Steward-Owned Companies
Steward ownership is not just an abstract concept. It is a lived reality for many companies worldwide. From forerunners that have been operating under steward ownership for over 100 years to start-ups founded directly in steward ownership. Are you curious who they are? And do you want to learn more about their structures and why they chose steward ownership? Then you are at the right place.
This page is currently under development and we’re working on an exciting project to launch a register of steward-owned companies. So everyone can get a good picture of all these companies at a glance.
Yet steward ownership is a topic with many nuances, different cultural contexts and individual decisions. Hence, we do not simply want to share a list with you but rather make these nuances visible. However, we'll have a first version of an overview soon. Please bear with us while we are working on that it- it’s gonna be worth the wait, we promise!
Living proof
From bakeries in Portland to banks in Santiago de Chile to tech firms in Berlin: Below, you’ll find some examples of steward-owned companies worldwide. This is not a full collection but a sneak peek of how diverse this company ecosystem is. Steward ownership is not confined to a specific sector, company size or region, instead, it offers a different perspective on ownership for all kinds of companies.
Company case studies
If you want to dive deeper into individual companies and their steward ownership journeys, explore some of our case studies
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When Juho Makkonen and Antti Virolainen went looking for investors in 2018, they realized conventional ownership models were built on incentives that simply didn't align with their vision. So they rewired the entire structure of their company.
Novo Nordisk
Novo Nordisk (responsible for nearly half the world's insulin supply and $40 billion in annual revenue) has been controlled by a nonprofit foundation for almost 100 years. A story of how a company held firm against mergers, shareholder pressure, and global competition.
Bosch
Bosch is one of the oldest steward ownership lighthouses. 92% of shares held by the Robert Bosch Stiftung. Profits serve the company's mission and fund philanthropic work.
Zeiss
One of the earliest examples of steward ownership. The Zeiss and Schott companies are owned by a foundation – no individual can extract the company's value for personal gain.
Organically Grown Company – Aligned Financing
This case study explores the financing set-up that allowed Organically Grown Company to transition into steward ownership and to buy out its former shareholders – farmers, employees, and ESOP participants – without compromising the company’s mission or stability.
BuurtzorgT – Aligned Financing
This case study shows how investor partnership based on trust can revolutionize the healthcare sector
WILDPLASTIC® – Aligned Financing
Explore how Wildplastic found a way for its financing structures to be purpose-aligned and matching its long-term mission of combatting plastic pollution
Haferkater - Aligned Financing
Find out how Haferkater reinvented train station food and investment with crowd support and aligned investors.
How do I know if my company is steward-owned?
We often receive this question and, again, it is not a simple yes-or-no answer. But we do hear the wish and need of many to have some support in evaluating your own structure against steward ownership principles. So we are working on a self-evaluation tool for you that can guide your steward ownership journey. Not as something imposed or labelled by us. But as a way to spark the right conversations and enable a deeper understanding of which principles matter in steward ownership and why. This self-evaluation will be available on this website once it is ready.
Test our self-evaluation tool
If you’d like to become one of the first to test this tool, we'd love to hear from you. Whether just curious or on your way towards steward ownership, please sign up here and we’ll reach out with more information soon.
In the meantime
Can't wait? Read our principles article: Carefully crafted to reflect the breadth and depth of steward ownership implementation to get you thinking on your own ownership structure.