eoa Conference panel

A month ago today I was sat on a stage in Telford, sharing EO stories alongside Hayley Russel, Stephen Spence and our host Arabella Lewis-Smith. The first day of the eoa conference had been a whirlwind, I was still trying to process everything that happened, particularly the unexpected, while attempting to say something coherent and of value to the packed room of people who had picked our session on internal communications.

While the contracted AV team moved around taking photos of us from the crowd I felt a need to take a photo of the audience.

Two and a bit years ago I was sat on a bar stool, at the Harrington Club in Bath. Mark Masters and Catherine Adams had given me a slot at You Are The Media Lunch Club to talk about Grapevine’s recent transition to an Employee Ownership Trust – thank you both for that opportunity. There wasn’t a lot to tell at this stage and I probably didn’t do the best job of explaining what an EOT was, why we’d become one, and what this meant for our business, other than it being a positive.

In the thirty months since then, I haven’t stopped talking about employee ownership, the concept itself and our adventure to date, to other EO businesses, non-EO businesses, folks who’ve never heard of EO ( / folks who have never heard of us), friends and family, anyone I’ve met and anyone who would listen. Guest talks, panels, magazines, podcasts.. it’s all been an experience I never expected lay ahead as we emerged from the pandemic era in the early 2020s.

I’d actually booked to attend this session at the conference before being asked to be part of the panel – thank you Bella for this opportunity. This wasn’t lost on me as room full of faces, also tired from the celebrations the night before looked towards the stage. What were they hoping to hear? What I was I hoping to hear when I booked?

Just like any occasion you’re in this position, with an audience, you can do your best to play the part and hope you land your attempt to sound clever, or you can just give the true account. You don’t have all the answers, in an hours time you become the audience again, all you have is what you’ve experienced and that’s what you should share.

So have I got better at talking about employee-ownership, or do I just have more stories to tell?

I’m looking forward to picking up where I’m leaving off today in January, with a few more EO storytelling opportunities already in the calendar and hopefully many more chances to be the audience. I’ll be actively encouraging my fellow Co-owners and EO friends to share their stories and perspectives in 2026.