ESOP Association CEO Jim Bonham Speaks at White House Convening on Worker-Owned Businesses

Senior Biden Administration Officials, Key Stakeholders Meet to Discuss Growing Worker-Owned Businesses and Promoting Worker Ownership Transitions

Washington, D.C. – Jim Bonham, President and CEO of The ESOP Association, today was a featured speaker and panelist at a convening on worker-owned businesses hosted by the White House National Economic Council.

The event was a forum to discuss the Biden Administration’s efforts to grow worker-owned businesses and promote worker ownership transitions, and convened Administration leaders and stakeholders from the ESOP, nonprofit, and investor communities.

Bonham addressed event attendees during the opening panel discussion on the importance of worker ownership. The panel was moderated by Special Assistant to the President Alex Jacquez of the National Economic Council and also included Assistant Secretary of Labor Lisa Gomez, Small Business Administration Senior Advisor Stacie Posey, and Project Equity CEO Evan Edwards.

In his opening remarks, Bonham stressed that while the benefits of employee ownership are well-known, it is still too difficult for business owners to sell their company to employees. That decision by an owner, what Bonham called the “Miracle Moment,” is at the very core of promoting worker ownership transitions.

“Nothing embodies the spirit of President Biden’s bottom-up and middle-out economic priorities more than employee ownership,” said Bonham. “But for employee ownership to flourish, it needs the Miracle Moment. Our focus must be on making it easier, less risky, and less complex for successful business owners to sell to employees.”

Bonham emphasized the successful efforts that Assistant Secretary of Labor Gomez and SBA Administrator Guzman have undertaken to streamline processes and remove red tape at their agencies, but said more must be done to promote the expansion of employee ownership.

“Business owners wanting to sell all or part of their company to employees should be applauded and held up as models of good corporate citizenship,” said Bonham. “Our government must help foster an environment that encourages this behavior through transparent regulations and removing obstacles preventing the transition to employee ownership.”

Other panels at the event included a Worker and Community Perspective discussion on the benefits of worker ownership for workers and communities, and an Investor Perspective panel on increasing access to capital for worker ownership transitions.

“The ESOP Association is grateful to President Biden and this Administration for recognizing the transformative potential of employee ownership to grow our economy, reduce income inequality, and provide retirement security for American workers,” said Bonham. “Through greater collaboration between the federal government and the ESOP community, we can finally begin eliminating barriers that are hindering new ESOP formation and allow millions more Americans to reap the full advantages of employee ownership.”

For Media Inquiries, Contact: 

Demetrios Karoutsos
Senior Director, Marketing & Communications 
dkaroutsos@esopassociation.org