Wow, what a two days! Thank you, Liverpool, and thank you to the Employee Ownership Association for a conference that was focused, fun and full of fresh thinking – definitely one not to be missed!

This was the verdict of our team, with our MD Jeremy Gadd describing 2023’s national gathering of EO’s movers and shakers as ‘the EOA’s most successful conference to date’.

Well, that’s certainly how it felt…

Why? Because the packed agenda included keynote speeches and debates from high-profile business leaders, alongside workshops, discussions and a celebration dinner which saw the winners of this year’s UK Employee Ownership Awards revealed.

Woking together with Telos’s Adam Campbell (back right)

The mix of 800 founders, leaders, employee owners, trustees and expert providers also ensured the conference was, once again, the place for JGA’s team to network, learn and share our insight on today’s priority EO topics.

The conference’s timing was also perfect for us, as it came hot on the heels of our announcement that JGA is to merge with Telos Partners.

This made our Platinum Exhibitor stand the ideal place for us and our new Telos colleagues to connect with clients and our trusted partners together, building on the great response we’ve had.

Celebrating the best of EO

One of the conference’s keynote speeches

So what were our key takeaways?

‘It was encouraging to see just how well the EO community is responding to what has been a challenging year for so many,’ says Jeremy.

‘The conference’s record attendance reflects how employee ownership is growing – I particularly enjoyed re-engaging with previous clients and familiar friends, as well as establishing new relationships with those who have recently become employee-owned.

Our JGA and Telos teams enjoy the celebration dinner

‘We had some great conversations, and there’s always something new to learn and celebrate,’ he adds.

‘This year the icing on the cake for me was our client LUC being named ‘Employee Owned Business of the Year’ at the EOA’s UK Employee Ownership Awards. I was also delighted for our trusted partner Stephens Scown when their Employee Trustee Sam Moles was named Employee Owner of the Year.

‘What a fantastic night for all who were there.’

Creating a culture of active ownership

Our MD Jeremy Gadd with Lucy Gara from LUC

The delegate sessions were another highlight for Jeremy, who co-delivered a packed workshop on ‘Demystifying governance’ with Employee Trustee Lucy Gara from LUC.

Lucy ‘really brought governance to life’, Jeremy says, during a session that highlighted the vital relationship between the Main and Trust Board and the role of ‘active ownership’.

Jeremy also enjoyed attending another workshop run by our Associate Garry Davis. ‘Making the founder redundant’ focused on a topic in which he’s long had a special interest: the founder’s journey as they relinquish control of their business and the behaviours of leadership successors as they step up.

‘Without doubt, one of the most challenging changes during the transition to EO is when the founder/owner has to let go,’ Jeremy says. ‘It was great to have Garry leading this session, as it enabled us to explore this aspect of the EO journey in a really interesting and useful way.’

Spotlighting the succession benefits of EO

Full house as Telos presents ‘The Road to Succession’ report

Jeremy was also delighted to see two important pieces of EO research in which JGA has been involved get their first proper ‘airing’ at the conference. Both were released on 21 November.

Alex Bloom, one of our new Telos colleagues, shared valuable insight around the importance of succession planning, following our joint project on the transition of leadership in employee-owned businesses for the EOA.

Want to know more? Read about ‘The Road to Succession: Exploring Leadership Succession in EO Businesses’ here.

And Ownership at Work were able to use the conference to share more from ‘Generation EO: The Great Succession Opportunity’ – a project which was supported by the EOA and Federation of Small Businesses, and co-sponsored by JGA.

Read more about ‘Generation EO’ here.

The ‘go to’ place for all things EO

Lanyards at the ready for our MD Jeremy and Associates Lisa Fryer and Corrine Thomas

So, all in all, this year’s EOA Conference certainly lived up to its goal of being the ‘go to’ place for all things EO.

It was two days during which the EO community did what it does best – share its insight, experience and fresh ideas to strengthen EO’s commercial and cultural relevance as the sector continues to grow.

EOA Conference 2024? We’ll be there!

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