Meet the pioneers
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 database 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. We invite you to embrace the complexity of concepts that are not only black-or-white categorisations but also have many shades in between. Please bear with us while we are working on that database - 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.
Steward-Owned Companies around the World
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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Organically Grown Company
Organically Grown Company, one of the largest organic produce distributors in the U.S., was one of the 1st companies in the U.S. implementing a Perpetual Purpose Trust structure to solve their succession and financing challenges.
Ecosia
Ecosia uses steward ownership to ensure that profits are used to fight deforestation.
Haferkater
Haferkater reinventing train station food and investment with crowd support and aligned investors.
Elobau
Find out how Michael Hetzer, second-generation owner of German hidden champion elobau, developed a suitable succession model and established his company as a true lighthouse for stewardship-ownership.
Stapelstein
The founders of Stapelstein® sought to regain control and secure independence. Through steward-ownership and aligned buy-outs from old investors, they achieved long-term stability.
Alkemio
Many founders face the dilemma of attracting talent with little money. Unlike ESOPs, not all models fit steward-ownership. Alkemio found a way to reward both financial backers and time contributors.
Banca Etica Latinoamericana
Banca Ética Latinoamericana, a steward-owned pioneer in finance, follows a purpose-driven approach to operations and decisions, fostering well-being, social cohesion, and environmental regeneration.
BuurtzorgT
BuurtzorgT, a self-organized mental healthcare provider from the Netherlands, has been in steward-ownership since 2020, aligning its structure with its mission to put patients before profits.
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, please sign up here and we’ll reach out with more information soon.
Airtable link to be includedIn the meantime
If you want to spark some thoughts already, we invite you to read our article on the two principles of steward ownership: purpose-orientation and self-determination. We have carefully crafted this piece to reflect the breadth and depth of steward ownership implementation and how some questions can only be answered on a case-by-case basis.