Pete Stavros was on a high after his latest experiment with employee ownership. As the head of industrial investments for KKR, Stavros orchestrated the sale of CHI Overhead Doors, which turned into KKR’s best investment in more than two decades and created $360 million in wealth for CHI’s blue collar workforce through broad-based employee ownership. … Read More
When owners of family-owned and other closely held businesses think about retirement or exit, they weigh several considerations. They often ask themselves and their advisors such questions as: How do I cash out? How do I best handle succession, estate, and tax issues? What will happen to the business that my family members or partners, … Read More
This short brief provides updated statistics and analysis regarding workers’ participation in employee ownership plans, and the wealth and job quality benefits those workers realize from their participation. The brief was presented as part of the 2023 Employee Ownership Ideas Forum cosponsored by Aspen Institute and the Institute for the Study of Employee Ownership and … Read More
Despite the enormity of the racial wealth gap in our country, the current conversation around Black wealth is healthy. Across every sector, and within every stakeholder group, many extraordinary Black business and economic leaders are convening and engaging in productive conversations about the state of Black America and the future of Black economic prosperity. We … Read More
This study looks at the potential of employee ownership transitioning Black workers from employees to cooperative owners in their place of work as one possible route to asset building that has growing interest. Low inheritance of assets leads to poverty as a driver of the racial wealth gap. With a focus on the nexus of … Read More
A collective labor of vision and determination by 38 contributors in six countries, three continents, this volume shows how solidarity, innovation, and conviction forge sustaining local and global social economy practices on behalf of the greater common good; recipient of Honorable Mention from 2024 Joyce Rothschild Book Prize.
For too long, cooperatives have been considered marginal players in the global economy, and as unrealistic venues for the aspirations of new and experienced members of the labour force. This marginalization shows in business, municipal and legal discussions, and curricula, where cooperative structures are rarely mentioned, let alone presented as viable options. Cooperatives at Work … Read More
This book is a collaborative effort of academics, researchers, and professionals from US, Mexico, Peru, Argentina, France, Spain, and Colombia. Its pages contribute to the construction of an economic democracy while promoting a movement that stimulates growth, strengthens businesses, contributes to improving wages and savings whilst dignifying workers and building social progress. Employee Ownership in … Read More
Questions: Why are so few Employee Stock Ownership Plans (ESOPs) created? Why do business owners who proactively explore an ESOP sale but decide not to proceed make that choice? What do such sellers see as the key barriers? What information informs their decision? What are their primary transaction objectives? What alternatives do they opt to … Read More
Question: What wealth building effects do ESOPS have for families of color? Wealth is the set of resources, held in many forms, which can be leveraged or invested for economic stability, security, and wellbeing. It is well known and broadly accepted that in the United States there is a significant gap between the wealth held … Read More
Question: How satisfied are employees with their pay in ESOP firms, and what are the possible solutions to employees’ low pay satisfaction? Answer: In this group of nine ESOP firms, some employees report that they are paid an above-average wage, but some report they are paid a below-average wage. Those with a below-average wage are … Read More
Questions: What impact do ESOPs have on wealth in retirement? In particular, what is the relationship between prior ESOP participation and the average wealth of worker-owners once they retire? And what effect (if any) do ESOPs have on wealth inequality among retirees? Summary: Using data from the 2008-2018 waves of the Health and Retirement Study, … Read More
Questions: How do women fare in ESOPs? How do women in ESOPs compare to women not in ESOPs? Summary: Some gender differences in the larger society are reflected in ESOP companies. There are fewer women than men in ESOPs. Within ESOPs there are fewer women in top management and highly trained/high pay occupations. Women in … Read More
Question: How does the involvement of employee owners in ESOP companies in making various workplace decisions compare to employee involvement in non-ESOP companies? Answer: Comparing ESOP vs non-ESOP workers, ESOP workers showed greater involvement in work organization, scheduling, and safety, but lower involvement in setting pay/benefits compared with the non-ESOP workers. However, ESOP companies tend … Read More
This paper, presented at the Rutgers-Oxford Employee Ownership Research Symposium in 2023 held at Kellogg College, University of Oxford, discusses the current state of employee ownership research and where it needs to go. The paper is written in an informal manner where the authors write in the first person.
This teaching case study explores the dynamics and evolution of employee ownership in HDR, a large multinational professional services firm. Broad-based employee ownership has strong affinities with professional services firms, whose success largely depends on the knowledge and capabilities their employees bring to their work. As HDR grew and expanded internationally, it had to address … Read More
This step-by-step guide explains how to build an employee equity plan with an LLC. Giving employees an ownership stake in your company can help build a foundation for growth. Using different forms of equity, LLCs can attract and retain employees—and ensure they are invested in the company’s success. Learn how different LLC equity types work.
This case examines the decision by private equity firm KKR to grant equity to every employee at portfolio company CHI Overhead Doors upon purchasing the company in 2015. The case explores whether this initiative will create shared value, growing profits through better incentive alignment while creating wealth for low-wage manufacturing workers. While CHI witnessed some … Read More
This research presentation was hosted by the Federal Reserve Bank of New York, in partnership with the Ford Foundation. The event explored how some companies are seeking to increase low- and moderate-income workers’ wealth through investments in ownership and employee benefits. Focus was on how efforts to improve the wealth of low- and moderate-income workers … Read More
KKR’s sale of CHI, the garage door manufacturer, made headlines for being one of KKR’s highest returns since the 1980s and the life changing pay-out of CHI’s hourly employees and truck drivers. After a movement led by Pete Stavros, Chairman of CHI and Co-Head of the Americas Private Equity platform at KKR, CHI management gave every employee … Read More
KKR’s sale of CHI, the garage door manufacturer, made headlines for being one of KKR’s highest returns since the 1980s and the life changing pay-out of CHI’s hourly employees and truck drivers. After a movement led by by Pete Stavros, Chairman of CHI and Co-Head of the Americas Private Equity platform at KKR, CHI management gave every … Read More
MyPath grew steadily since its inception in 1984 in an industry rife with regulations and oversight. Navigating the healthcare landscape and advocating for its disabled patients became a hallmark of the organization. Through the years, a strong culture emerged thanks in part to employee ownership which contributed to a ‘can-do’ attitude found at all levels … Read More
How we structure ownership and work in healthcare matters. As a society, we underpay and under-support—under-care-for—the very workers we rely on to provide health and care services to others. The COVID-19 pandemic briefly spotlighted this fact as health workers braved risks to care for the vulnerable. The worst of that crisis has passed—but the extractive … Read More
With fifty successful years behind Acadian Ambulance Service, now known as Acadian Companies, the focus was clearly on the future. The company had a history of steady organic growth and external growth through strategic mergers and acquisitions. The company now was comprised of six successful and profitable divisions, all synergistic but unique in their management … Read More
The field of broad-based employee ownership within corporations is a specific application of the foundational topic of property ownership. It is situated at the intersection of a broad range of scholarly disciplines including economics, law, finance and management. Each discipline contributes vocabulary and distinctions describing this field. That broad spectrum of disciplinary inquiry is a … Read More