# EP344 Canada's Largest Employee Ownership Trust (Inside Taproot's Transition from ESOP to EOT)

Page: https://stenobird.com/podcast/the-cash-rich-exit-podcast-12661/ep344-canada-s-largest-employee-ownership-trust-inside-taproot-s-transition-from-esop-to-eot
Text version: https://stenobird.com/podcast/the-cash-rich-exit-podcast-12661/ep344-canada-s-largest-employee-ownership-trust-inside-taproot-s-transition-from-esop-to-eot.md
Podcast: [The Cash Rich Exit Podcast](https://stenobird.com/podcast/the-cash-rich-exit-podcast-12661)
Published: 2026-04-07T12:00:00+00:00
Episode link: https://iamamillionairesonowwhat.libsyn.com/ep344-canadas-largest-employee-ownership-trust-inside-taproots-transition-from-esop-to-eot
Audio file: https://traffic.libsyn.com/secure/iamamillionairesonowwhat/344_-_Mike_Fotheringham_and_Robert_MacDougall_TAPROOT_EOT.mp3?dest-id=708100
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JSON: https://stenobird.com/v1/public/podcasts/the-cash-rich-exit-podcast-12661/episodes/ep344-canada-s-largest-employee-ownership-trust-inside-taproot-s-transition-from-esop-to-eot
Duration seconds: 1893

## Resource

What happens when a company that is already employee-owned realizes its ownership model is not built for the next chapter? In this episode, host Colleen O'Connell-Campbell sits down with Michael (Mike) Fotheringham, CEO of Taproot, and Robert MacDougall, Board Trustee. Taproot is a 42-year-old national social enterprise with 775 employees and over $65 million in annual revenue. They unpack how and why the organization became Canada's largest Employee Ownership Trust (EOT). Taproot's journey runs from its founding by a laid-off public servant in British Columbia, through a management buyout that created an ESOP with seven shareholders, to the realization that the next succession needed a cleaner, broader, and more scalable structure. Mike and Robert walk through the real story: how a LinkedIn podcast discovery sparked the conversation, why the EOT legislation provided a template that other structures could not, what governance looks like four months into the new model, and why transparency with employees started years before the transaction - not after. Key Takeaways: Taproot was founded 42 years ago by Bill Stelmachek, a former British Columbia public servant, and operates in two domains: children and youth services (including group homes) and direct support for adults with diverse abilities, across BC, Alberta, and Northern Ontario. When Bill decided to exit 18 years ago, he had interest from U.S. private equity and real estate buyers, but chose to sell to employees. Seven employees purchased the company and paid him out over several years, forming an ESOP. That ownership group grew to 30 shareholders over time. The succession challenge resurfaced as major shareholders began approaching retirement. The board explored multiple options - another management buyout, priva…

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## Transcript

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