Empowered Ventures

Do you *dread* learning and development? You wouldn't if you had Lori Atone (but we bet TVF's not giving her up). Between Lori's passionate advocacy for employee ownership and expert shepherding of knowledge, learning and development has become something employee owners?*get*?to do. In this “Best Of” replay episode of Empowered Owners, Lori, Learning and Development Director at?TVF?(and?Empowered Ventures' 2024 Employee Owner of the Year!), shares about the importance of continuous learning, the power of knowledge sharing, and the impact of learning and development in an employee-owned organization. Find the episode wherever you get your podcasts. Show notes and transcripts are on the episode page at empowered . ventures, and full video episodes are on YouTube @empowered_ventures. We'd love to hear from you! Leave a comment with any feedback, or reach out to us at hello @ empowered . ventures.

How do you make the intangible, tangible? Employee ownership is something you can feel, but rarely experience with your five senses. The EV Cup is one way we make it real, even if it's not really about winning.

Some leaders may *feel* like their job is enforcing the law. But for Paramount Plastics President Curtis D. Elliott, that's what his job literally was. And he's now one of the few people to combine passion and career not just once, but twice. In this “Best Of” replay episode of Empowered Owners with Chris Fredericks,?Curtis discusses his career path, from an initial goal of joining law enforcement to unexpected opportunities in manufacturing. Curtis’s “what’s next?” attitude led him on a journey of growth that ultimately shaped the successful leader he is today. Find the episode wherever you get your podcasts. Show notes and transcripts are on the episode page at empowered . ventures, and full video episodes are on YouTube @empowered_ventures. We'd love to hear from you! Leave a comment with any feedback, or reach out to us at hello @ empowered . ventures.

Very few business decisions come with deeply personal impacts. One of the exceptions is healthcare. A 2022 article by McKinsey & Company talks about the hyperinflation of healthcare costs – $370 billion (billion) dollars higher in 2027 compared to pre-pandemic projections of the same timeframe – and how employers need to rethink how they administer their employee health benefits in light of this significant headwind. It is now two years after that article first appeared, and we can confirm that our enterprise is experiencing this projection, along with the rest of the country. We have not been immune to skyrocketing healthcare costs and the heart-wrenching struggle nearly every employer is going through – offer benefit plans that don’t cover much, or offer plans that cost too much to use. The situation seems bleak. One sentence from the article, in particular, jumped out: “In addition to cost-management measures,?employers could adopt a mindset of ‘health as an investment’ that requires a better understanding of their employee populations’ needs and preferences. This approach would not only include demographics, geography, and most relevant care journeys, but also employees’ definition of health and wellness and their preferred modalities of engagement.” We believe our employee owners can and should be able to wear both their “owner hat” and “employee hat” when it comes to healthcare and benefits decision-making and utilization. We believe that together, we can solve the problem of skyrocketing healthcare costs through a concerted effort, a lot of creativity, and even more courage to try things that may be completely novel or unconventional. In short, we’ve already actioned McKinsey’s advice, and even taken it a step further to include employee input in the creative process of solving this very complex problem. Introducing…?Healthcare for Us. Healthcare for Us is an Empowered Ventures initiative that aims to: - find ways to improve how our current employee owners choose and utilize healthcare benefits - optimize our annual plan design and purchasing process (all hands on deck!) - keep all of our employee owners in the loop on the emerging landscape of healthcare and health benefits. We’re at the very beginning of this journey. We simply refuse to sit by and accept the functional loss of healthcare benefits for our employee owners, in a world where it has become commonplace to “provide” a benefit that isn’t functionally a benefit at all, and in some cases is even a liability. Healthcare for Us. This is our commitment to leading our organization into a future of exceptional financial and personal well-being outcomes.

Managing is hard. Managing a team on the front lines of customer relationships is hard AND crucially important to the business. Join us for another “Best Of" episode of Empowered Owners, where we sit down with?Shannon Hayden, Director of Customer Support at?TVF. With over two decades of management experience, Shannon understands the importance of getting to know her colleagues and fostering open communication to create strong relationships. In this episode, Shannon shares valuable insights into leadership, team dynamics, and her experiences at TVF. And to top it off, we even sprinkle in some 80s and 90s throwbacks at the end. Later in the episode, Empowered Ventures Vice President?Michael Algrim?joins host Chris Fredericks to discuss Stewarding Excellence, a pillar of the EV strategy. Find the episode wherever you get your podcasts. Show notes and transcripts are on the episode page on our website, and full video episodes are on YouTube at Empowered_Ventures. We'd love to hear from you! Leave a comment with any feedback, or reach out to us at hello @ empowered . ventures.

We set an ambitious new goal for all EVers. Michael Phelps once said, "Goals should never be easy. They should force you to work, even if they are uncomfortable at the time.” As an employee-owned company, we’re in a unique position. Our goals don’t just impact a small group of owners or leaders; they impact all our employee owners. Ideally, goals generate win-wins – we all work together then enjoy the benefits together. Accomplishing our goals helps us achieve our mission?and fulfill EV’s purpose. We believe teams need something to rally around, and BHAGs (big, hairy, audacious goals) focused on EV’s share price have worked well for us. The share price sums up how our businesses are doing and reflects employee owners’ work in their ESOP statements. Our most recent share price goal was $85 by 2025, which our amazing employee owners worked hard to achieve a year early (??!). So, we got to working on what should our new share price goal be. After careful consideration we landed on a new share price goal:?$260 by 2030. We are excited about this goal because it is achievable based on our plans and projections, but it won’t be easy. It will require considerable effort and require us to navigate the inevitable challenges that all businesses face over multiple years. But the work will be worth it – hitting this goal will significantly grow our employee owners’ ESOP accounts, which is essential to our purpose and would be an exciting outcome for all our employee owners! It’s ambitious, a little uncomfortable, and will make us work. Michael Phelps would be proud. See our website to learn more?about EV, our goals, and our operating companies.

We set an ambitious new goal for all EVers. Michael Phelps once said, "Goals should never be easy. They should force you to work, even if they are uncomfortable at the time.” As an employee-owned company, we’re in a unique position. Our goals don’t just impact a small group of owners or leaders; they impact all our employee owners. Ideally, goals generate win-wins – we all work together then enjoy the benefits together. Accomplishing our goals helps us achieve our mission?and fulfill EV’s purpose. We believe teams need something to rally around, and BHAGs (big, hairy, audacious goals) focused on EV’s share price have worked well for us. The share price sums up how our businesses are doing and reflects employee owners’ work in their ESOP statements. Our most recent share price goal was $85 by 2025, which our amazing employee owners worked hard to achieve a year early (??!). So, we got to working on what should our new share price goal be. After careful consideration we landed on a new share price goal:?$260 by 2030. We are excited about this goal because it is achievable based on our plans and projections, but it won’t be easy. It will require considerable effort and require us to navigate the inevitable challenges that all businesses face over multiple years. But the work will be worth it – hitting this goal will significantly grow our employee owners’ ESOP accounts, which is essential to our purpose and would be an exciting outcome for all our employee owners! It’s ambitious, a little uncomfortable, and will make us work. Michael Phelps would be proud. See our website to learn more?about EV, our goals, and our operating companies.

Many people lead machine shops, and many people raise goats. Far fewer do both. We’re lucky enough to know one, and we got a chance to talk to him. In this replay episode of Empowered Owners, Jack West, Vice President at Firstar Precision Corp., discusses his career journey, including a life-changing stint in the military, his humble start at a gas station, and his 20+ years at Firstar. Throughout this episode, Jack shares the wisdom he has acquired through his career, including the importance of seeing customers as partners and how to develop young workers. And he sheds light on how some of these skills have extended into his personal life, allowing him to pursue a fulfilling hobby: managing his very own farm. Find the episode wherever you get your podcasts. Show notes and transcripts are on the episode page on our website, and full video episodes are on YouTube at Empowered_Ventures. We'd love to hear from you! Leave a comment with any feedback, or reach out to us at hello @ empowered . ventures.

One of our favorite days of the year is October 1, when we get to welcome the newest entrants to the EV ESOP. What better way to kick off employee ownership month?! We often discuss the benefits of employee ownership for both employee and employer. But what’s even more meaningful is zooming in to see the potentially life-changing outcomes for each individual. There are many stories of unique personal successes that are empowered by employee ownership, and the first step is joining the ESOP. So today, we celebrate our new employee owners. We are grateful to be alongside them and excited about this significant step that has the potential to be life-changing over time. From TVF: Travis Conlon, Lindsey Forey, Malsel Gracia Alcantara, Ben Jones, Juan Rodriguez, and Rachel Weaver From Firstar Precision Corp: Nathaniel Hagar and Trevor Johnson From Paramount Plastics: Keeyonna Brown, Jesse Fernandez, Tyler Hardy, Martin Hernandez, Travis Johnson, Nora Juarez, and Omar Ramirez From Empowered Ventures: Kim Dinwiddie, SHRM-SCP, CPC Congratulations!