Impact
Advancing Employee Ownership. Measurable Results.
Since our founding, the Iowa Center for Employee Ownership (IA-CEO) has helped expand employee ownership across Iowa by guiding business owners through succession planning, providing education for new and existing employee-owners, and building a stronger statewide ecosystem of support.
We connect companies with trusted advisors, convene thought leaders, and deliver practical education that helps employee-owned businesses thrive.
Our work ensures that successful companies remain locally rooted, jobs stay in Iowa communities, and wealth is shared more broadly among the people who help create it.
The Advance Iowa Team: Stacy Mullinex, Judy Butler, Todd Hutcheson, Janell Crow and Annette Stevenson
Employee Ownership Advocacy Day in Washington D.C.
On May 6th we joined The ESOP Association and ESOP leaders from across Iowa to advocate directly for employee ownership at the federal level. It was a powerful opportunity to share the impact ESOPs are having on workers, businesses, and communities throughout our state.
Together, we met with the offices of key Iowa policymakers, including Senator Chuck Grassley, Senator Joni Ernst, Representative Ashley Hinson, and Representative Mariannette Miller-Meeks.
These conversations helped elevate the
voice of Iowa’s employee-owned companies and reinforced the importance of policies that support business succession, employee ownership expansion, and long-term economic stability.
2025 - 2026 Inspiring Innovation Award
The IA-CEO is honored to have been recognized with the 2025 - 2026 Inspiring Innovation Award from the Wilson College of Business, presented by Dr. Leslie Wilson.
This recognition is especially meaningful as it reflects the growing momentum around elevating both the practice and research of employee ownership. We are deeply grateful to the Wilson College of Business and to Dr. Wilson for championing innovation that bridges academic insight with real-world impact for businesses and employees across Iowa and beyond.
A 2017 report by the National Center for Employee Ownership (NCEO) compared workers early in their careers with employee ownership to their peers without and found being in an ESOP associated with:
