Employee ownership news

Can lessons from New Belgium help us think differently about employee ownership in high-growth sectors?

Rumors of the death of employee ownership are greatly exaggerated.

We ought to celebrate instances of employee self-determination, including the right of employees to cash out and move on.

Sustainability isn’t the same as immortality, and it certainly doesn’t mean stagnation.

An ESOP in and of itself doesn’t create a company like New Belgium—it takes culture, too.

Employee ownership was core to New Belgium’s identity, and their story offered an alternative model to many concerned by the corporate consolidation of the craft beer sector over the past few years.

As employee ownership advocates, we need to address why so many ESOP companies walk away from broad-based ownership.

It turns out that there are plenty of investors and lenders happy to take a supporting role knowing that we’ve prevented ourselves from selling our company, and our mission, to the highest bidder.

We should aspire for ESOP permanence, but not regard it as a failure when a great ESOP successfully transitions to a different structure.

Employee ownership must become more than a community of practice, we must marshal our resources and become a movement for positive social change.