NewsVGM Group Joins NCEO’s 2025 List Of 100 Largest Majority Employee-Owned Companies

The National Center for Employee Ownership (NCEO) recently announced that VGM Group now ranks as the 97th largest majority employee-owned company on its 2025 Employee Ownership 100 list. This marks the first time VGM Group has secured a place on the list.

NCEO is a nonprofit research and membership organization supporting the employee ownership community since 1981. Each year, its Employee Ownership 100 list ranks the largest companies in the U.S. that are majority employee-owned through an employee stock ownership plan (ESOP) or worker cooperative. To be on the list, companies must be at least 50% employee-owned; most on the list are 100%. Collectively, these broad-based plans cover over 655,000 people.

“There’s no secret surrounding the key to VGM Group’s success: It’s 100% employee ownership,” said VGM Group CEO Jeremy Stolz. “You treat something differently when you own it. All of us as employee owners have a vested interest in seeing our company succeed. We all have the opportunity to make a meaningful impact every single day. And it’s an honor to see that work and dedication to growing our company recognized.”

Today, VGM is over five times the size it was in 2008 when it became 100% employee owned. And while it is headquartered in Waterloo, Iowa, it now has five other offices and four distribution centers across the company. Currently, between its in-office and remote workers, VGM consists of approximately 1,600 employee owners located in 41 states, as well as Canada, with more growth expected in the future.

“Ranking on the NCEO Employee Ownership 100 list is an incredible accomplishment for our employee owners,” said VGM Group Chief People Officer Sara Laures. “Our people are our company. And I’m excited to see what we can achieve in the future. We’re all owners, and that means we get to make our place of work more than just a place to work.”

VGM Group has received several designations this year and in years past, all of which it attributes to 100% employee ownership. These include recognition as an Iowa Top Workplace, a Cedar Valley Employer of Choice, and Best Place for Working Parents.

To learn more about VGM Group, its employee ownership culture, and the industries it serves, visit vgmgroup.com.

About VGM Group

Headquartered in Waterloo, Iowa, VGM is a 100% employee-owned company providing business and professional services to thousands of business customers across North America. Services include group purchasing, commercial insurance, management of healthcare services and networks in post-acute cases, healthcare distribution direct to patient homes, specialty consulting, online education, digital, print, and traditional marketing and more. VGM employs approximately 1,600 people across 41 states and Canada, with more than 1,100 working in Iowa. VGM has been named the Top Workplace in Iowa on multiple occasions and is proud of its role in the communities in which it serves. For more information, visit www.vgmgroup.com.  

About the NCEO

The National Center for Employee Ownership (“NCEO”) is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization that has been supporting the employee ownership community since 1981. Its mission is to help employee ownership thrive. The NCEO helps its thousands of members make smart decisions about employee ownership with everything from reliable information on technical issues to inspiration to help companies reach the full potential of employee ownership. In addition, the NCEO generates original research, facilitates the exchange of best practices at its live and online events, features the best and most current writing by experts in its publications, and helps employee ownership companies build ownership cultures where employees think and act like owners. For more information, visit nceo.org.