Invest in ownership culture.
If you want to go fast, go alone. If you want to go far, go together.
― African proverb
Executive Team
Marc Tognotti, PhD
Founder & President / Chairman of the Board
Marc has pursued his vision for improving democracy for four decades in academic, policy, business and non-profit arenas. An internationally-recognized expert in designing large-scale, multi-stakeholder action planning initiatives, his methods for engaging all stakeholders in discovering system-level solutions to complex problems are used by governments, business and non-profit organizations worldwide. Marc earned his Ph.D. at Stanford University, where he pursued a course of studies in American Literature and Modern Thought.
Nagaraj Srinivasa, CA
Board Member
Nagaraj is an entrepreneur, business leader, senior corporate due-diligence specialist and ESOP beneficiary with direct experience working in an employee-owned company. Nagaraj has extensive audit and operational experience, giving him a superior edge in performing corporate due diligence on ESOP candidates. He is an ESOP champion thanks to his personal experience of the transformational power of ESOPs. He gained his initial professional experience at Ernst & Young, India, and is a Chartered Accountant by training.
Anu Damodaran MPR, PHR
Board Member
A Human Resources specialist, Anu has extensive direct experience working in a senior management capacity at a minority-owned ESOP company. She specializes in leadership and organization development in employee-owned companies. Her direct enjoyment of ESOP financial, career and personal-development benefits have enabled Anu to transition to self-employment. She is a tremendous testament to the power of next-generation ESOPs and a living exemplar of why every successful company should adopt one.
Chetana Johnson, BSc
Board Member
As Director at Infinity Point, Chetana is focused on reaching out to select Impact Investors in her extensive network, along with providing leadership and education to support NextGen worker ownership. Chetana brings over a decade of experience in management and communications at Cedars-Sinai Medical Care Foundation to her work with Infinity Point partner foundations, patrons and institutions. She aspires to serve as a Board member in newly- created, employee-owned companies.
Advisory & Advocacy
Reagan Jones
Advocacy Director
As a strategic business leader for over 20 years, Reagan is inspired by the historical track record and transformative potential of next-generation worker-ownership. She is selectively championing the value and possibilities to her extensive network of business leaders and patrons. Reagan sees the unique power of next-generation worker ownership to bring immediate and lasting benefits to workers, companies, legacy business owners, local communities and regional economies. She knows that worker-owned companies outperform others, due to the deep alignment between employee-owners and company mission, goals and values.
Bimmy Dhanapala
Advocacy Director
Bimmy is a seasoned Entrepreneur and Financial Strategist. Twenty years ago, as Chief Financial Officer, Bimmy led the transformation of a successful US engineering firm into an even more successful worker-owned enterprise. He witnessed first-hand how ownership culture drives employee engagement, efficiency, productivity, and value to unforeseen levels. Ever since, he has consulted to and advocated for worker-owned companies.
Nilesh Patel, CFA
Advocacy Director
Nilesh has worked at mutual funds, pension funds, hedge funds, investment banking, multi-family offices to advance social responsibility through public and private impact investments, for over 15 years. Nilesh desires to continue to assist small business owners and their employees in empowering themselves and their communities to create a stronger, more resilient economies for everyone.
Stephanos Papadopoulos, CGMA, CPA
Advocacy Director
Stephanos is well rounded and an exceptional business leader who has worked internationally in many C-Suite positions in strategy, finance and operations. He now serves as a Business & Leadership Coach to Founders, Entrepreneurs, Business Owners and C-Level Executives, around the globe.
Michael Harden CPA, CFA
Advocacy Director
Michael is a senior managing director at Ambrose Advisors, a firm that has successfully assisted over 500 companies in implementing Employee Stock Ownership Trusts. Michael leads Ambrose’s Investment Banking division and has more than 25 years of experience in ESOP buyouts, mergers, acquisitions, ESOP finance and valuations.
Tony Mathews
Advocacy Director
As Director, now retired, Tony grew The Beyster Institute at the Rady School of Management, U.C. San Diego, to its current stature as the leading research institution in America dedicated to worker ownership and entrepreneurship. When he joined Beyster, Tony was already one of the best-known authorities on worker-ownership in the world, having accumulated over 30 years of experience representing some of the most respected consulting firms in the country in the formation of employee stock-ownership trusts. Tony has helped hundreds of companies to implement ESOPs, creating several billions of dollars in wealth for U.S. workers.