacons of Hope; Reducing the Racial Wealth Gap Through Employee Ownership
In this episode we talk with Sean-Tamba Matthews of SES ESOP Strategies about how ESOPs can be used to preserve minority owned businesses while creating wealth building opportunities for selling owners, workers and...More
Episode 5: Preparing for and Executing a Sale to an ESOP - The Douglas Company
In this episode we talk with Pete Douglas and David Brockbader of the The Douglas Company about their recent transition to employee ownership using and ESOP... More
Episode 4: Are Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Employee Ownership Values?
In this episode we sit down with Dr. Joy and Ty Miller to talk about some of the preconceived notions that surround DEI, ways in which these values can be put into practice, and what... More
Episode 3: New Funds for Employee Ownership
In this episode we talk to Brett Jones of Evergreen Cooperatives and Ellen Vera of Co-op Cincy about each of their organization's new loan funds designed to help convert existing businesses into employee owned companies...More
Episode 2: Getting to the Other Side - One ESOP's Journey Through the Covid Crisis
Research consistently shows that employee owned companies weather economic downturns better than their conventional counterparts, but we rarely get an 'inside view' of this outcome is achieved. In this episode, we...More
Episode 1: Living the Employee Ownership Life
We talk to Anthony Mathews, Secretary of the California Center for Employee Ownership and former Director of the Beyster Institute about his decades long career in employee ownership and how it can help cure what ail us...More
Season 1
Episode 14: Employee Ownership: Reducing Inequality and Building Assets
We hear a lot about the the rising level of economic inequality in our society, the precarious nature of employment, and the difficulties of saving for retirement. What we hear about much less is the how employee ownership...More
Episode 13: The Employee Ownership Trust
In this episode of OAW we sit down with Chris Michael, an attorney and professor, to discuss a lesser known model - the employee ownership trust. We dig into the history of the model, talk about its...More
Episode 12: End of Year Considerations: Valuations and Repurchase Obligations
We’re getting to the end of year, and a general theme of our upcoming programming, as well as many of our conversations with companies and advisors alike, focuses on taking stock of what’s happened...More
Episode 11: Beyond COVID - Keeping your ESOP On Track
In this episode we speak with six experts in the field of employee ownership about how to approach 'regular' operations that all ESOPs must undertake while at the same time keeping an eye on planning for...More
Episode 10: Existing ESOPs (Employee Stock Ownership Plans) in the Current Economy
It is well known within the employee ownership community that employee-owned companies do better in times of crisis compared to conventionally owned companies. However, this not a law of gravity, it is the result of...More
Episode 9: Selling Your Business to an ESOP (Employee Stock Ownership Plan)
In this episode we speak with five experts in the field of employee ownership about the process of selling a business to employees via an Employee Stock Ownership Plan. Each interview focuses on...More
Episode 8: Measuring the Employee-Ownership Difference
In this episode we talk to Nancy Wiefek of the National Center for Employee Ownership and discuss her groundbreaking research project that highlights the difference employee ownership makes for...More
Episode 7: Can Networks of Worker Cooperatives Reduce Economic Inequality?
In this episode we sit down with Kristen Barker of Coop-Cincy and Michael Peck of One Worker One Vote, to talk about how they are working to create a network of worker cooperatives with the aim... More
POP-UP Episode: Managing the Present; Planning for the Future
In this episode, we talk with two financial experts to get their views on where we are now, and how to successfully get to...More
Episode 6: Selling Your Company to An ESOP: What you need to know
For this episode we talk with attorney Avery Chenin of SES ESOP Strategies on outlining, and demystifying, a sale to an ESOP. We discuss...More
Episode 5: Building Employee Ownership
For this episode we talk to IntrustIT CEO (and selling owner) Tim Rettig, a new ESOP company in the Cincinnati area. Tim talks about why he chose...More
Episode 4: Employee Ownership in the Crisis and Beyond
For this episode we check in with Corey Rosen, Founder of the National Center of Employee Ownership (NCEO) and Kim Blaugher, Executive Director of the Beyster Institute...More
Episode 3: Communication, Culture, and COVID-19
With the outbreak of the COVID-19 epidemic, good strategies for building culture and facilitating communication are more important than ever...More
What is leadership? How do we ensure continuity in the leadership of our company? Is a concept like leadership more important in an employee owned company? ...More
There are a lot of things that create value in an employee-owned company. Some of those things are bottom line related: sales, .... More
Introducing Owners at Work (Trailer)
We introduce the show and give you a preview of what to expect.
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