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New Belgium Brewing Now Completely Employee Owned

M. Doxtad
/
Wikimedia Commons

The maker of Fat Tire beer in Fort Collins is taking its employee ownership program to the next level. 

Earlier this week, New Belgium Brewing went from being 43 percent employee owned to 100 percent. CEO and co-founder Kim Jordan says drinkers of New Belgium’s products shouldn’t notice any change. But employees who work for the company might feel a difference.

“I already hear a lot of people say, ‘You come to New Belgium and you get this feeling that people love being here.’ And if this has any perceptible difference it’s that people will feel that way even more,” she said.

Jordan said she will remain CEO, and the company’s management team will remain in place. She adds that the shift opens up a new chapter for the company that prides itself on “high involvement culture,” which incorporates principles of open book management and sustainability.

Jordan says employee ownership could be a strategy other craft brewers consider as they navigate through an increasingly consolidated industry.

The change impacts more than 450 employees.

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