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
The United States business sector is dominated by small businesses that create new jobs at a rate considered faster than that of their larger competitors. Remarkably, military veterans own nearly 13 percent of small businesses. However, only eight percent of all veteran-owned firms are minority owned. The low percentage of minority-owned veteran businesses is perplexing … Read More
This mini-case study examines employee share ownership at National Van Lines, where an Employee Stock Ownership Plan (ESOP) provided a family-run business a succession plan that ensured the continuation of the company and protected employee jobs. Just one-third of family businesses successfully transition from the first to the second generation of ownership and only 12% … Read More
This mini-case study examines ComSonics, which first adopted an Employee Stock Ownership Plan (ESOP) in 1975, introducing its culture and its unusual Employee Advisory Committee.
At Max Auto Supply Co., a Toledo-based chain of 113 automotive repair stores, CEO Randy Katz’s main motivation for adopting an ESOP was “to cash out family owners and avoid estate tax.” It also “felt like the right thing to do” for the company’s employees, most of whom are mechanics and technicians.
This mini-case study examines S&C Electric Company, the storied Chicago-based employee-owned company that was founded in 1911. The mini-case study introduces the company’s history and describes how employee ownership preserved the company and its jobs during a key generational transition.
This case study examines employee share ownership at North State Grocery, where the Employee Stock Ownership Plan (ESOP) solved a transition challenge in a company owned by two siblings. Thanks to the ESOP, long-term employees, including frontline staff such as cashiers and bakery workers, build a larger cushion of retirement savings than is typical in … Read More
SRC employee-owners share how they impact the company’s bottom line – from idea sharing to cost savings. SRC Holdings is an open book employee owned company based in Springfield, Missouri.
This PowerPoint presentation is a case study that is part of Class 4 from the Course: Topics in Corporate Governance: Techniques of Equity Compensation. The case study discusses Chatsworth Products, Inc. (CPI), a leading manufacturer of systems designed to organize, store and secure IT infrastructure equipment. This presentation and case study is part of the … Read More
In this video about North State Grocery, the 100% employee owned chain of grocery stores operating as Holiday Market and Sav-Mor-Foods in Northern California and Oregon, employees describe what employee ownership means to them.
Employee-owned businesses tend to outperform their competitors, a growing body of research shows. According to the National Center of Employee Ownership, businesses with employee ownership models grow sales and employment at a faster rate than businesses without such programs. Employee-owned firms also perform better than their counterparts during recessions, per research from Georgetown University. For … Read More
Mission-led employee-owned firms embody a powerful model of enterprise design for a new era of environmental sustainability and social equity. These companies have much to teach the business world about ownership design for the 21st century and beyond. This report shares the story of this emerging model, embodied in 50-plus firms that are employee owned … Read More
This PowerPoint presentation is Class 5 from the Course: Topics in Corporate Governance: Techniques of Equity Compensation. The session explores shareholders concerns regarding equity, building a culture of ownership, and effective leadership in an engaged company. This presentation is part of the Teaching Module: Topics in Corporate Governance: Techniques of Equity Compensation.
This PowerPoint presentation is Class 4 from the Course: Topics in Corporate Governance: Techniques of Equity Compensation. The session explores two employee-owned business, ATA Engineering, Inc. and Chatsworth Products, Inc. Case Study #1: ATA Engineering, Inc. Case Study #2: Chatsworth Products, Inc. This presentation is part of the Teaching Module: Topics in Corporate Governance: Techniques … Read More
This PowerPoint presentation is Class 3 from the Course: Topics in Corporate Governance: Techniques of Equity Compensation. The session explores the legal implications of equity compensation covering tax law and labor considerations; as well as future trends. This presentation is part of the Teaching Module: Topics in Corporate Governance: Techniques of Equity Compensation.
This PowerPoint presentation is Class 2 from the Course: Topics in Corporate Governance: Techniques of Equity Compensation. The session explores what non-qualified plans are covering legal factors, basic types, direct and indirect ownership tools, stock options and settlement choices. The session also explores synthetic equity. This presentation is part of the Teaching Module: Topics in … Read More
This PowerPoint presentation is Class 1 from the Course: Topics in Corporate Governance: Techniques of Equity Compensation. The session explores the notion of equity as a currency of business; and explores the most “tax favored” techniques, qualified plans. This presentation is part of the Teaching Module: Topics in Corporate Governance: Techniques of Equity Compensation.
This two-page Business Action Guide describes the nation’s largest worker owned cooperative, Cooperative Home Care Associates, and its approach to effective onboarding and mentorship.
This Fortune Magazine video describes employee ownership at Publix Super Markets, the largest employee-owned company operating in the United States.
This two-page Business Action Guide describes the Wikoff Color’s unique formula for employee ownership.
This two-page Business Action Guide describes the nation’s largest worker owned cooperative, Cooperative Home Care Associates, and its innovative approach to scheduling.
A favorite question of mine for any CEO: What’s the toughest thing about your business? I guarantee you any executive in the supermarket industry will rank among his or her top headaches the hiring and retention of good people, in an industry where service quality increasingly is the mark of differentiation, and worker turnover is … Read More
Peoria, Ill., without Caterpillar (CAT)? Benton Harbor, Mich., without Whirlpool (WHR)? Columbus, Ind., without Cummins Engine (CMI)? One of America’s under-appreciated relationships is the one between smaller cities and bigger companies, an often-happy exchange of quality-of-life for the combination of well-paying and skilled jobs, economic growth and stability, and corporate generosity to support cultural and … Read More
In Corvallis, Oregon, a couple miles north of the Oregon State University campus, sits a WinCo Foods discount supermarket and, unless you’re in need of groceries, you might drive by without noticing it. I assure you, however, it’s an extraordinary building, a laboratory of capitalism worthy of pilgrimages by the world’s great business schools. It … Read More
I hate to say it, but here goes: too many Americans, including highly-educated and experienced business people, have just plain given up on this country’s manufacturing industries, believing low-cost producers in China and elsewhere are unbeatable. And many of these same knowledgeable people would also tell you that solving the country’s retirement savings crisis is … Read More