Stake & Soul

Introduction

About the Podcast

Employee ownership is about far more than shares and structures. It’s about purpose, culture, legacy and building businesses where people have a genuine stake in success.

In Stake & Soul, Barry Horner, speaks with founders, CEOs, employee owners, trustees and business leaders who are rethinking what ownership can look like. Through honest conversations and real-world stories, the series explores the opportunities, challenges and human side of employee ownership, from succession and governance to culture, engagement and long-term impact.

Whether you’re considering an Employee Ownership Trust, leading an EO business or keen to explore a more people-centred way of doing business, the Stake & Soul podcast offers insight, inspiration and practical lessons from those who have done it.

Topics we Explore:

Business legacy & resilience
Company culture
Creating lasting impact
Employee engagement
Employee Ownership Trusts
Founder succession
Governance
Leadership transition
Ownership mindset
Purpose-led leadership
Stakeholder capitalism

About the Host

Barry Horner Founder & Head of EO

Barry Horner is Founder and Head of EO at Paradigm Norton as well as a leading voice in the employee ownership movement.

Co-founding the firm in 2001 and becoming employee owned in 2019, Barry has long championed business as a force for good, helping organisations create lasting value for their people, clients and communities.

With extensive experience advising business owners and supporting organisations exploring employee ownership, Barry brings deep insight into the opportunities and challenges of building sustainable, people-centred businesses.

#15 Johnny Aisher: 40 Years Inside the John Lewis Partnership

In this episode of Stake & Soul, Barry speaks with Johnny Aisher, who spent 40 years at the John Lewis Partnership and retired on 31 March 2025, most recently as a director of the John Lewis Partnership Trust.

#14 Andrew Murphy: From 30 Years at John Lewis to Leading The Entertainer Through EO

In this episode of Stake & Soul, Barry speaks with Andrew Murphy, CEO of The Entertainer, the family-founded toy retailer that completed its 100 percent transition to an Employee Ownership Trust in September 2025. The move turned around 2,000 colleagues into employee owners, and Andrew is leading the business through what he describes as the early foothills of a long transformation.

#13 Gary Grant on Faith, Family and Handing The Entertainer to Its Staff

In this episode of Stake & Soul, Barry speaks with Gary Grant, the founder of The Entertainer, who together with his wife Catherine built one of Britain's most values-driven retail businesses from a single toy shop in Amersham in 1981 to over 160 stores, a Tesco-wide supply contract and a business turning over hundreds of millions a year.

#12 Liam Toms: How Grapevine Became Employee-Owned and Found Its Voice Again

In this episode of Stake & Soul, Barry speaks with Liam Toms, Communications and Engagement Manager at Grapevine, the Dorset-based managed IT and telecoms provider that transitioned to 100 percent employee ownership via an Employee Ownership Trust in March 2023.

#11 Alastair Sawday: How Sawday’s Built a Hybrid Employee-Owned, Charitable, Family Company

In this episode of Stake and Soul, Barry speaks with Alastair Sawday, founder of Sawday's, the Bristol-based travel publisher that began in 1994 as a scruffy file of addresses from his small group tour company and grew into one of Britain's most trusted authorities on special places to stay.

#10 Nick Parsons: How Parsons Bakery Handed a 100-Year-Old Family Business to Its 400 Staff

Barry chats with Nick Parsons, fourth generation leader of Parsons Bakery, the Bristol-based bakery that grew from a horse and cart in the 1910s into a 50-store, 400-strong business across the southwest.

#9 Karen Maguire: How Relinea Became Northern Ireland’s EOT Pioneer

Barry speaks with Karen Maguire, founder of Relinea, the Northern Ireland-based manufacturer supplying glass reinforced plastic (GRP) alternatives to the construction sector.

#8 David Sproxton: Why Aardman Turned Down a Buyout and Gave the Studio to Its People

In this episode of Stake and Soul, Barry speaks with David Sproxton, co-founder of Aardman Animations, the Bristol-based studio behind Wallace and Gromit, Shaun the Sheep, Morph, and Chicken Run.

#7 Sam Boustred on Industrial Democracy and Keeping the Soul of a 100-Year-Old Employee-Owned Business

In this episode of Stake and Soul, Barry speaks with Sam, Chair of the Global Members Board at Scott Bader, a global chemical company that became employee owned in 1951 and remains one of the oldest and most distinctive examples of common ownership in the world.

#6 Kirsty Dias on Employee Ownership, Purpose-Driven Design and Leading a Creative Studio Through Transition

In this episode of Stake and Soul, Barry speaks with Kirsty Dias, Managing Director of PriestmanGoode, one of the world's leading transport and passenger experience design studios, responsible for landmark projects including the New Tube for London and aircraft cabin interiors for major global airlines.

#5 Adam Arnold on Employee Ownership, Purpose-Driven Leadership and Building a Global Ethical Brand

In this episode of Stake and Soul, Barry speaks with Adam Arnold, CEO of GearForm, about leading a purpose-driven outdoor business through its transition to employee ownership.

#4 Simon Morton on Employee Ownership and Building a Business That Thrives Without You

Barry talks with Simon Morton about stepping away from Eyeful Presentations after nearly two decades and the real story behind his transition.

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