Ex-CEO of Australia's Telecom Company Reflects on Employee Ownership

David Thodey, the former chief executive of Telsta, increased participation in the company's equity compensation plan from below 30% to over 90% over six years, making 27,000 people employee-owners. In an article in Australia's Financial Times (paywalled), Thodey said, "There's no better way to tune people in to creating shareholder value than to make them shareholders." Thodey spoke at a conference of Employee Ownership Australia and New Zealand, a membership organization, which notes that about 6% of Australia's businesses have employee stock plans.