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Owners at Work

Business & Economics Podcasts

Interviews leading experts on issues pertaining to employee ownership including building an ownership culture, management practices, succession planning, economic development, and so much more.

Location:

United States

Description:

Interviews leading experts on issues pertaining to employee ownership including building an ownership culture, management practices, succession planning, economic development, and so much more.

Language:

English


Episodes
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How Direct Employee Ownership Created the Right Succession Plan, and Company Culture, at Cargas

9/12/2024
SUMMARY: 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. We also discussed where the model took him, and this next stage of his entrepreneurial journey, with the development of the Tandem Center for Shared Business Success, a nonprofit initiative offering pathways for business success through profit sharing and direct employee ownership. We also talk with Nate Scott, current President and CEO of Cargas Systems and discuss his journey from employee, to employee owner, and finally to his role as a leader of the company. Finally we talk with Drew Mousetis, the Executive Director of the Tandem Center and get the scoop from him on his plans to grow employee ownership using the Direct Stock Ownership model. Further Material https://www.tandemcenter.org/ https://cargas.com/ Guest INFO: Chip Cargas is the Founder & Chair Emeritus at Cargas Systems, an employee-owned software company with nearly 200 employees. They provide software for accounting, operations, sales and marketing. Chip founded the company in 1988 with the purpose of creating a caring environment where people would love to work. He served as CEO from the founding until December 2017, Board Chair until October 2020, and Board Member until March 2022. He was named Chair Emeritus in 2022. Chip continues to nurture the company’s purpose of “Shared Success for employees, customers, owners, partners, and community.” Cargas Systems has earned the following national & regional awards for its values and growth Nate Scott is President and CEO of Cargas Systems, joining in 2005 as a sales consultant. He eventually became manager of the Sales and Marketing team. When Cargas launched a new business unit centered around its proprietary Cargas Energy software, he became VP. During his tenure, the business unit doubled in staff and doubled in revenue. Scott also took advantage of annual career advancement meetings and asked to lead cross-company initiatives. In 2014 he became President, and added CEO four years later. Drew Mousetis is Executive Director of the Tandem Center for Shared Business Success with a background in business management. Before joining Tandem, Drew was a lead consultant at Cargas, where he embraced the ethos of employee ownership within a dynamic culture of engagement and profit sharing at the employee owned company. Prior to Cargas, Drew was the Director of Finance & Development at The GateHouse. 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 a DONATION today to help keep our work going. WE WANT TO HEAR FROM YOU: We are always looking for new employee ownership stories to tell. Please contact us with your story at oeoc@kent.edu ---------------------------------------------------------------------

Duration:00:49:00

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The State of Sector: Worker Cooperatives

8/16/2024
Guests: Olga Prushinskaya and Jamie Pockrandt, Democracy at Work Institute Summary: The second most common form of employee ownership in the United States is the worker cooperative where workers participate in both the financial success and governance of the firms. Today there are over 750 worker cooperatives in the United States, which is triple the amount that existed in 2012. How do we know these numbers? Unlike the number of ESOPs which can be tracked using publicly available data generated by the government, there is no public entity that tracks worker cooperatives. Instead, it has been nonprofit groups that have filled in this gap in knowledge. 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. Further Material Learn about DAWI’s work here: https://institute.coop/ Existing datasets mentioned in the show: https://institute.coop/core-research Guest Info: Jamie Pockrandt, Data Architect, Democracy at Work Institute: Email: jpockrandt@institute.coop | Phone: (415) 379-9201 Ext. 19 Olga Prushinskaya, Metrics and Impact Analyst Email: olga@institute.coop | Phone: (415) 379-9201 Ext. 17 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 a DONATION today to help keep our work going. WE WANT TO HEAR FROM YOU: We are always looking for new employee ownership stories to tell. Please contact us with your story at oeoc@kent.edu ---------------------------------------------------------------------

Duration:00:51:06

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Measuring the Impact of Employee Ownership in the United Kingdom

7/10/2024
Guest: Campbell McDonald, Ownership Works SUMMARY: Much of the work for raising awareness and advocating for supportive policies for further expansion relies on data collection. When making the case for employee ownership, it is one thing to say 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 Campell McDonald, the chief executive of Ownership at Work, a nonprofit organization dedicated to raising awareness about employee ownership in the United Kingdom. We talk in detail about the recent research project he oversaw, which collected first-of-its-kind data that measured the impacts of employee ownership on worker well-being, company performance, and various other indicators. Further Material · Find the report at this website: https://ownershipatwork.org/ Guest INFO : · Campbell McDonald: https://www.linkedin.com/in/campbell-mcdonald-628378/?originalSubdomain=uk 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 a DONATION today to help keep our work going. WE WANT TO HEAR FROM YOU: We are always looking for new employee ownership stories to tell. Please contact us with your story at oeoc@kent.edu ---------------------------------------------------------------------

Duration:00:55:26

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Gina Schaefer on The Power of Telling Your Story

6/11/2024
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 every year, we invite a keynote speaker to address those in attendance. This year, we invited Gina Schaefer, the founder, CEO, and selling owner of A Few Cool Hardware Stores, which became 100% employee-owned in 2021. Her story of how her company came to be, her approach to building culture within the business, and her tendency to build relationships outside of it speak to the power of building community and how employee-owned companies are uniquely poised to do this. Beyond that, Gina’s address and the story of A Few Cool Hardware Stores highlight other important themes whose power we often underestimate: faking it until you make it, doing the hard thing, being curious, and telling our own stories of employee ownership, to name a few. Further Material Gina’s Book Recover Hardware: https://ginaschaefer.com/bookA Few Cool Hardware Stores: https://acehardwaredc.com/Past OAW Episode featuring Gina: https://www.oeockent.org/owners-at-work-podcast/seaon-2-episode-7-a-few-cool-hardware-stores Guest INFO : Gina Schaefer: https://ginaschaefer.com/about 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 a DONATION today to help keep our work going. WE WANT TO HEAR FROM YOU: We are always looking for new employee ownership stories to tell. Please contact us with your story at oeoc@kent.edu

Duration:00:31:38

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Employee Ownership in the Americas: A Path to Shared Prosperity

6/7/2024
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, 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. Their goal? Introduce students, government officials, and business leaders to employee ownership and how it can positively impact society. We talked about how the book project came to be, what the book's reception has been, and what projects they are working on now to expand employee ownership in Mexico, Latin America, and beyond. Free Book Copy Employee Ownership in the Americas: A Path to Shared Prosperity: https://cleo.rutgers.edu/articles/employee-ownership-in-the-americas-a-path-to-shared-prosperity/ Capital Incluyente Co-founded by Rodrigo with the purpose of providing technical assistance to those who want to create businesses owned by employees:https://capital-incluyente.org/ Guest Info: · Gonzalo Hernandez Gutierrez: https://www.linkedin.com/in/gonzalo-hern%C3%A1ndez-guti%C3%A9rrez-phd-93a648a1/?originalSubdomain=mx · Rodrigo Fernandez del Valle: https://capital-incluyente.org/ --------------------------------------------------------------------- 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 a DONATION today to help keep our work going. WE WANT TO HEAR FROM YOU: We are always looking for new employee ownership stories to tell. Please contact us with your story at oeoc@kent.edu

Duration:00:35:12

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The European ESOP – A New Model of Employee Ownership

3/22/2024
SUMMARY: 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”. Thier hope is this model that can drive the expansion of broad-based employee ownership in Slovenia – the country where they both live – as well as the European Union more generally. We talk about what features of worker cooperatives and ESOPs were retained and why, how the model functions, and the process for getting supportive legislation passed in Slovenia to encourage the adoption of this model. Further Reading: The Institute for Economic Democracy: https://ekonomska-demokracija.si/eng/ The ESOP Coop Model Explained: https://ekonomska-demokracija.si/wp-content/uploads/2023/01/European-ESOP-IED2022.pdf Guest INFO : Tej Gonza: https://ekonomska-demokracija.si/eng/tej-gonza/ David Ellerman: https://ekonomska-demokracija.si/eng/david-ellerman/ 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 a DONATION today to help keep our work going. WE WANT TO HEAR FROM YOU: We are always looking for new employee ownership stories to tell. Please contact us with your story at oeoc@kent.edu

Duration:00:57:33

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Project Equity’s Reflections on the Kendeda Fund’s Big Bet Grant

10/10/2023
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 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. The investment was made with four broad goals in mind – grow the number of employee-owned businesses, use patient capital to leverage investments, strengthen core elements of the employee ownership ecosystem, and amplify media coverage of employee ownership. Upon entering the 5th year of the grant, Kendeda contracted with the Ohio Employee Ownership Center to carry out a reflection process that looked back on what these four organizations where able to achieve, assess what they learned, and identify future actions that would further develop and expand employee ownership in the US. The reflection process relied on numerous forms of data collection including in-person meetings, long form one on one interviews with grantees, selling owners, and new employee owners, analysis of transition data, and comparisons of the four grantees models for transitioning companies to employee ownership. The culmination of our findings was then published in a narrative report that drew on the insights of all stakeholders involved, which we encourage you to read. However, like all reports, we could not include every bit of information we gathered. But we strongly felt it necessary to provide grantee organizations with the space to explain, in their own words, how and why they do the work they do, how Kendeda’s investment helped them expand their impact, and where they see their work going in the future. So, this interview with Alison Lingane of Project Equity, is one in a series of interviews we carried out with organization that received support from the Kendeda Fund. READ THE REPORT: www.oeockent.org/kendeda-employee-ownership-big-bet GRANTEE INFORMATION ICA Group: https://icagroup.org/ Nexus Community Partners: https://www.nexuscp.org/ Project Equity: https://project-equity.org/ The Fund for Employee Ownership: https://www.evgoh.com/tfeo/ WE WANT TO HEAR FROM YOU: We are always looking for new employee ownership stories to tell. Please contact us with your story at oeoc@kent.edu 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 a DONATION today to help keep our work going.

Duration:00:22:40

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Nexus Community Partner’s Reflections on the Kendeda Fund’s Big Bet Grant

10/10/2023
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 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. The investment was made with four broad goals in mind – grow the number of employee-owned businesses, use patient capital to leverage investments, strengthen core elements of the employee ownership ecosystem, and amplify media coverage of employee ownership. Upon entering the 5th year of the grant, Kendeda contracted with the Ohio Employee Ownership Center to carry out a reflection process that looked back on what these four organizations where able to achieve, assess what they learned, and identify future actions that would further develop and expand employee ownership in the US. The reflection process relied on numerous forms of data collection including in-person meetings, long form one on one interviews with grantees, selling owners, and new employee owners, analysis of transition data, and comparisons of the four grantees models for transitioning companies to employee ownership. The culmination of our findings was then published in a narrative report that drew on the insights of all stakeholders involved, which we encourage you to read. However, like all reports, we could not include every bit of information we gathered. But we strongly felt it necessary to provide grantee organizations with the space to explain, in their own words, how and why they do the work they do, how Kendeda’s investment helped them expand their impact, and where they see their work going in the future. So, this interview with Christina Nicholson and Paty Viafara of Nexus Community Partners, is one in a series of interviews we carried out with organization that received support from the Kendeda Fund. READ THE REPORT: www.oeockent.org/kendeda-employee-ownership-big-bet GRANTEE INFORMATION ICA Group: https://icagroup.org/ Nexus Community Partners: https://www.nexuscp.org/ Project Equity: https://project-equity.org/ The Fund for Employee Ownership: https://www.evgoh.com/tfeo/ WE WANT TO HEAR FROM YOU: We are always looking for new employee ownership stories to tell. Please contact us with your story at oeoc@kent.edu 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 a DONATION today to help keep our work going.

Duration:00:24:45

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The Fund for Employee Ownership’s Reflections on the Kendeda Fund’s Big Bet Grant

10/10/2023
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 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. The investment was made with four broad goals in mind – grow the number of employee-owned businesses, use patient capital to leverage investments, strengthen core elements of the employee ownership ecosystem, and amplify media coverage of employee ownership. Upon entering the 5th year of the grant, Kendeda contracted with the Ohio Employee Ownership Center to carry out a reflection process that looked back on what these four organizations where able to achieve, assess what they learned, and identify future actions that would further develop and expand employee ownership in the US. The reflection process relied on numerous forms of data collection including in-person meetings, long form one on one interviews with grantees, selling owners, and new employee owners, analysis of transition data, and comparisons of the four grantees models for transitioning companies to employee ownership. The culmination of our findings was then published in a narrative report that drew on the insights of all stakeholders involved, which we encourage you to read. However, like all reports, we could not include every bit of information we gathered. But we strongly felt it necessary to provide grantee organizations with the space to explain, in their own words, how and why they do the work they do, how Kendeda’s investment helped them expand their impact, and where they see their work going in the future. So, this interview with Jeanette Webster and Emma Sherrie of the Fund for Employee Ownership is one in a series of interviews we carried out with organization that received support from the Kendeda Fund. READ THE REPORT: www.oeockent.org/kendeda-employee-ownership-big-bet GRANTEE INFORMATION ICA Group: https://icagroup.org/ Nexus Community Partners: https://www.nexuscp.org/ Project Equity: https://project-equity.org/ The Fund for Employee Ownership: https://www.evgoh.com/tfeo/ WE WANT TO HEAR FROM YOU: We are always looking for new employee ownership stories to tell. Please contact us with your story at oeoc@kent.edu 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 a DONATION today to help keep our work going.

Duration:00:17:01

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ICA Group’s Reflections on the Kendeda Fund’s Big Bet Grant

10/10/2023
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 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. The investment was made with four broad goals in mind – grow the number of employee-owned businesses, use patient capital to leverage investments, strengthen core elements of the employee ownership ecosystem, and amplify media coverage of employee ownership. Upon entering the 5th year of the grant, Kendeda contracted with the Ohio Employee Ownership Center to carry out a reflection process that looked back on what these four organizations where able to achieve, assess what they learned, and identify future actions that would further develop and expand employee ownership in the US. The reflection process relied on numerous forms of data collection including in-person meetings, long form one on one interviews with grantees, selling owners, and new employee owners, analysis of transition data, and comparisons of the four grantees models for transitioning companies to employee ownership. The culmination of our findings was then published in a narrative report that drew on the insights of all stakeholders involved, which we encourage you to read. However, like all reports, we could not include every bit of information we gathered. But we strongly felt it necessary to provide grantee organizations with the space to explain, in their own words, how and why they do the work they do, how Kendeda’s investment helped them expand their impact, and where they see their work going in the future. So, this interview with David Hammer of ICA Group, is one in a series of interviews we carried out with organization that received support from the Kendeda Fund. READ THE REPORT: www.oeockent.org/kendeda-employee-ownership-big-bet GRANTEE INFORMATION ICA Group: https://icagroup.org/ Nexus Community Partners: https://www.nexuscp.org/ Project Equity: https://project-equity.org/ The Fund for Employee Ownership: https://www.evgoh.com/tfeo/ WE WANT TO HEAR FROM YOU: We are always looking for new employee ownership stories to tell. Please contact us with your story at oeoc@kent.edu 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 a DONATION today to help keep our work going.

Duration:00:30:02

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Cooperatives at Work with George Cheney

9/7/2023
SUMMARY: 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. In our interview we talk about how George’s long career of researching employee ownership and cooperatives and what he and his co-authors found while writing the book including the unlevel playing field worker cooperatives in the US face, how technological change may grow or constrain cooperative development, and the relationship between worker cooperatives, sustainability, and the environment. 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 a DONATION today to help keep our work going. INFO : Link to the book Cooperatives at Work: https://books.emeraldinsight.com/page/detail/cooperatives-at-work/?k=9781838678289 Link to a preview of the book: https://www.vieta.ca/post/our-new-book-cooperatives-at-work WE WANT TO HEAR FROM YOU: We are always looking for new employee ownership stories to tell. Please contact us with your story at oeoc@kent.edu

Duration:00:59:46

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Unpacking the Meanings of Ownership

6/9/2023
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 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. Chris wears many hats, practitioner, researcher, teacher, and more recently public policy entrepreneur and our conversation reflects that. As should have been expected, an interview initially intended to talk about the recent article included numerous excursions into conversations including the movement for employee ownership in the mid 18th and 19th centuries, how capital ownership structures our current economy and the possibilities for expanding employee ownership, and the Employee Equity Investment Act (EEIA) a piece of legislation that (after the interview was recorded) was introduced with bi-partisan support in both the House and Senate. Link to article: https://www.emerald.com/insight/content/doi/10.1108/JPEO-10-2022-0019/full/html 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 a DONATION today to help keep our work going. INFO: Chris Mackin: https://christophermackin.org/ WE WANT TO HEAR FROM YOU: We are always looking for new employee ownership stories to tell. Please contact us with your story at oeoc@kent.edu

Duration:00:52:45

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Preparing to Sell Your Company – What You Need to Know

4/13/2023
SUMMARY: 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. Or it seems like an enormously complex issue that gets overwhelming fast. Both Eric and Michael break down the process into two options, inside sale or outside sale and what both entail at a high level. They also cover what you can start doing now to prepare for business succession and provide great insights into how preparation for succession planning in the future can actually help your company's performance in the here and now. 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 a DONATION today to help keep our work going. GUEST INFO : Erick Zaleski , PCE Investment Bankers : https://www.linkedin.com/in/mattsillabusinessvaluationcle/ Michael Rosendahl, PCE Investmen Bankers https://www.pcecompanies.com/staff-member/michael-rosendahl WE WANT TO HEAR FROM YOU: We are always looking for new employee ownership stories to tell. Please contact us with your story at oeoc@kent.edu ---------------------------------------------------------------------

Duration:00:33:28

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Economic Outlook and What it Means for Company Valuations

2/20/2023
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. 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. 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 a DONATION today to help keep our work going. INFO : · Matt Silla, Apple Growth Partners: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mattsillabusinessvaluationcle/ · Eric Flickinger, Apple Growth Partners: https://www.linkedin.com/in/eric-flickinger/ WE WANT TO HEAR FROM YOU: We are always looking for new employee ownership stories to tell. Please contact us with your story at oeoc@kent.edu

Duration:00:23:02

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From Family-Owned to Employee-Owned - The Hamill Manufacturing Company

1/24/2023
Guest: Jeff Kelley, Hamill Manufacturing Company SUMMARY: In this episode we speak with Jeff Kelly, former CEO, selling owner, 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 using an ESOP, 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. 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 a DONATION today to help keep our work going. INFO : Learn more about the Hamill Company https://www.hamillmfg.com/history WE WANT TO HEAR FROM YOU: We are always looking for new employee ownership stories to tell. Please contact us with your story at oeoc@kent.edu

Duration:00:33:56

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Lessons from the Field: Communicating Ownership

12/12/2022
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. The discussion includes how to build an ownership culture at a company with multiple locations and a complex production process, general principles for approaching communication around your ESOP, and practical ideas that can be used at other employee owned companies Guest Contact Info: https://www.linkedin.com/in/bina-smith-shrm-scp-a2088292/ 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 a DONATION today to help keep our work going. WE WANT TO HEAR FROM YOU: We are always looking for new employee ownership stories to tell. Please contact us with your story at oeoc@kent.edu

Duration:00:31:23

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The EO State Centers (Owner to Owner Podcast Rebroadcast)

11/21/2022
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 Owners to Owners – another podcast that focuses on employee ownership. Jesse Tyler, the host of Owners to Owners, 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 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. Follow the Owner to Owner podcast: https://www.ownertoownerpodcast.com/ Owners to Owners is part of the Broader EO Podcast Network Learn more about it here: https://www.eopodcastnetwork.com/ 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 a DONATION today to help keep our work going. WE WANT TO HEAR FROM YOU: We are always looking for new employee ownership stories to tell. Please contact us with your story at oeoc@kent.edu

Duration:00:55:02

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Maintaining Culture Through Rapid Growth and Change

11/9/2022
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 in Rochester NY. We talk about all things culture and communication, and how both can be maintained 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. Throughout this period, the company has maintained, and even strengthened its company culture. We get into the philosophical questions regarding what drives culture (bottom up vs. top town), practical ways to create communication channels for employee-owners, and how Butler/Till celebrated Employee Ownership Month. If you are looking for some great ideas to rethink your communication strategies, or even some ideas for employee-ownership events at your company – this episode is for you. 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 a DONATION today to help keep our work going. GUEST INFO : Deanna Colombo, Butler/Till Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/deannacolombo/ WE WANT TO HEAR FROM YOU: We are always looking for new employee ownership stories to tell. Please contact us with your story at oeoc@kent.edu

Duration:00:49:35

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Reinventing Companies, Capitalism, and Who Owns What

9/15/2022
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 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. NCEO BOOK LAUNCH EVENT: https://www.nceo.org/event/nceo-book-launch-ownership-rethinking-capitalism-companies-and-who-owns-what 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 a DONATION today to help keep our work going. GUEST INFO : Corey Rosen Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/corey-rosen-3a8a8a4 Phone:510-208-1314 Email: CRosen@nceo.org WE WANT TO HEAR FROM YOU: We are always looking for new employee ownership stories to tell. Please contact us with your story at oeoc@kent.edu

Duration:00:36:27

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LLC ESOPs? The Facts, Risks, and Possibilities

9/9/2022
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. 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 a DONATION today to help keep our work going. GUEST INFO : Mike Sorice Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mike-sorice-law Phone: 614.223.9336Email: msorice@beneschlaw.com WE WANT TO HEAR FROM YOU: We are always looking for new employee ownership stories to tell. Please contact us with your story at oeoc@kent.edu

Duration:00:32:37