John Abrams
John Abrams is a principal with Abrams + Angell, a consulting practice focused on triple-bottom-line business practice and worker co-op conversions. He is co-founder and President Emeritus of South Mountain Company, an employee-owned integrated architecture, building, and solar energy company. In 2005, Business Ethics Magazine awarded South Mountain its National Award for Workplace Democracy and in 2008 the company became an early B-Corp.
South Mountain designs and builds zero energy buildings, deep energy retrofits, high performance neighborhoods of affordable housing, and a wide range of renewable energy installations.
In the 50 years since SMC’s founding, John has had many roles in business, his local community, green building, and affordable housing advocacy. He challenges conventional business concepts: that bigger is better, that profits come first, and that location is incidental.
The narratives found in his resonant memoir, The Company We Keep, demonstrate that one can bring high values to the workplace, promote ecological restoration, uphold high standards of craftsmanship, control growth, and still run a successful (and highly collaborative) company. A second edition of the book, Companies We Keep, was published in 2008 with a broader focus on employee ownership.
He is currently working with Berrett-Koehler Publishing on a book titled Founder to Future: New Strategies for Impact, Equity, and Succession.
He blogs at https://abramsangell.com/blog.
Contact John Abrams for speaking terms and dates.