ESOP Story
Thoits Insurance Service, Inc. was founded in 1891 by the Thoits family in Palo Alto. Recognizing an insurance brokerage is first about people – their commitment, expertise, and caring for clients – in 1975 Thoits became 100% employee owned.
Thoits quickly recruited a dynamic Stanford MBA to lead its growth and a caring group of expert technicians to support him and its other brokers. Today, as then, every employee owner cares for every client as if they were their own, as indeed they are. From clerk to CEO, all Thoits employees are owners.
Today, Thoits has 83 employees and annual revenue of over $15 million. Growth has primarily been organic which has helped develop its ownership culture.
In a recent interview, Human Resources director Karen Aasen said, "We attribute our success and reputation to our ownership culture. Our ESOP culture has evolved over the years to the point that it is enmeshed in everything we do. From recruiting, to hiring, morale, loyalty and employee retention - there isn’t a single facet of our operations that isn’t part of the fabric of our ownership culture.”
For more information about ESOPs, please visit the ESOP Association website at www.esopassociation.org.