Employee Ownership: Aligning Profit, Purpose, and Long-Term Value

Employee ownership is gaining momentum as a powerful strategy to align business success with employee wellbeing and community resilience. In this episode of Sustainability Leaders, Michael Torrance, BMO’s Chief Sustainability Officer, sits down with Leah Turnbull, Managing Director and National ESOP Practice Lead at BMO, to explore how employee ownership structures—such as Employee Stock Ownership Plans (ESOPs) in the U.S. and Employee Ownership Trusts (EOTs) in Canada—are transforming the way companies think about growth, succession, and sustainability.

 They discuss why employee ownership is increasingly relevant amid a wave of retiring business owners, how it can help close the wealth gap by expanding access to equity, and why it offers a compelling alternative to traditional sale options.