Скачать или смотреть Alternative Exit #47 | Live from the EOA, Direct Ownership Done Wright - Michael Hodgson from GLIDE

"When we talk about how we've performed and what the forecast dividend is going to be, what it will do for the share price, you see the cogs turn. You can see people thinking. That is ultimately what is driving our culture - that individual buying and that mentality of 'this is my future.'"

Most of the EOA Conference focuses on EOTs. Glide is different.

Glide is an employee-owned membership organization holding shares across three manufacturing businesses worth £175M+ in combined revenue: Gripple (wire joiners and tensioners), Load Hog (returnable transit packaging), and GoTools (tooling manufacturer).

The model: Direct ownership. Every employee after one year must buy shares in their parent company. They become Glide members. Glide holds 20% gifted shares from founder Hugh Facey (donated in the early 1990s). Members own the rest individually.

Why direct ownership? Skin in the game. Personal financial growth. Clear line of sight between effort and reward.

The structure is like a sports club: one member, one vote, no hierarchy, elected representatives. Michael Hodgson is the elected chair.

In this conversation recorded live at the EOA Conference in Telford, we explore: ✅ How direct ownership differs from EOTs ✅ Why founder Hugh Facey wanted people to experience capital growth opportunity ✅ Linking business performance to individual dividend forecasts ✅ Why every key person in the business is a shareholder ✅ Governance frameworks: participatory budgeting with 200 members ✅ How Glide challenges businesses without managing them ✅ The "largest shareholder" concept (20% + all individuals) ✅ 11.5% annual share price growth over decades ✅ Succession planning through widespread share ownership ✅ Democratic decision-making vs management decisions

"Consider the culture of your organization. Be clear with where that alignment sits. Be really clear on how you're going to set the scene for the future employee owners. Make sure you've got a clear agenda on what you want the organization to do." - Michael Hodgson

Guest: Michael Hodgson, Elected Chair at Glide 🔗 LinkedIn:  / michael-hodgson-a79ab625   🔗 Companies: Gripple, Load Hog, GoTools

About The Alternative Exit: A podcast exploring employee ownership as a succession planning strategy, hosted by Andy Farquharson of a better monday

Sponsor: EOT Expert by Christian Wilson – Technical expertise for EOT transitions and ongoing compliance. Visit eotexpert.co.uk

⏰ Timestamps: 0:00 - Introduction 1:34 - What Glide does and the three businesses 4:53 - Direct ownership model explained 7:20 - Why Hugh Facey chose direct ownership over EOT 9:40 - Linking performance to individual growth 12:00 - Every key person as a shareholder 14:30 - Governance and accountability frameworks 17:15 - Participatory budgeting with 200 members 20:00 - Dividends, share price, and long-term alignment 23:45 - Democratic vs management decisions 27:30 - Glide's role: challenge and accountability 30:00 - Being the "largest shareholder" 32:15 - Three quick questions 33:30 - Simon Sinek and starting with why

#EmployeeOwnership #DirectOwnership #Manufacturing #Governance #EmployeeShares