The Ownership Advantage: How One Firm Is Solving Manufacturing’s Talent Crisis

CHICAGO, IL – July 28, 2026 – When a company consistently produces award-winning leaders, it’s easy to focus on the individuals. This week, Charter Next Generation (CNG), a North American leader in specialty films, announced that two more of its leaders, Operations Manager Beth Miller and Corporate Training Manager Jamie Justice, were named to Plastics News’ 2026 ‘Women Breaking the Mold’ list. This marks nearly 20 such honors for the company’s female leaders in just five years.

While the individual achievements of Miller and Justice are significant, the real story lies beyond the headlines of the award. Their recognition is not a series of fortunate coincidences but a direct outcome of a deliberate and powerful corporate strategy. CNG is demonstrating that in an industry grappling with a severe talent shortage and a persistent gender gap, the most potent innovation may not be a new material or machine, but a new model of culture: broad-based employee ownership. By turning its 2,600 employees into owners, the company has created a flywheel of empowerment, accountability, and growth that is systematically cultivating the very leaders the manufacturing sector desperately needs.

Architects of a Thriving Culture

The roles of the latest honorees, Beth Miller and Jamie Justice, provide a clear window into how CNG’s philosophy translates into practice. Their work represents two critical pillars of a sustainable business: operational excellence and human capital development.

Beth Miller, as an Operations Manager, is on the front lines of manufacturing. Her success, as highlighted by the company, stems from her ability to build strong processes and set clear expectations while fostering an environment of support. This blend of accountability and genuine care is the bedrock of a high-performing workplace. According to company leadership, her approach proves that world-class manufacturing is built not just through flawless execution, but through the people who make it possible. She isn’t just managing a facility; she is cultivating an ecosystem where employees feel confident to deliver results and grow into leaders themselves.

Complementing this on-the-ground leadership is Jamie Justice, the Corporate Training Manager. Her focus is on the architecture of employee growth. By strengthening onboarding, retention programs, and leadership development pathways, Justice ensures that the company’s commitment to its people is not just a slogan but a structured, actionable process. She builds the systems that allow an employee to see a long-term future with the company, transforming a job into a career. Her work creates the institutional framework that empowers employee-owners to take charge of their own success.

“Beth and Jamie exemplify what employee ownership looks like at CNG,” said Lisa Alteri, Chief Operating Officer at Charter Next Generation, in the company’s official announcement. “Their extraordinary accomplishments reflect the culture we're building at CNG, where leaders invest in people, foster accountability, and create opportunities for others to grow and succeed.”

The Employee-Owner Flywheel

The foundation for these individual successes is CNG’s commitment to its Employee Stock Ownership Plan (ESOP), launched in 2021. Every employee, from their first day, becomes an owner with equity shares provided at no cost. This is a fundamental shift from the traditional corporate structure. When employees are owners, their mindset shifts from executing tasks to driving value. This alignment of interests—where the company’s success is directly shared by every individual—unleashes a powerful force of engagement and innovation.

This is not merely a theoretical benefit. At CNG, the ownership mindset has produced tangible results. In one now-famous internal example, an employee-owner used 3D printing to create a necessary machine part for just $1.76, saving the company the $2,210 and lengthy lead time required to purchase it externally. This small act of ingenuity, multiplied across a workforce of 2,600, becomes a formidable competitive advantage. It fosters a culture where employees are not just empowered but incentivized to solve problems, improve processes, and innovate.

External validation confirms the model’s efficacy. In 2026, CNG earned the prestigious Great Place To Work® Certification™, an award based entirely on employee feedback. According to the certification data, 70% of CNG employees say it’s a great place to work, significantly higher than the 57% average for a typical U.S.-based company. This distinction, coupled with a recent feature in the Harvard Business Review praising its forward-thinking ownership model, cements CNG's status as a benchmark for corporate culture.

A Blueprint for an Industry in Flux

CNG’s story offers a compelling blueprint for the broader manufacturing industry, which faces a dual crisis: a looming talent shortage estimated at 2 million workers over the next decade and a stark lack of diversity. Women make up nearly half of the total U.S. workforce but represent only about 30% of manufacturing employees, with representation in leadership roles being even lower. This is not just an equity issue; it is an economic one. Studies from Deloitte and The Manufacturing Institute consistently show that diverse teams lead to better decision-making, increased innovation, and higher profitability.

By systematically developing and promoting female leaders, CNG is not only strengthening its own organization but also demonstrating how to solve the industry’s people problem. The company’s success in attracting, retaining, and advancing women is directly tied to its ownership culture. An environment that offers a tangible stake in the company’s success, clear pathways for advancement, and visible role models like Miller, Justice, and the many honorees before them is a powerful magnet for top talent.

The consistent recognition from programs like ‘Women Breaking the Mold’ is a testament to the fact that CNG’s approach is working. It shows that when a company genuinely invests in its people and provides them with the tools and incentives to lead, it can break down long-standing industry barriers. The success of its female leaders is proof that talent, when given opportunity and ownership, will always rise to the occasion, driving not just cultural progress but sustainable economic performance.