The Ownership Advantage (Fireside Chat)

Note: This is a past event, additional resources may be available below.

Date

Wed Apr 9, 2025
12:00pm – 12:40pm

Location


US Capitol, Panel 3

Contact

Description

A depth of research shows the impacts employee ownership can have on company performance when it is combined with efforts to increase employee participation in solving company problems. Higher productivity, lower employee turnover, and greater resilience to economic downturns are all common outcomes of many employee-owned firms. However, greater employee involvement, when combined with ownership, also offers potential for other benefits, including enhanced innovation and problem-solving. The result is that some of the strongest performing and most resilient businesses in the US are employee-owned. Join this conversation with leaders from employee-owned companies as they discuss how ownership drives business success.


Speakers

Dion Houchins,

Houchens Industries, CEO and Chairman

Leslie Kass,

CEO, Lewis Tree Service

Mary Josephs,

Verit Advisors


Home


Thank you to our colleagues at the Ford Foundation, JPMorgan Chase & Co. and Prudential Financial for their generous support of the 2025 Employee Ownership Ideas Forum. Rutgers University also appreciates the support of the Sorenson Impact Foundation for its support of this convening and other events in 2025.

Description

A depth of research shows the impacts employee ownership can have on company performance when it is combined with efforts to increase employee participation in solving company problems. Higher productivity, lower employee turnover, and greater resilience to economic downturns are all common outcomes of many employee-owned firms. However, greater employee involvement, when combined with ownership, also offers potential for other benefits, including enhanced innovation and problem-solving. The result is that some of the strongest performing and most resilient businesses in the US are employee-owned. Join this conversation with leaders from employee-owned companies as they discuss how ownership drives business success.


Speakers

Dion Houchins,

Houchens Industries, CEO and Chairman

Leslie Kass,

CEO, Lewis Tree Service

Mary Josephs,

Verit Advisors


Home


Thank you to our colleagues at the Ford Foundation, JPMorgan Chase & Co. and Prudential Financial for their generous support of the 2025 Employee Ownership Ideas Forum. Rutgers University also appreciates the support of the Sorenson Impact Foundation for its support of this convening and other events in 2025.

2025 Aspen Cyber Summit

Join us in celebrating 10 years of dialogue at the 2025 Aspen Cyber Summit in Washington, DC, on Tuesday, November 18.
Blog Posts

Upcoming EOP Events Newsletter — June 2025

Improving job quality doesn’t just benefit workers; it can also strengthen small businesses themselves and the broader communities they serve. Yet, many small business owners lack the resources and knowledge needed to improve the quality of their jobs.

Blog Posts Videos

Announcing Our New Upskilling Playbook

UpSkill America’s new Upskilling Playbook is a strategic guide for organizations to build, scale, and integrate skills-based workforce development initiatives that drive business performance and career growth.

Blog Posts

Job Quality & Capital

As investors, ICA and Colorado Enterprise Fund have both incorporated job quality assessments as part of their lending and investment process. This conversation explores the various tools capital allocators possess to help and incentivize small businesses to create quality jobs for their employees.

Blog Posts Videos

(Recording) Building, Sustaining, and Scaling Job Quality within CDFIs

How Good Jobs Support Small Businesses Success. For highlights from this discussion, subscribe to EOP’s YouTube channel. Or subscribe to our podcast to listen on the go.

Blog Posts Videos

(Recording) Driving Innovation in Small Business Lending Examples of How Small Business and CDFIs are Working Together to Advance Job Quality

Driving Innovation in Small Business Lending Examples of How Small Business and CDFIs are Working Together to Advance Job Quality. For highlights from this discussion, subscribe to EOP’s YouTube channel. Or subscribe to our podcast to listen on the go.

Cover page for the publication, "Upskilling Playbook: Program Components"
Blog Posts Publications

Upskilling Playbook: Program Components

Designing effective upskilling programs requires a holistic approach that considers various interconnected components.