We were once again represented at the 2023 Employee Owned Association (EOA) Conference. The two day event over 27th-28th November returned to the wonderful ACC venue in Liverpool. With an audience of 800+ delegates, this year’s event was one of the biggest.

Eduardo Manazano Fontecha, one of our Trustee Directors, attended and really enjoyed the opportunity to learn, share ideas and celebrate employee ownership.

The EOA Conference is a great place for founders, employee owners and supporters of employee ownership to learn about the different aspects of employee ownership, as well as leveraging the benefits of being employee owned to further develop individuals and businesses.

EOA Chief Executive James de le Vingne gave a keynote speech to start the Conference. His speech highlighted a small sector punching well above its weight across multiple impacts as well as the scale of the opportunity to grow employee ownership. He also talked about the EOA’s evolving proposition to support businesses to deliver Great EO and launched the Proudly Employee Owned badge, a single, consistent, recognisable symbol for the sector.

Our own EO journey, since becoming employee-owned in 2018, has been one of discovery and learning and we now have so much to showcase and to be proud of. All employee-owners feel engaged and motivated to ensure the company continues to grow.

Eduardo reflected on the two days:-

“What an insightful couple of days spent at this year’s EOA Conference in Liverpool. It was inspiring to see so many trying to redefine how business is done under a more conscious, sustainable and human model. For us, it was a chance to zoom out, share our own experiences with others and learn from the vast array of formulas others are using to improve, engage, give back and bring fulfillment across their workforces. One thing is clear, nobody has it completely right nor completely wrong. Having a conscious model means creating a communal identity, which inherently takes time, effort, honesty and communication. At Andersons, our vision seems clearer every passing year and we are very proud to be employee-owned.”