The Owners at Work Podcast is a continuation of the biannual Owners at Work Newsletter which ran for 19 years (1990-2019). We are continuing the same conversations and focusing on providing updates on everything employee ownership. We 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, whatever your relationship to the employee-ownership community is.
***Please reach out via email: oeoc@kent.edu
Brittany Brown
Drew Larson and Brittany Brown of CoRise Capital join the Owners at Work podcast to break down their new investment fund's innovative approach to employee ownership: acquiring promising companies through traditional purchase deals, then transitioning them to ESOPs. The catch?
Michael Darger
In this episode of Owners at Work, we talk with Michael Darger, an economic development specialist with the University of Minnesota Extension, about business succession planning, ownership transition, and the growing importance of preserving locally owned businesses as
Mike Brady
In this episode of Owners at Work, we sit down with Mike Brady, co-founder of 40 Million Owners which is a professional service company dedicated to providing support to ESOP companies focused on
Dr. Mark C. Hand
In this episode of Owners at Work, we talk with Zoe Schlag of Common Trust and Mark Hand of the Purpose Trust Ownership Network about the rising momentum behind Employee Ownership Trusts (EOTs) in the U.S. Zoe shares
Todd Leverette
In this episode of Owners at Work, we sit down with Todd Leverette and Kyle Chin-How of Apis & Heritage Capital Partners (A&H), an impact investing fund, to discuss how they are supporting employee ownership and
Danny Massey
In this episode of the Owners at Work podcast, we speak with Danny Massey from Expanding ESOPs, a new national initiative focused on dramatically scaling employee ownership through policy change and public advocacy.
James O’Brien
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 the employees themselves, why employee ownership was an attractive choice for him and the founders of the company, and how becoming employee owned impacted the way in which the company was managed and run day-to-day.
Chip Cargas
One of the exciting happenings in the world of employee ownership today is the proliferation of different models and methods for bringing employees into the ownership of a company. In this episode we discuss the Direct Stock Ownership model that Chip Cargas, Founder of Cargas Systems, implemented at his company.
Olga Prushinskaya
On this episode I speak with Olga Prushinskaya and Jamie Pockrandt of the Democracy at Work Institute, a national organization committed to worker cooperative development – which includes gather data on worker cooperatives. We talk about their soon to be released State of the Sector report and what it found regarding worker cooperatives as well as other projects they have been working on which aim to better understand the impact that employee ownership is having on workers, companies, and communities.
Campbell McDonald
Much of the work for raising awareness and advocating for supportive policies for its further expansion relies on the collection of data. It is one thing to tell the state that, in theory, employee ownership can benefit workers, companies, and communities. It is quite another to prove such claims through the collection of empirical data. In this episode, I sit down with Campbell McDonald, the chief executive of Ownership at Work, a nonprofit organization dedicated to raising awareness about employee ownership in the United Kingdom.
Gina Schaefer
For 38 years, the OEOC has gathered hundreds of people from across the employee ownership community at our Annual Conference and every year, we invite a keynote speaker to address those in attendance. This year, we invited Gina Schaefer, who is the founder and selling owner of A Few Cool Hardware Stores, which became 100% employee-owned in 2021.
Gonzalo Hernández Gutiérrez
When we think about expanding awareness about employee ownership, we often think of this question in the context of the United States. However, the movement to expand the prevalence and awareness of employee ownership goes well beyond US borders. In this episode, we highlight an international example of this effort. 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.
David Ellerman
When we look into the field of employee ownership three major models come to mind, employee stock ownership plans (ESOPs), worker cooperatives, and employee-owned trusts. But practitioners are always looking to improve existing models and in some rare cases develop new ones. 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 – what they term the “European ESOP”.
Jeanette Webster
Back in 2018 the Kendeda Fund, a philanthropic foundation based in Atlanta, decided to make a series of big bets in areas that were both critical and timely. One of those areas was employee ownership and the investment made by Kendeda was historic. Over 5 years a total of $24 million dollars was provided to 4 employee owner support organizations.
Patty Viafara
Back in 2018 the Kendeda Fund, a philanthropic foundation based in Atlanta, decided to make a series of big bets in areas that were both critical and timely. One of those areas was employee ownership and the investment made by Kendeda was historic. Over 5 years a total of $24 million dollars was provided to 4 employee owner support organizations. Those organizations include The Evergreen Cooperatives Fund for Employee Ownership, ICA Group, Nexus Community Partners, and Project Equity.
Alison Lingane
Back in 2018 the Kendeda Fund, a philanthropic foundation based in Atlanta, decided to make a series of big bets in areas that were both critical and timely. One of those areas was employee ownership and the investment made by Kendeda was historic. Over 5 years a total of $24 million dollars was provided to 4 employee owner support organizations.
David Hammer
Back in 2018 the Kendeda Fund, a philanthropic foundation based in Atlanta, decided to make a series of big bets in areas that were both critical and timely. One of those areas was employee ownership and the investment made by Kendeda was historic. Over 5 years a total of $24 million dollars was provided to 4 employee owner support organizations.
George Cheney
For too long, cooperatives have been cast to the margins of our economy and discussions around economic development and community building. Yet, there are numerous examples throughout the US and across the globe demonstrating how cooperatives serve as a viable organizational form, allowing individuals and communities to achieve their economic, social, and cultural needs and aspirations. In this episode we sit down with George Cheney of the University of Colorado and talk about a recent book he co-authored titled Cooperatives at Work which takes cooperatives marginality head on and provides a range of case studies of successful cooperative organizations as well as practical lessons and strategies to grow the sector.
Chris Mackin
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, who has worked in the employee ownership community for decades, to talk about a recent article he published on the multiple meanings of ownership. We discuss how being aware of these multiple meanings can inform the work we do on employee ownership whether that be at the company level in the context of training or ESOP plan design, or at the societal level in the context of public policy making.
Eric Zaleski
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 cases, business owners see succession planning as something that will take place far off in the future, as something that can wait.
Eric Flickinger
In this episode we sit down with two valuation experts, Eric Flickinger and Matt Silla of Apple Growth Partners. The conversation is wide ranging and includes discussion of high level trends we saw in 2022 that will impact company valuations, what their general 2023 outlook is, and what they are watching for. More specific conversations also include the Federal Reserve’s monetary policy and what it means for valuations and acquisitions, what the economic trends tell us about a possible 2023 recession, and what may happen around the US debt ceiling debate.
Jeff Kelly
In this episode we speak with Jeff Kelly, former CEO and current Chairman of Hamill Manufacturing, a Pennsylvania based precision and fabricating company which serves the defense, aerospace, and power generation industries. We talk to Jeff about what led him to begin working at the company in 1976 (which is father owned), why he chose to sell the company to the employees, the importance of legacy and loyalty for second generation business owners, and how important developing a succession plan is for manufacturing companies and businesses more broadly.
Bina Smith
In this episode we sit down with Bina Smith who is the HR Generalist and Communication Committee chair at Palmier Donavin, a 100% employee-owned company. The interview covers a wide range of areas and draws on Bina’s 8 years of experience serving on her companies communication committee.
Steve Storkan
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 podcast that focuses on employee ownership. Jesse Tyler, the host of Owner to Owner, sits down with Matt Cropp of the Vermont Center for Employee Ownership, Steve Storkan of the Employee Ownership Expansion Network, and Michael Palmieri of the Ohio Employee Ownership Center to discuss how state centers approach the tasks of outreach, education, advocacy as well as what drives each of them personally to work to grow employee ownership.
Deanna Colombo
In this episode we speak with Deanna Colombo of Butler/Till a women owned, 100% employee-owned, and Certified B Corporation marketing agency located in Rochester NY. We talk about culture and communication, and how both can be maintained and strengthened through periods of rapid change and growth. 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.
Corey Rosen
In this episode we speak with Corey Rosen, founder of the National Center for Employee Ownership about a his new book he co-authored with business reporter John Case. The interview is wide ranging and touches upon what is driving economic inequality today, how employee ownership is a practical and transformative solution, the role of private equity in employee ownership, the importance of governance rights vs. increased economic security, whether the ‘moment’ employee ownership is having is distinctive from those in the past, and much more.
Mike Sorice
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 indeed sponsor an ESOP and the reasons why some have chosen this option. We talk about the differences between LLCs and other types of corporations, how LLCs can be structured to sponsor an ESOP, as well as the risks associated with doing so.
Pete Shuler
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 are and do, why they do it, and how you as a plan administrator in your company can take steps to ensure your relationship with your TPA is strong, efficient, and useful.
Nancy Wiefek:
A growing body of research shows that employee-owned companies outperform traditional companies on a range of measures, especially during economic downturns – but is has this pattern continued through covid-19? On this episode we speak with Nancy Wiefek and Nathan Nicholson of the NCEO about two recent research projects that seek to answer this very question. Spoiler alert, employee-owned companies continued to outperform traditional companies, provide increased employment stability, and higher levels of retirement security throughout covid.
Jonathan Welle
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 and are members of the the Ohio Worker-Ownership Network (OWN). We dig into how both Jonathan and Ellen began working on cooperative development, mission of vision of their organizations, and talk about programs and initiatives they are currently working on to build community and worker owned enterprises.
Steve Storkan
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 nonprofit State Centers for Employee Ownership. We talk about the steady growth in number of state centers since EOX’s founding, the importance of being open to all forms of employee-ownership, successful strategies to engage public officials and economic development professionals, and much more.
Tim Rettig
In the US there are over 14 million employee-owners working at 7,000 companies. Yet, the sector still has enormous potential to grow. In this episode we speak with Chris Fredericks, 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 companies.
Eric Flickinger
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 trades in his co-host hat and becomes a guest as he discusses two new reports published by the OEOC - Building Legacies and the Ohio Top 50 ESOP Companies. In the second segment we sit down with past OAW guests Eric Flickinger and Matthew Silla of Apple Growth partners to revisit our pre-covid 2020 discussion and dig into supply chain issues, inflation, how these and other trends are affecting employee-owned companies, and much more.
Eamon Mulholland
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 ownership culture through covid-19. We get into how to structure a communication committee in a company with a distributed workforce; the importance of maintaining a strong relationship between management and the communication committee; the power of peers in driving an ownership culture; how you can use technology to make a virtual annual meeting one for the history books, and much more.
Gina Schaefer
Sometimes companies transition to employee ownership to help spark a transformation in workplace culture, in other cases a move to employee ownership is the continuation or next logical step in a vibrant company culture that already exists. A Few Cool Hardware Stores is firmly in the latter category. In this episode we speak with selling and co-owner Gina Schaefer and a new employee-owner Courtney Belew about what transitioning to employee ownership was like for both a business owner and an employee, the importance of community engagement, and the benefits of building a strong workplace culture.
Joshua M. Young
Repurchase obligations are a major component of ESOP administration and the main way in which employee-owners benefit from owning a financial stake in the companies they worked for. Yet, these obligations are often seen as a burden, and in some cases, can lead to the freezing or termination of an ESOP plan. 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 reframes obligations as something to plan for and celebrate, rather than an administrative burden.
Sean Tamba-Matthew
In the world of employee ownership, agreement has begun to crystalize around the idea that broad-based models like ESOPs, worker cooperatives, and employee-owned trusts are powerful tools in the fight to reduce the racial wealth gap in the United States. But exactly how would this happen? And what are the barriers that need to be overcome to truly expand employee ownership amongst business owners of color? In this episode we talk with Sean Tamba-Matthew, and advisor at SES ESOP strategies about how ESOPs can be used preserving minority owned legacy businesses in a way that provides wealth for selling business owners, employee-owners, and the surrounding community.
Pete Douglas
In this episode we speak with President Pete Douglas and Executive VP Finance and Administration, David Brockbader of the The Douglas Company about their recent transition to employee ownership via an ESOP. The interview also includes Franco Silva, Director, Prairie Capital Advisors who was one of the main advisors for the transaction. In this episode we dig into the importance of preparing for a transition, lessons learned, and the often overlooked emotional side of selling a company.
Dr. Joy
Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI) is something we hear a lot about, but what exactly do these terms mean, and what do they look like in an employee owned company? In this episode we sit down with Dr. Joy and Ty Miller of Carver & Associates to talk about some of the preconceived notions that surround DEI, ways in which these values can be put into practice, and what first steps individuals in both managerial and non-managerial roles can take to begin to learn more about DEI.
Brett Jones
Small businesses account for nearly half of all jobs in the US economy, and nearly half of all small businesses are owned by Baby Boomers who will retire in the next few decades in what has been termed the "silver tsunami". These businesses are integral to local communities, and there continued operation is key to building back our economy. 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, giving owners, workers, and communities an opportunity to build wealth and meet the challenge of the silver tsunami.
Bernie Murphy
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 sit down with Bernie Murphy, President of the Ohio based, 100% employee owned company Jones-Hamilton Co., as well as the company's valuation advisor Michael McGinley of Prairie Capital Advisors. We talk about their journey through the covid crisis, the tools and strategies they used to ensure that the company and its ownership culture remained strong, and the importance of communication and engagement with employee-owners and outside advisors during challenging times.
Anthony Mathews
On this inaugural 2021 episode of the pod, we talk with Anthony Mathews from the California Center, and former Executive Director Of the Beyster Institute. Anthony has spent decades in the world of employee ownership and has a thing or two to say about it. We get into his path into the field, his belief that employee ownership can be a cure for what ails society, and the economy, and much more. It’s a wide-ranging discussion, and he is not shy about expressing his thoughts and opinions. But through it all, his belief in the idea of employee ownership, and the impact it can have on the lives of working people, comes from a place of passion, and from a lifetime of working the field.
Janet Boguslaw
We hear a lot about the the rising level of economic inequality in our society, the increasingly precarious nature of employment, and the difficulties of saving for retirement. What we hear about much less is the how employee owned firms, in particular companies with Employee Stock Ownership Plans, can help address these an many other issues by helping workers build wealth - broadly defined. In this episode we sit down with two senior researchers and Kellogg Fellows Janet Boguslaw and Lisa Schur, and talk about a recent report they co-authored that focuses on these questions: Building Assets of Low and Moderate Income Workers and Their Families - The Role of Employee Ownership.
Chris Michael
If there is one thing to know about the field of employee ownership it's that it includes a wide variety of models. In the US, Employee Stock Ownership Plans (ESOPs) and worker cooperatives are the two most well known, but there are many others. In this episode we sit down with Chris Michael, an attorney and professor, to discuss a less known model - the employee ownership trust. We dig into the history of the model, talk about its similarities and differences to ESOPs and worker cooperatives, and cover why selling business owners may want to consider it.
Tina Dicroce
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, and is still happening, and how we are looking at, and planning for, the future. In this episode of the Owners At Work podcast we’re highlighting a couple of recent conversations on this theme. First up we have Tina DiCroce and Collin Mayer of Chartwell talking about the impacts of Covid on repurchase and sustainability, a key issue for ESOP companies. And then we talk with Nick Sypniewski of Comstock Advisors about the covid impacts for business valuations, and the general outlook for the economy, heading into 2021.
Pete Shuler- "What does my Third Party Administrator Do?"
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 the long term. The discussions, which are adapted from our Annual Conference Short Take videos, focus on ESOP processes and procedures, sustainability, and more. We talk about valuations and preparation strategies, the role of third party administrators, how to best approach repurchase obligations, the evolving concept of ESOP sustainability, what ESOP sustainability studies are, and how to put them into action.
Chelsea Mikula - "Legal Issues for Stressed and Distressed ESOPS"
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 countless actions taken by and processes created within employee-owned firms. In this episode we speak with five experts in the field of employee ownership and look at what actions ESOPs can take in this current economic environment to ensure that they make it to the other end of this crisis.
Phil DeDominicis
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 a particular aspect of the process. Taken together, the interviews provide a general primer for anyone interested how the process works as well as what key issues should be considered at different points within the process.
Nancy Wiefek
There is a large body of research demonstrating that employee owned companies outperform their conventional counterparts. However, much of this research focuses on company level characteristics. In this episode we sit down with Nancy Wiefek, Research Director at the National Center for Employee Ownership (NCEO) to talk about the groundbreaking research she conducted that looks at how employee ownership improves the economic well-being of individual employee owners.
Kristen Barker
The world of employee ownership is made up of a vast array of stories, experiences, and journeys. Within this diversity, there are certainly differences, but also, in our view, an overriding commonality - broadened ownership of productive assets is good for employees, the businesses they work for, and the economy at large. In this episode we sit down with Kristen Barker of Co-op Cincy and Michael Peck of 1Worker 1Vote, to talk about how they are working to create a network of worker cooperatives with the aim of decreasing economic inequality and generating individual and community wealth.
Avery Chenin
The sale of a private business to an ESOP can seem like a very different beast than a typical business transaction. There are, of course, components of a sale to an ESOP that you won’t find in a third-party sale or a family transfer, but there also similarities. For this episode we talk with attorney Avery Chenin of SES ESOP Strategies who outlines, and demystifies, a sale to an ESOP. We discuss the process of selling a business to employees using an ESOP; what steps need to be taken; what professionals need to be involved; how long the process may take; and the financial benefits of an ESOP transaction for the owner, the business, and employees.
Tim Rettig
For this episode we , we talk to IntrustIT CEO (and selling owner) Tim Rettig, a new ESOP company in the Cincinnati area. Tim talks about why he chose to sell his business to the employees, the impact the decision has had on the company; the benefits of open-book management; how the company is faring in the current crisis; and his plans to be a one-man employee ownership venture capitalist.
Corey Rosen
For this episode we head out to California and check in with Corey Rosen, Founder of the National Center of Employee Ownership (NCEO) located in the Bay Area; and Kim Blaugher, who recently became the Executive Director of the Beyster Institute at UC San Diego. Our conversation with Corey Rosen begins with the impact of the current crisis on the operations of the NCEO, how the crisis is effecting the employee-owned companies he is talking to regularly, and his thoughts on the state of the employee-owned sector now, and in the future.
Kathy Ivanci
With the outbreak of the COVID-19 epidemic, good strategies for building culture and facilitating communication are more important than ever. Whether it is social distancing, remote workplaces, or the stress and uncertainty that comes with an unknown future. In this episode we connect with Jim Bado and Cathy Ivancic of Workplace Development. First up, Jim Bado in a postscript to a free webinar on maintaining your ownership culture in tough times (see link below), discusses strategies for communicating and building culture among social distancing employee-owners.
Tim Jamison
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? In this episode, we explore the idea of leadership from a couple of different aspects. In the first segment of this episode, we talk with Tim Jamison and Tom DeSimone of Prairie Capital Advisors on planning for leadership succession in your employee owned company, we discuss processes, procedures, and best practices. In the second half we talk with Jeff Evans former CEO of The Will-Burt Company, an employee-owned company in Orrville, OH. Jeff discusses his perspective on what makes for effective leadership in an employee-owned company.
Matthew Hancock
There are a lot of things that create value in an employee-owned company. Some of those things are bottom line related: sales, customer satisfaction, repurchase obligations, or external market pressures within or across industries. But, when we begin to talk about what motivates employees to think, act and feel like owners we move to the area of values. As you might expect, the two are closely related. In this episode we take on both ideas and try to show that while each is important in its own right, when connected in a thoughtful way, value and values can have positive benefits for your company's bottom line and culture of ownership.
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