Employee Ownership and Profit Sharing in Public Companies

Public companies employ the majority of America's workforce, yet broad-based employee ownership remains and profit sharing the exception rather than the rule. This session explores the current landscape of employee ownership in this sector, examines the opportunities and challenges for broader adoption, and discusses how we can realize the enormous untapped potential for expanding ownership culture across America's largest employers.Our conversation includes opening remarks from William Castellano (Director, Institute for the Study of Employee Ownership and Profit Sharing, Rutgers University; Executive Director, NJ/NY Center for Employee Ownership), followed by a panel discussion with Jason Kelly (Co-founder and CEO, Ginkgo Bioworks); Ethan Rouen (Associate Professor of Business Administration, Accounting and Management Unit, Harvard Business School; Faculty Co-chair, The Ownership Project); and moderator Mary Josephs (Founder and CEO, Verit Advisors; Contributor, Forbes Magazine).This video comes from the 2026 Employee Ownership Ideas Forum, which took place June 2-3, 2026, in Washington DC and online.For more information about this session, including a transcript, speaker bios, and additional resources, visit our website.For additional content from the Forum, visit our main event page.To view more sessions and event highlights, subscribe to our YouTube channel.Or subscribe to our podcast and listen on the go.About this event:The Employee Ownership Ideas Forum is an annual event hosted by the Aspen Institute Economic Opportunities Program and the Institute for the Study of Employee Ownership and Profit Sharing at Rutgers University.The Forum convenes participants — including members of Congress, congressional staff, administration officials, employee owners, investors, lenders, researchers, practitioners, and policy experts — around the shared, bipartisan goal of increasing broad-based employee ownership and providing workers and communities with the opportunity to own their share of America’s prosperity and future.The Forum highlights innovative policies and practices, features firsthand experiences and perspectives of employee owners, and fosters dialogue and engagement to drive concrete actions toward expanding employee ownership.We are grateful to our Forum Champions — the Ford Foundation, Prudential Financial, the Sorenson Impact Foundation, JPMorganChase, and EO Equals — for their principal support of the Forum. We also thank McKinsey & Company, a Forum Ally, for its generous contribution.As a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization, the Aspen Institute is nonpartisan and does not endorse, support, or oppose political candidates or parties. To the extent elected officials are in attendance, they are attending and speaking in their official capacity and not as a political candidate. Further, the views and opinions of our guests and speakers do not necessarily reflect those of the Aspen Institute or of Rutgers University.