This Employee Ownership Trust Case Study highlights how four partners at KCI, a Canadian philanthropy and talent consulting firm, moved away from a cycle of partner buy-ins and put a permanent, values-aligned ownership structure in place—achieving fair market value and an optimal tax outcome along the way.
Client Overview
KCI is Canada’s leading consultant to the non-profit sector, with professionals across the country working in fundraising, strategy, research and analytics, and executive search. With over 40 years experience, the firm has helped thousands of organizations in the education, health, social service, arts and culture, and religious sectors build their teams, craft their strategies, and raise billions of dollars toward stronger communities and improved lives.
Challenge
Employee ownership appealed to the four partners because it reflected how KCI already worked. Having previously gone through more than one iteration of partners buying into the business, this was not a matter of any partner looking to step away. Instead, the partners wanted to:
- Put a lasting ownership structure in place, rather than repeat the buy-in process again in the future
- Share the firm’s success with all employees, not only a small ownership group
- Protect KCI’s culture and jobs over the long term
An Employee Ownership Trust (EOT) offered a way to meet all three: ownership held on behalf of every employee, permanently, rather than tied to a rotating group of individual partners.
How Ownership Design Group Helped
We provided end-to-end EOT transition support, including:
- Designing a customized Employee Ownership Trust structure for KCI
- Coordinating legal, tax, and accounting advisors throughout the transition
- Delivering clear employee education on the trust structure and what it would mean in practice
The EOT acquired 80% of the company, with each of the four partners retaining a 5% stake—partners cannot themselves be beneficiaries of the trust. This kept the partners invested in KCI’s continued success, while placing the substantial majority of ownership with the trust, on behalf of all employees.
As KCI puts it, employee ownership is more than a structure—it is an extension of how the firm works, and shared ownership is the firm’s own answer to what comes next.
Outcomes
The transition launched in March 2026, making KCI the first EOT in Canada within its industry and one of the early companies in the country helping define what broad-based employee ownership can look like.
As a result, the partners were able to:
- Put a permanent ownership structure in place
- Retain their leadership roles within the company, ensuring continuity for clients and staff
- Receive fair market value for the business
- Achieve an optimal tax outcome on the sale
For the business, ownership and decision-making now sit inside the organization for good, shaped by the people most committed to KCI’s purpose, its clients, and the sector it serves.
Testimonial
“Canadian employee ownership has long been at the core of KCI. With Canada’s new EOT framework, we saw an opportunity to extend ownership across our firm while preserving our independence, values, and long-term commitment to our non-profit sector clients. Ownership Design Group was an essential advisor throughout our EOT transition, supporting us in design, implementation, training, and ongoing trustee advisory work. Their deep EOT expertise helped us navigate this new ownership structure with confidence and clarity, while their excellent project management kept the process organized, focused, and moving forward. We would confidently recommend Ownership Design Group to other organizations exploring employee ownership!”
– Paul Koreen, COO
