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Given private equity’s reach (1 in 25 work for a business owned by a PE firm), the industry has the power to shape work culture at scale, for better or for worse. And ironically, that’s exactly why Pete Stavros, co-head of global private equity for KKR, thinks he’s in a unique position to bring employee ownership to the mainstream.

Pete’s goal? To dramatically expand the number of Employee Stock Ownership Plans (ESOPs) that grant ownership shares to workers: “Imagine how different our economy and our country would be if workers owned a slice of every company in America.”

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Our show is a production of Morning Brew and is produced by Henah Velez and Katie Gatti Tassin, with our audio engineering and sound design from Nick Torres. Devin Emery is president of Morning Brew content, and additional fact checking comes from Scott Wilson.

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Mentioned in the Episode

• Expanding ESOPs

• Clip from Barbarians at the Gate (YouTube)

• 12m people work at PE firms (New York Times)

• On CHI Overhead Doors, a KKR success story

• Kelly Corrigan Wonders: Going Deep with Pete Stavros

• The Economic Effects of Private Equity Buyouts (Harvard Business School)

• Private Equity’s Unlikely Champion (60 Minutes)