Employee ownership continues to gain attention as companies search for sustainable ways to grow while protecting their people, culture, and long-term legacy. HB Global, LLC has emerged as a strong example of how this model can create value far beyond financial outcomes. Under the leadership of CEO Bob Whalen, the organization has embraced employee ownership as a way to strengthen its workforce, protect its heritage, and reinforce its commitment to the communities it serves.
The company operates under an Employee Stock Ownership Plan (ESOP), a structure that allows employees to share in the value created by the business. For HB Global, the model reflects a broader philosophy: an increased sense of partnership is created when the labor that drives the business shares in the ownership of the company.
A Legacy More Than a Century in the Making
HB Global traces its roots back to 1914 with the founding of HB McClure Company in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania. The company built its reputation over generations by delivering mechanical services and contracting expertise while maintaining deep relationships within the communities it served.
As the organization expanded through three generations of McClure family ownership, leadership faced an important question: how to transition the business to the next non-family owner, while protecting the legacy that had defined it for almost a century. Transitioning to an employee-owned structure offered a solution that balanced continuity with future opportunity.
By adopting an ESOP structure, HB Global ensured that ownership would remain closely tied to the people responsible for building and operating the business. The transition preserved the organization’s values and culture while positioning it for continued growth across multiple markets.
A Model That Supports Employees
Employee ownership creates opportunities that extend beyond traditional compensation structures. Through an ESOP, employees gain the ability to accumulate company stock over time, allowing them to participate directly in the value they help generate.
This structure fosters a deeper sense of connection between employees and the company’s long-term success. When employees hold a stake in the organization, day-to-day work becomes part of a larger mission focused on sustainability, growth, and shared success.
HB Global’s leadership views this partnership as an essential component of the company’s culture. The approach recognizes that the contributions of employees play a critical role in shaping the organization’s future.
Strengthening Communities Through Ownership
Employee ownership also creates meaningful benefits beyond the workplace. Companies structured around ESOP models often maintain strong connections to the communities where employees live and work.
HB Global’s operations span several major cities including Harrisburg, Philadelphia, Boston, Charlotte, Atlanta, Rochester, and Salt Lake City. In each of these markets, the company contributes to regional economic health through job creation, partnerships with local contractors and suppliers, and ongoing investment in community relationships.
Because employee owners frequently live in the same communities where the company operates, the organization’s success becomes closely tied to the prosperity of those regions. This dynamic reinforces the role that employee ownership can play in strengthening local economies.
A Culture of Shared Responsibility
The ESOP structure reinforces the idea that business success is a collective effort. Within HB Global, the model supports a culture where employees take pride in their work and recognize the direct impact their efforts have on the organization’s performance.
When employees share in ownership, collaboration and accountability naturally become part of the company’s daily operations. Teams develop a stronger sense of purpose, and decision-making often reflects a longer-term perspective focused on stability and growth.
This approach encourages employees to view their roles not simply as positions within a company, but as contributions to an enterprise they help own and shape.
Building Long-Term Value
While employee ownership provides financial resources for retirement through the value of company stock received over the course of an employee’s career, its benefits extend well beyond those outcomes. The structure creates alignment between leadership and employees, supporting decisions that prioritize long-term success over short-term gains.
For HB Global, this alignment helps guide strategic growth while maintaining the company’s foundational values. By ensuring employees share in the value created by the business, the organization reinforces a culture centered on responsibility, opportunity, and partnership.
A Future Built on Partnership
As employee ownership continues to gain traction across industries, HB Global’s experience highlights how the model can support both business growth and community impact. By aligning the interests of employees with the future of the company, the organization has created a framework designed for sustainability and shared success.
The philosophy behind the company’s ESOP structure reflects a belief that the people who do the work should be able to share in the value that they helped create. Strong businesses are built through partnership resulting from those who drive daily operations sharing ownership in the company.
For HB Global, employee ownership represents more than a business structure. It represents a commitment to people, community, and legacy.
About Bob Whalen
Bob Whalen serves as CEO of HB Global, LLC, and is the author of the book Beyond Your Ownership. Before joining the organization, he worked in a variety of roles within the employee benefits industry. In 1997, he founded an employee benefits consulting business that was later acquired by Mercer in 2002, where he continued in leadership roles for five years.
Whalen joined the HB Global family in 2009 as the first non-family CEO of its legacy organization, HB McClure Company in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania. Since then, the company has grown into an employee-owned holding company supporting commercial and residential mechanical service and contracting businesses, along with infrastructure and real estate operations across multiple U.S. markets.
HB Global’s operations include locations in Harrisburg, Philadelphia, Boston, Bellview, Charlotte, Atlanta, Tamarac, Rochester, and Salt Lake City.
More information:
https://hb-global.com/
https://www.linkedin.com/in/bob-whalen-4023a21b/
