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Regional groups partner to expand employee ownership in tri-state area
Stacy Wescoe//July 2, 2026//
A regional group promoting employee ownership has reported a major boost to its work in the tri-state region.
Rutgers University‘s New Jersey/New York Center for Employee Ownership and the Pennsylvania Center for Employee Ownership announced a partnership focused on expanding the number of employee-owned businesses in all three states by the year 2030.
According to a release, Ken Baker, a national leader in developing employee ownership, is supporting the collaboration with a $1 million endowment. Baker is the former CEO of NewAge Industries in Southampton, a manufacturer of biopharmaceutical and industrial fluid transfer systems.
He established employee ownership at NewAge in 2006 and co-founded the PaCEO in 2016.
“Rutgers University has the nation’s finest academic research program for employee ownership,” said Kevin McPhillips, executive director and CEO of the Pennsylvania Center for Employee Ownership. “This collaboration will combine the best in thought leadership and successful on-the-ground experience in expanding employee ownership. It is an honor to partner with Rutgers, and it’s a marvelous opportunity for both our organizations. We are very excited to get started.”
The groups said there are nearly 700 businesses headquartered in New Jersey, New York, and Pennsylvania with an employee stock ownership plan (ESOP), employing more than 1.4 million people and holding about $48 billion in stock.
This includes mostly small and medium-sized businesses and stock market companies. Participating workers receive an ownership stake, at no cost, enabling them to share in their employer’s success and build significant wealth.
The new, four-year collaboration between the NJ/NYCEO and PaCEO will address this gap through education, outreach, and the deployment of The Baker Project‘s new AI-based assessment tool, which helps business owners decide if an ESOP is right for them.
