Employee Ownership and the Company of the Future

In 2022, the Fortune 500, the largest publicly traded companies in the US, collectively generated nearly $16 trillion in revenues and over $1.6 trillion in profits. Large public and private companies — those with more than 1,000 workers — employ more than 40% of the US workforce. Though a sizable percentage of these companies offer profit sharing programs or equity compensation, many workers, particularly front-line employees, do not participate or have access to these programs, resulting in missed opportunities to expand wealth and create a culture of employee ownership to improve innovation and business performance. In this conversation, speakers discuss innovations in employee ownership and how we can reimagine how large corporations share profits and ownership and create a future where workers and companies thrive together. It features a panel discussion with Marshall Vance (Associate Professor of Accounting and L. Mahlon Harrell Faculty Fellow, Virginia Tech), Felice Klein (Assistant Professor of Management, Boise State University), Chris Fredericks (President and CEO, Empowered Ventures), Erik Forman (Co-Founder, The Drivers Cooperative), Anna-Lisa Miller (Executive Director, Ownership Works), Robyn Shutak (Managing Director, Infinite Equity), and moderator Joseph Blasi (J. Robert Beyster Distinguished Professor, Rutgers University; Director, Rutgers Institute for the Study of Employee Ownership and Profit Sharing). For more information about this event — including video, audio, transcript, speaker bios, and additional resources — visit: https://www.aspeninstitute.org/videos/employee-ownership-and-the-company-of-the-future/ This discussion was held on June 15, 2023, as part of the Employee Ownership Ideas Forum, co-hosted by the Aspen Institute Economic Opportunities Program and the Institute for the Study of Employee Ownership and Profit Sharing at Rutgers University. This two-day convening brought together leading policymakers, practitioners, experts, and the media for a robust discussion on how we can grow employee ownership for the shared benefit of American workers and businesses. Learn more: https://www.aspeninstitute.org/events/employee-ownership-ideas-forum/