Guest: Corey Rosen understands the power of employee ownership. Corey is the founder and an active staff member of the National Center for Employee Ownership, a private, nonprofit membership, information, and research organization. The NCEO is widely considered to be the authoritative source on broad-based employee ownership plans. He co-founded the NCEO in 1981 after working five years as a professional staff member in the U.S. Senate, where he helped draft legislation on employee ownership plans. Before that, he taught political science at Ripon College. He is the author or co-author of over 100 articles and numerous books on employee ownership, and co-author (with John Case and Martin Staubus) of Equity: Why Employee Ownership is Good for Business (Harvard Business School Press, 2005) and (with Hohn Case), Ownership: Reinventing Companies, Capitalism, and Who Owns What (Berrett-Kohler, 2022). He has lectured on employee ownership on six continents.

He has a Ph.D. in Political Science from Cornell University. He previously served on the Board of Directors of the Great Place to Work Institute (creators of the “The 100 Best Companies to Work for in America” list). He currently is on seven ESOP company boards, with fees going to support the work of the NCEO. In 2009, he was awarded the Txemi Cantera Social Economy Award, given annually in Spain.

Episode in a Tweet: Employee ownership is about giving your employees the opportunity to participate in the company’s wealth creation. Through ownership, your employees can generate enough wealth to live more secure lives. And your company will do better, too, because everybody has a stake in the future.

Background: I’ve had the pleasure of knowing Corey for almost a decade now. I met him at my first NCEO summit for ESOP companies, where I learned all the mistakes you can make when setting up an ESOP, way back in 2013. It was an eye-opening and exciting seminar; I left motivated to make StoneAge an ESOP company. Now, almost a decade later, I relish the opportunity to interview Corey, who, along with his team at the NCEO, has reshaped the way we look at employee-owned companies.

During the episode, Corey articulately explains why employee ownership is a powerful succession model and how ESOPs work. He shares stories of how remarkable leaders have reshaped the way companies are run by being transparent, generous, and creative. This is a powerful episode that everyone can benefit from, even if you are not an employee-owned company.

How to find Corey:

Company website: www.nceo.org
Ownership: Reinventing Companies, Capitalism, and Who Owns What, https://www.nceo.org/publication/ownership-reinventing-companies-capitalism-and-who-owns-what
www.esopinfo.org

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/corey-rosen-3a8a8a4/

Preorder my book, The Ownership Mindset, on Amazon or Barnes and Noble

Subscribe to my podcast Reflect Forward on iTunes

Or check out my new YouTube Channel, where you can watch full-length episodes of Advice From a CEO!

And if you are looking for a keynote speaker or a podcast guest, click here to book a meeting with me to discuss what you are looking for!