Shows / Owners at Work
Owners at Work
Interviews leading experts on issues pertaining to employee ownership including building an ownership culture, management practices, succession planning, economic development, and so much more.
Episodes
- Owners at Work
Beyond Employee Ownership: Exploring Purpose, Power, and Profit with Mark Hand
SUMMARY: In this episode of Owners at Work, we welcome back Mark Hand, researcher, educator, and founder of The Stakehold, to discuss the growing momentum…
- Owners at Work
What 433 ESOP Companies Tell Us About Recruitment and Retention
SUMMARY In this episode of Owners at Work, we sit down with Liza Shifrin, researcher at the National Center for Employee Ownership (NCEO), to discuss the…
- Owners at Work
Worker Coops, ESOPs, and Unions: New Research on Worker Ownership with William Foley
SUMMARY: In this episode, we sit down with William Foley, a Ph.D. candidate at Rutgers University and fellow at the Institute for the Study of Employee…
Owners at WorkInside CoRise Capital: A New Investment Model for Employee Ownership
SUMMARY: 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…
Owners at WorkWhere Employee Ownership Meets Economic Development: A Conversation with Michael Darger
SUMMARY: In this episode of Owners at Work, we talk with Michael Darger, an economic development specialist with the University of Minnesota Extension, about…
- Owners at Work
40 Million Owners: Expanding Employee Ownership Through Acquisitions
SUMMARY: 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…
- Owners at Work
Purpose Trusts and EOTs: Expanding the Ownership Conversation
SUMMARY: In this episode of Owners at Work, we sit down with Zoe Schlag of Common Trust and Mark Hand of the Purpose Trust Ownership Network (PTON) to explore…
- Owners at Work
Making It Work: How Apis & Heritage Is Closing the Capital Gap in EO Transitions
SUMMARY: 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…
- Owners at Work
How Expanding ESOPs Plans to Unlock Trillions in Wealth for Workers
Guests: Danny Massey, Head of Strategy and Communications at Expanding ESOPs SUMMARY: In this episode of the Owners at Work podcast, we speak with Danny from…
- Owners at Work
Building Employee Ownership Collaboration
SUMMARY: 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…
- Owners at Work
How Direct Employee Ownership Created the Right Succession Plan, and Company Culture, at Cargas
SUMMARY: One of the exciting happenings in the world of employee ownership today is the proliferation of different models and methods for bringing employees…
- Owners at Work
The State of Sector: Worker Cooperatives
Guests: Olga Prushinskaya and Jamie Pockrandt, Democracy at Work Institute Summary: The second most common form of employee ownership in the United States is…
- Owners at Work
Measuring the Impact of Employee Ownership in the United Kingdom
Guest: Campbell McDonald, Ownership Works SUMMARY: Much of the work for raising awareness and advocating for supportive policies for further expansion relies…
- Owners at Work
Gina Schaefer on The Power of Telling Your Story
Guest: Gina Schaefer SUMMARY: For 38 years, the OEOC has gathered hundreds of people from across the employee ownership community at our Annual Conference and…
- Owners at Work
Employee Ownership in the Americas: A Path to Shared Prosperity
SUMMARY: When we think about expanding awareness about employee ownership, we often think of the United States and how much more work we have to do. However…
- Owners at Work
The European ESOP – A New Model of Employee Ownership
SUMMARY: When we look into the field of employee ownership three major models come to mind, employee stock ownership plans (ESOPs), worker cooperatives, and…
Owners at WorkNexus Community Partner's Reflections on the Kendeda Fund's Big Bet Grant
SUMMARY 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…
Owners at WorkProject Equity's Reflections on the Kendeda Fund's Big Bet Grant
SUMMARY 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…
Owners at WorkThe Fund for Employee Ownership's Reflections on the Kendeda Fund's Big Bet Grant
SUMMARY 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…
Owners at WorkICA Group's Reflections on the Kendeda Fund's Big Bet Grant
SUMMARY 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…
- Owners at Work
Cooperatives at Work with George Cheney
SUMMARY: For too long, cooperatives have been cast to the margins of our economy and discussions around economic development and community building. Yet, there…
- Owners at Work
Unpacking the Meanings of Ownership
SUMMARY: 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…
- Owners at Work
Preparing to Sell Your Company – What You Need to Know
SUMMARY: In this episode Chris Cooper speaks with Eric Zaleski and Michael Rosendahl of PCE Investment Bankers, about what business owners should be thinking…
- Owners at Work
Economic Outlook and What it Means for Company Valuations
Guest: Eric Flickinger and Matt Silla SUMMARY: In this episode we sit down with two valuation experts, Eric Flickinger and Matt Silla of Apple Growth Partners…
- Owners at Work
From Family-Owned to Employee-Owned - The Hamill Manufacturing Company
Guest: Jeff Kelley, Hamill Manufacturing Company SUMMARY: In this episode we speak with Jeff Kelly, former CEO, selling owner, and current Chairman of Hamill…
- Owners at Work
Lessons from the Field: Communicating Ownership
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…
- Owners at Work
The EO State Centers (Owner to Owner Podcast 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…
- Owners at Work
Maintaining Culture Through Rapid Growth and Change
SUMMARY: In this episode we speak with Deanna Colombo of Butler/Till a women owned, 100% employee-owned, and Certified B Corporation marketing agency located…
- Owners at Work
Reinventing Companies, Capitalism, and Who Owns What
SUMMARY: 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…
- Owners at Work
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…
- Owners at Work
Third Party Administrators - The Who, What, When, and Why
SUMMARY: 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…
- Owners at Work
New Research: How Employee-Owned Companies Weathered Covid-19
SUMMARY: A growing body of research shows that employee-owned companies outperform traditional companies on a range of measures, especially during economic…
- Owners at Work
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…
- Owners at Work
State of the State Centers
Owners at Work is back for season 3! In our first episode of this season we speak with Steve Storkan, Executive Director of the Employee Ownership Expansion…
- Owners at Work
Growing Employee Ownership Through Acquisitions
SUPPORT THE SHOW: We make all episodes of Owners at Work free and never place them behind a paywall. But, they take time and money to produce. Consider making…
- Owners at Work
Taking Stock and Looking Forward: Employee Ownership Updates
SUPPORT THE SHOW: We make all episodes of Owners at Work free and never place them behind a paywall. But, they take time and money to produce. Consider making…
- Owners at Work
How Wise Consulting Maintained its Ownership Culture Through Covid
SUPPORT THE SHOW: We make all episodes of Owners at Work free and never place them behind a paywall. But, they take time and money to produce. Consider making…
- Owners at Work
Building Community: How A Few Cool Hardware Stores Transitioned to Employee Ownership
SUPPORT THE SHOW: We make all episodes of Owners at Work free and never place them behind a paywall. But, they take time and money to produce. Consider making…
- Owners at Work
Rethinking Your ESOP Company's Repurchase Obligations
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…
- Owners at Work
Preserving Beacons of Hope, Reducing the Racial Wealth Gap Through Employee Ownership
In the world of employee ownership, agreement has begun to crystalize around the idea that broad-based models of employee ownership, like ESOPs, worker…
- Owners at Work
Preparing for and Executing a Sale to an ESOP - The Douglas Company
In this episode we speak with President Pete Douglas and Executive VP Finance and Administration, David Brockbader of the The Douglas Company about their…
- Owners at Work
Are Diversity, Equity, & Inclusion Employee Ownership Values?
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…
- Owners at Work
New Loan Funds for Employee Ownership
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…
- Owners at Work
Getting to the Other Side
Research consistently shows that employee owned companies whether economic downturns better than their conventional counterparts, but we rarely get an 'inside…
- Owners at Work
[TEASER] - Getting to the Other Side
Research consistently shows that employee owned companies whether economic downturns better than their conventional counterparts, but we rarely get an 'inside…
- Owners at Work
Living the Employee Ownership Life
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…
- Owners at Work
[TEASER] Living the Employee Ownership Life
Owners at Work is back for season two. We talk with Anthony Mathews of the California Center for Employee Ownership about his many years working to expand…
Owners at WorkEmployee Ownership: Reducing Inequality and Building Assets
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…
Owners at WorkThe Employee Ownership Trust
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…
Owners at WorkYear End 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…
- Owners at Work
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…
Owners at WorkExisting ESOPs 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…
Owners at WorkSelling Your Business to an ESOP
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…
Owners at WorkMeasuring the Employee Ownership Difference
There is a large body of research demonstrating that employee owned companies outperform their conventional counterparts. However, much of this research…
Owners at WorkCan Networks of Worker Cooperatives Reduce Economic Inequality?
he world of employee ownership is made up of a vast array of stories, experiences, and journeys. Within this diversity, there are certainly differences, but…
- Owners at Work
POP-UP EPISODE: Managing the Present; Planning for the Future
Based on a recent webinar this episode includes a conversation with two financial experts, Eric Zaleski and Sean Kelleher, who talk about where we are now, and…
Owners at WorkSelling Your Company to an ESOP: What You Need to Know
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…
Owners at WorkBuilding Employee Ownership
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…
- Owners at Work
Employee Ownership in the Crisis and Beyond
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…
- Owners at Work
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. Whether it is…