As he announces his retirement, recognizing Ken’s monumental contributions to the employee ownership movement. EOX is expanding ownership EVERYWHERE


🍾 Honoring Ken Baker


Ken has announced his retirement from NewAge after an extraordinary career and legacy.

This month, we are proud to celebrate EOX board member, Ken Baker, on his retirement as President and CEO of NewAge Industries Inc., a 100% employee-owned company whose success reflects decades of thoughtful leadership, steady vision, and deep belief in the power of shared ownership.

Ken’s impact, however, extends far beyond NewAge.

As a founding board member of EOX and co-founder of the Pennsylvania Center for Employee Ownership (PACEO), Ken has helped shape the infrastructure that is making employee ownership more accessible to business owners and workers across the country. His leadership, generosity, and commitment have helped launch new State Centers, expand outreach, develop future leaders, and inspire more business owners to consider employee ownership as a succession strategy.

What makes Ken’s legacy so remarkable is not only that he helped build a thriving employee-owned company. It is that he has devoted countless hours to helping others see what employee ownership can make possible.

EOX Executive Director Steve Storkan shared it well: β€œKen Baker should be congratulated on a career that few can or will ever replicate. I am beyond blessed to have had the opportunity to work alongside him and to learn so much from his mentorship. I can’t wait to see what we accomplish together in the coming years as you remain a key member of the EOX Board.”

On behalf of everyone at EOX, THANK YOU, Ken, for your leadership, vision, friendship, your tremendous generosity and enduring commitment to our mission of expanding employee ownership.

Join us in congratulating Ken and NewAge Industries by leaving a comment on our LinkedIn post. Ken is tagged and will see your message.

CONGRATULATE KEN

CLICK TO CONGRATULATE KEN BAKER AND READ THE FULL PRESS RELEASE


EOX ON THE MOVE


Steve and Elle attend the Aspen Institute Ideas Forum in Washington D.C.
A strong EOX Network showing at this national forum on the future of employee Ownership

The EOX Network was well represented at The Aspen Institute’s 2026 Employee Ownership Ideas Forum β†’, with Executive Director Steve Storkan, Deputy Director Elle Carne, State Center directors, EOX board members, and national partners gathering in D.C. for two days focused on policy, ownership culture, AI, and what it will take to make employee ownership more widely understood and used.

EOX sponsors the Sharpen the Saw event at RIT alongside EO ROC
Bringing employee ownership to Rochester business and community leaders.

EOX was proud to support EO ROC as the top sponsor of RIT’s annual Sharpen the Saw event β†’, where Rochester business and community leaders heard directly from employee-owned companies including Butler/Till, Optimax Systems, and KJT. Special thanks to Tracy Till for the generous donation of her time and financial support that helped make the day possible.

FOLLOW US ON LinkedIn!
Keep in touch with our upcoming travels. Who knows, you might even get tagged in a post when we cross paths.

Help us reach our goal of increasing our LinkedIn following by 40%.
FOLLOW US β†’

Or even better...encourage your followers to also follow us! Because who DOESN'T need to know about employee ownership?


NEWS ACROSS THE EOX NETWORK

SPOTLIGHT: The Ohio Employee Ownership Center (OEOC) and Vermont Employee Ownership Center (VEOC) convene their annual EO conferences.

The Vermont Employee Ownership Center β†’ and Ohio Employee Ownership Center β†’ both hosted annual conferences that show why State Centers are such valuable anchors in their regions. These events give business owners, employee-owned companies, advisors, policymakers, and community partners places to learn from real EO examples, get answers to important questions, and build the relationships that help employee ownership move from curiosity to serious consideration.

EOX PARTNER SPOTLIGHT: Prairie Represents Kimray, Inc. in Its Transition to an ESOP Company

Read the full transaction announcement.
READ MORE β†’


UPCOMING EVENTS

πŸ—“οΈ Check out the EOX Events Calendar!

SEE EVENTS

PROGRAM β€” Leadership Program for ESOP CEOs and Presidents

hosted by the University of Pennsylvania Center for Social Impact Strategy and the National Center for Employee Ownership (NCEO)

July 26, 2026 [Session 1] | Philadelphia, PA
LEARN MORE β†’

FORUM β€” 2026 NCEO Forum

hosted by the National Center for Employee Ownership (NCEO)

August 26-28, 2026 | Phoenix, AZ
REGISTER β†’

CONFERENCE β€” IACEO Annual Employee Ownership Conference

hosted by the Iowa Center for Employee Ownership (IACEO)

October 01, 2026 | Ankeny, IA

REGISTER β†’


EO IN THE NEWS

NCEO Founder, Corey Rosen, publishes new paper highlighting why selling to an ESOP is cheaper than selling to outside buyers β€” providing a detailed look at the various cost components for ESOP transactions
READ MORE β†’


HAVE YOU SUBSCRIBED?
EOX encourages all of our readers to subscribe to The Stakehold β€” a weekly newsletter on all things employee ownership (and then some), including purpose trust ownership, steward ownership, workplace democracy, and the ownership economy.

This is the best way to stay up-to-date in real time while you wait for EOX's monthly publications.


POLICY CORNER

Ottowa, Ontario - Spring Economic Update Bill (Bill C-30) passes in Canada, creating a permanent EO tax incentive.

A permanent employee ownership tax incentive is now Canadian law, opening the door for more business owners to sell to Employee Ownership Trusts and worker co-operatives. Read the full post for a powerful look at how smart policy can help expand ownership in all forms, keeping businesses locally rooted and giving more workers a stake in the future they’re helping build.
READ HERE β†’


EO RESOURCES

πŸŽ™οΈ PODCAST - The WICEO Podcast, Ep. 1: featuring EOX Executive Director, Steve Storkan
Hosted by Joe Sapp, Executive Director of the Wisconsin Center for Employee Ownership (WICEO), each episode will examine how employee ownership creates stronger businesses, supports succession planning, preserves local jobs, and builds long-term wealth for employees and communities
WATCH HERE β†’

πŸŽ™οΈ PODCAST - The Steward Chair, Ep. 203: featuring Text-Em-All
In this episode of The Steward Chair, Brad Herrmann and Hai Nguyen, Co-founders of Text-Em-All, share their journey of rewriting the SaaS success script by prioritizing greatness over growth and people over profit.
LISTEN HERE β†’



SUPPORT EOX

Want to get more involved in a State Center near you or at the national level? Please email Steve Storkan at storkan@eoxnetwork.org.

If you're interested in donating to support our work to expand employee ownership across the United States, please click the button below to make a tax-deductible gift to the Employee Ownership Expansion Network!

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