EP351 100 Years of Sharing the Wealth. The Rise of Employee Ownership in Canada

Episode Summary:

If you want to understand where employee ownership in Canada is going, it helps to talk to a company that has been living it for the better part of a century. In this episode, host Colleen O'Connell-Campbell sits down with Chad Friesen, CEO of Friesens Corporation - a $120 million book manufacturer and publishing company based in Altona, Manitoba (population 4,500) - to trace one of the most remarkable ownership stories in the country. Founded in 1907, Friesens has moved through nearly every ownership form imaginable: sole proprietor, family business, ESOP, hybrid, and today a 100% Employee Ownership Trust. Chad shares how the founding family turned down dozens of offers to sell because they believed the business belonged to the people and community who built it, how the company "backed into" broad-based employee ownership during the 2007-2008 crisis, and how the Friesens model went on to influence Canada's actual EOT legislation. He also introduces Tall Grass Employee Owner Equity Fund, a new venture that provides patient capital and a proven playbook to help other founders exit to their employees. It is a story about print, yes - but really about legacy, community wealth, and doing succession on purpose.

Key Takeaways:

Friesens Corporation was founded in 1907 and is a roughly $120 million company based in Altona, Manitoba, a community of 4,500. It operates three book-related businesses: trade books (working with the largest and smallest publishers in the world), school yearbooks (a business defined by constant customer turnover, since students graduate every year), and Friesen Press, a self-publishing services business working with around 1,000 new authors annually. The company's mantra: helping others share their best story with the world.

Fun fact: all five leaders in the company's history have shared the last name Friesen - the first three from the founding family, the last two (including Chad) unrelated to it.

The company has been owned in nearly every form: sole proprietorship, family-owned, ESOP, hybrid ESOP/EOT, and today 100% Employee Ownership Trust. The founding family's roots in the cooperative, credit union, and mutual movements of the 1940s and 50s framed their path toward employee ownership.

The founding family had opportunities to sell dozens of times - Chad keeps a file folder of historic offers from companies and equity funds - but chose employee ownership because they believed the business served a greater purpose