Day Two – 17.11.2021

We are employee owned, now what?

13:00 – 13:40

This session will delve into how you can make the most of being employee owned, the impact of employees taking ownership and accountability for the business, and how your new employee owners can help to shape the future of the business.

Join Kingsley James, Executive Director and Samantha Trillwood, Senior Consultant and Member of the Employee Board at Emperor, for a case study presentation and Q&A session where they answer “We are employee owned, now what?”

You will gain insights into:

• making the most of being employee owned.
• creating & implementing a succession plan.
• impact of employees taking ownership and accountability.
• how employees can shape the future of the business, eg D&I project.

Founded in 1996, Emperor is one of the UK’s leading stakeholder reporting and brand engagement agencies. From two men and an Apple Mac, Emperor now have more 250 people across 4 UK offices.

Becoming employee-owned in January 2020 fulfilled a long-standing ambition of the founders, with the idea to drive growth for the business, as well as provide long-term strategic clarity for our partners and help to attract and retain the best talent. The founding shareholders sold 67% of the company to an Employee Ownership Trust.

The move to employee ownership went, in a very short space of time, from a celebration of Emperor’s culture, to an essential part of the business during lockdown, informing and guiding decision making and ensuring they remain a people-first company in these challenging times.

Kingsley James is one of the founding shareholders.  He is still fully engaged in the business and, support by a broad team, has Board responsibility for finance, IT, property and major corporate projects.

Sam Trillwood has worked at Emperor for over 4 years.  She is a consultant in the Insights team and advises clients on their stakeholder reporting and communications challenges.  Sam was an original member of Emperor’s Employee Board which was established at the time of the sale in January 2020.