About the Conference
The annual Employee Ownership Conference brings together the people and ideas that keep employee ownership working. Through practical learning, presentations by experts, and peer discussion, this three-day event keeps you at the forefront of the employee ownership world. The conference features many highly interactive sessions designed so you can get answers to your particular questions and find ideas that work for your particular company.
Who Should Attend
This conference is designed for anyone interested or involved in equity sharing as an effective business strategy, including company presidents, owners, CEOs, executives, directors, managers, investors, employee owners, and professional service providers. Whether you are a veteran or newcomer to the world of employee ownership, this conference offers valuable insights and information at a variety of levels, covering both technical and non-technical topics.
What to Expect
In addition to general sessions featuring thought-provoking leaders in the field, attendees may select from more than 67 breakout sessions and special pre-conference sessions exploring a variety of critical issues. Other exceptional offerings include expert-led, in-depth discussions over lunch and the opportunity to meet one-on-one with employee ownership experts. The conference design makes it easy to meet and share experiences with people from all over the employee ownership world.
"I came back to my company recommending that everyone go next year if they can!"
"There is a tremendous sense of trust and support -- all sponsors and presenters are genuinely interested in providing value to attendees and there is a beautiful lack of both ego and self- promotion."
"This is the best organized conference I have attended - the quality of the speakers and topics far exceed what is offered at other industry events."
Keynote Speakers:
Joseph Blasi is a professor and sociologist at the School of Management and Labor Relations at Rutgers University and a Research Associate at the National Bureau of Economic Research. His work addresses broad-based employee ownership, profit sharing, and stock options. Shared Capitalism at Work (with Douglas Kruse and Richard Freeman), was published by the University of Chicago Press in 2010. He coordinates a national fellowship program that awards the Beyster and Kelso and Smiley Fellowships.
Richard Freeman, Ph.D., holds the Herbert Ascherman Chair in Economics at Harvard University, and serves as the faculty co-director of the Labor and Worklife Program at the Harvard Law School. In addition, he directs the the Sloan Science and Engineering Workforce Projects at the National Bureau of Economic Research, and is senior professorial research fellow in labour markets at the London School of Economics' Centre for Economic Performance. Mr. Freeman received the Mincer Lifetime Achievement Prize from the Society of Labor Economics in 2006, and received the IZA Prize in Labor Economics in 2007.
Blake Jones is the President and Co-Founder of Namaste Solar, a 100% employee-owned solar electric company based in Colorado. Namaste Solar is one of the fastest growing private companies in the nation with a #56 ranking in the 2009 Inc 500 and was awarded the NCEO's Innovations Award in 2009 for its unique employee ownership structure. The company is democratically managed, has no majority stockholder, and is 100% transparent with all company information, including salaries.
