The founders of Voys choose steward ownership and donate the company to itself

This article was distributed as a press release

Communications provider Voys is opting for a new form of ownership: steward ownership. Through this, founders Mark Vletter and Ben Hoetmer are donating the company to itself. This way, the mission of Voys becomes future proof and the self-managing character of the company is strengthened.

Putting the mission first

Different from a traditional shareholder structure, steward ownership separates control and financial interests. This allows Voys to put the mission first, and make profit subservient to that mission: to drive positive change in the world, both with the product Voys provides and with its way of collaborating. “Going public or selling the company is the logical step for many organizations, but that is not what we do”, says Ben Hoetmer. “To us, the mission of Voys is always the most important, and this is the way we protect it.”

From owner to colleague

In choosing steward ownership, Mark and Ben renounce their ownership. The founders continue working at Voys as colleagues. Mark Vletter explains: “I was an owner on paper, but in my heart I have always been a colleague.” As of now, the company’s share ownership is in the hands of a number of foundations, which manage control and financial interests.

Voys operates self-managed. That means that colleagues share responsibility and leadership equally. With steward ownership, ownership is now also shared. “What self-management does for our way of working together, steward ownership does to the ownership of the business,” Vletter explains.

Challenging process

Steward ownership is not common in the Netherlands, meaning that there is no ready-made legal form for it yet. That is why it was a challenging process, according to project leader Pollien van Keulen: “All in all, it took a year. I took our mission and the wishes of founders Mark and Ben as a starting point, and from there we began to build a structure appropriate for us together with We are Stewards.” This organization is committed to putting steward ownership on the map in the Netherlands. In addition, Voys enlisted the help of notary firm NP, tax consultants Pereira, and law firm Benvalor.