From a one-person office in 1995 to a thriving team of 200+ in 2025, every client, project, and employee-owner has played a pivotal role in shaping Alliant’s success.

To celebrate this journey, we’re taking a closer look at some of our milestone projects that brought us here. Join us for our blog series, “The First Thirty Years: Clients, Projects, Employee-Owners,” where we will highlight our biggest accomplishments and the people behind them.

Becoming an ESOP

A conversation with John Dillingham (Founder and CEO), John Gronhovd (Senior Landscape Architect, Education Lead of Employee Ownership Team), Sean O’Brien (President, Co-Chair of Employee Ownership Team), and Beth Winter (Senior Marketing Content Specialist, Co-Chair of Employee Ownership Team).

 

The Opportunity

In 2017, Alliant took a bold step toward shaping our future: we began laying the groundwork to become an Employee Stock Ownership Plan (ESOP) company. The move aligned perfectly with the values that had already defined Alliant and the long-term legacy we envisioned for the firm. Since then, much has changed, but one thing remains constant: our unwavering commitment to our clients, partners, and employee-owners. This is the story of how ownership became part of who we are — and why it matters.

The Story

John: Becoming an ESOP is a huge part of our story. To give some background, in 2014 two of our original shareholders, Bob Green and Dennis Olmstead, told me they wanted to retire by December 2019. That gave us five years to start thinking seriously about succession planning. We started looking at our options: sell internally to leaders, sell to a larger company, sell to a private equity firm, or become employee-owned. We always knew we wanted to continue to run our own company and keep our culture strong. ESOPs provide an opportunity to do that and preserve company values. So, in 2017, we officially made the decision and brought in the partners and teams needed to start the process. It was a busy time; our Minneapolis team had just moved into the Baker Center, so we didn’t announce it until we were 100% ready, which was in 2019. We held a special employee meeting to share the news.

Gronhovd: I was at that meeting, and it was exciting. But my first question was, “What’s the catch? How does this work?”

Sean: I’ve worked in ESOPs my whole career. But for many employees, this was brand new. Education was important — not just about the financial side, like how shares work, how the company is valued, and what that means for you — but also about the cultural side. When a company is employee-owned, everyone has a financial stake. That changes how we think and work. We wanted to create a culture that reflects that sense of ownership.

Gronhovd: I’m not an engineer, but as a landscape architect, my role often involves making numbers and concepts clear to people. ESOP is a long-term investment. You need employees to stay excited and understand what they’re building over time. Our goal is that within the first two to three years, every new employee understands how vesting works, what their shares are worth, and how the value grows. Early on, it’s just a seed, but over time, it becomes something meaningful. That’s exciting, not just for personal wealth creation, but for working at a company that values excellence for employees and clients.

Beth: Yes, you want people to understand their investment quickly, but also to see how they have an impact. They help create the value and influence the share price.

Sean: ESOP means wealth creation for employees, greater stability, and higher engagement. For clients, that translates to better work. Engaged employees deliver better results, and growing firms can offer more services to make clients’ lives easier.

Gronhovd: When people feel they have control over their financial future, they’re happier. And as a client, you want to work with motivated, happy employees.

Beth: There’s financial value, but also cultural value. There’s a statistic that if you have just one friend at work, you’re 30% more likely to stay. What if you had two friends? Or more. That stability benefits the company and the share price. For me, it’s about creating a place where people feel excited to come to work, excited to see their coworkers. That creates value in the work itself. I want employees to feel seen, cared for, and valued.

Sean: One thing our events team does really well is creating spaces where people feel welcome and can easily make connections.

Beth: And when you know people better, collaboration becomes easier, which benefits our clients. If we’re working together seamlessly, the quality of our projects improves.

Sean: We also make decisions in ways that reflect employee ownership. For example, last year we were discussing changes to benefits. Instead of deciding in a boardroom, Eric Nelson suggested we ask employees directly. So, we convened focus groups — employees at different stages of their careers, from different offices — and asked what they wanted. That’s what being employee-owned means: every voice matters.

Beth: I love that. It also keeps the entrepreneurial spirit that Alliant is known for alive. I know I can bring an idea, like (our STEM initiative) Trailblazers, to the board, and they’ll listen. Now it’s been running for four years. Nicole Wilson had the same experience with Adopt-a-Highway, which was an idea she had while driving to work that turned into a 12-year tradition.

John: The leaders of this employee-owned company are accessible.

Sean: ESOP sets the tone for collaboration. Great ideas can come from anywhere, and when they do, everyone benefits as owners. If an idea is valuable for clients, we listen, and you share in that success.

Gronhovd: For me, it’s about alignment. In a publicly traded company, shareholders often want quick returns, which can lead to short-term decisions. Here, employees are the shareholders. We share the same long-term goals.

Beth: Our mission is to build better communities. ESOP does that inside our walls and beyond. It creates a workplace where people thrive, and that’s why people want to work here. Our Employee Ownership Team cares deeply about helping owners understand the benefits. And we want to keep creating weird events and great opportunities that make Alliant a great place to work.

John: With Sean leading the way, we’ve built a transition team ready to guide Alliant into its next chapter. The future looks bright — over the next five years, we expect significant growth in size, revenue, and profitability. That growth means more employee-owners and steadily increasing share values, creating security and opportunity for everyone. We’ve always believed in the decision to become an ESOP, but when I attend employee events and see families together… it makes me proud because that’s who we built it for.

Thank you for joining us as we celebrate the milestones that brought us here. We’re excited to have you with us as we continue to achieve more together!