Welcome to our annual EO/ESOP Podcast Summer School series. We selected some of our favorite episodes over the past year for your enjoyment while we spend the rest of our summer catching our breath and working on launching our exciting Season 7, beginning in September 2023.

In this episode, Bret Keisling shares the story of how Trader Joe's almost became an ESOP as told by company founder Joe Coulombe in his business memoir "Becoming Trader Joe: How I Did Business My Way and Still Beat the Big Guys," co-written by Patty Civalleri [https://pattycivalleri.com/]. Many of the factors that led to the company's success are hallmarks of successful ESOPs: great salaries, high retention, open book management, and employee communication.

The full transcript of this episode, which includes a link where you can purchase the book at employee-owned Raven Bookstore, is available on our website at https://www.theesoppodcast.com/post/esop-summer-school-mini-cast-30-trader-joe-s-almost-an-esop

ESOP Summer School Mini-cast 30: Trader Joe's - Almost An ESOP

We continue our look at the ways The Kendeda Fund impacts employee ownership with a look back at this episode that originally aired in 2021. 

Bret Keisling was joined by Diane Ives of The Kendeda Fund and Alison Lingane of Project Equity who discussed EO Equals, an exciting campaign targeting business owners to promote all forms of employee ownership. More information can be found at www.employeeownershipequals.org.

Read the transcript, watch the videocast, or get links to further resources and the full series all on our website at https://www.theesoppodcast.com/post/258-the-kendeda-fund-impact-part-4-eo-equals

Episode 258: The Kendeda Fund Impact - Part 4, EO Equals

Part 1. Bret Keisling is joined by Keith Butcher, managing partner and co-founder of ButcherJoseph & Co., a national investment banking firm focused on middle market M&A and ESOP advisory. Keith shares his view that when mature ESOPs run into trouble, it is not because the ESOP structure is flawed, but that the company and leadership team has lost its entrepreneurial and strategic spirit. He discusses the positive interplay between private equity and employee ownership and why it's a good thing, and why companies should act like they're going to sell in 3 years, whether they intend to or not.

Watch the videocast of this episode and get links to further resources on our website at https://www.theesoppodcast.com/post/259-keith-butcher-of-butcherjoseph-part-1

Episode 259: Keith Butcher of ButcherJoseph, Part 1

Bret Keisling discusses Independent Board Members for ESOP Companies, including a definition of "independent," why it's important for the company as a best practice and fiduciarily, the number of independent board members to consider, and what criteria to consider when choosing independent board members.

You can get links to the resources referenced in this episode, watch the videocast, or read the full transcript all on our website at https://www.theesoppodcast.com/post/mini-cast-244-esop-companies-independent-board-members

Mini-cast 244: ESOP Companies Independent Board Members

Part 2. Bret Keisling is joined by Keith Butcher, who discusses the interplay between private equity and ESOPs, including what opportunities private equity firms see in ESOP investments, returning the entrepreneurial and strategic spirit that sometimes get lost when company founders retire, and his view that it's better for ESOPs to maintain a minority position with private equity investment than risk going out of business without it. 

Keith Butcher is managing partner and co-founder of ButcherJoseph & Co., a national investment banking firm focused on middle market M&A and ESOP advisory.

Watch the videocast of this episode or get links to Part 1 and further resources on our website at https://www.theesoppodcast.com/post/260-keith-butcher-of-butcherjoseph-part-2

Episode 260: Keith Butcher of ButcherJoseph, Part 2

Bret Keisling shares an excerpt from the "Owner to Owner" podcast. How do you build company culture when your team is made up primarily of scientists and introverts? 

This question was posed at a gathering of employee owners from throughout New Hampshire as a first step towards organizing a state center there. Loren Rodgers, executive director of The National Center for Employee Ownership (NCEO) provided a great answer, pointing out culture doesn't have to be fun and games. It can include events similar to shark tank or idea innovation processes.

Links and the full transcript for this episode are available on our website at https://www.theesoppodcast.com/

Mini-cast 245: EO Culture Doesn't Need to Be “Fun”

On November 18, 2023, "Owner to Owner" podcast host Jesse Tyler and his colleagues at Hypertherm hosted a gathering of New Hampshire ESOPs. There were a series of events planned throughout the day, including a wonderful panel discussion that allowed participants to hear what employee ownership sounds like at other employee-owned companies and to share what their ESOPs do really well.

The program was designed as a first step in building a local and statewide community of employee-owned companies. We're delighted to share the panel discussion with you in this episode, featuring employee owners from many companies in New Hampshire including Hypertherm, Admix, Palmer & Sicard, Systems Engineering, Polyonics, Normandeau Associates, Wallace Building Products, and Littleton Coin Co.

This episode is on our website at https://www.theesoppodcast.com/post/261-growing-eo-in-new-hampshire

Episode 261: Growing EO in New Hampshire

Bret Keisling notes that ESOPs and EO are going through a rebranding phase right now. Technically, at its core, ESOPs are a qualified retirement plan. Why? Because Congress defined it that way when they established them back in the 1970s. But we know that ESOPs are so much more. They are a great tool for wealth building and data shows that, among other things, ESOPs provide financial advantages today, including higher wages and job benefits, better company governance, and improved job security. 

So, please. Don't call them retirement plans.

The full transcript of this episode and links to further resources are available on our website at https://www.theesoppodcast.com/post/mini-cast-246-please-don-t-call-them-retirement-plans

Mini-cast 246: Please Don't Call Them Retirement Plans

With the holiday season upon us, Bret Keisling discusses the importance of donating to EO organizations to help support, sustain, and grow employee ownership, build better local and national economies, and address critical issues such as wage and wealth inequality, 

In this episode, we highlight a few great organizations such as Project Equity, EOX, and the Fund for Employee Ownership of the Evergreen Cooperatives as particularly worthy of your charitable contributions.  The show notes with the list of donation links, along with the transcript and video of this episode, can be found on our website at https://www.theesoppodcast.com/post/mini-cast-247-the-importance-of-eo-giving

Mini-cast 247: The Importance of EO Giving

Bret Keisling shares an excerpt from the "Owner to Owner" podcast with Jesse Tyler featuring a guest from employee-owned and B-Corporation ReVision Energy who discusses how the company's values align with his own, which could be a great way to engage with younger employees and potential hires.

Watch the video, read the transcript, and get links to the full "Owner to Owner" episode on our website at https://www.theesoppodcast.com/post/mini-cast-247-aligning-eo-with-personal-values

Mini-cast 248: Aligning EO with Personal Values

Bret Keisling was joined by Adria Scharf, Director of Education & Collaborations, Beyster Fellow, and Director of the Curriculum Library for Employee Ownership (CLEO) at the Rutgers Institute for the Study of Employee Ownership and Profit Sharing, to discuss CLEO and the online course Our Share: EO as a Wealth Sharing Tool.

Adria was a 2022 keynote speaker at The National Center for Employee Ownership (NCEO) Annual Conference and designed and was lead instructor (with Dr. Joseph Blasi) of Our Share, the first open online course devoted to employee ownership. She is also the director of CLEO, which is an amazing online library of resources featuring some of the best employee ownership research ever conducted.

Adria discusses why employee ownership is so important to her, including how it addresses wage and wealth inequality, and shares her EO A-ha Moment.

Further show notes, including a link to the course on Coursea, are on our website at https://www.theesoppodcast.com/post/262-icymi-adria-scharf-beyster-fellow-cleo-director-more

Episode 262: ICYMI - Adria Scharf - Beyster Fellow, CLEO Director, & More!

The ESOP Podcast invites listeners to hear insights from the best in the world of employee ownership,  from lawyers, to valuators, to CEOs, and even employee owners themselves – each bringing their own unique outlook and experience to our ongoing conversation about what makes ESOP participation so valuable to companies!

ESOP Summer School Mini-cast 30: Trader Joe's - Almost An ESOP

The ESOP Podcast

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