MANCHESTER, N.H.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Earlier this week, Howard Brodsky, Co-Founder, Chairman and Co-CEO of CCA Global Partners, Inc. made history by winning the International Rochdale Pioneers Award during the biennial International Cooperative Alliance (ICA) Global Cooperative Conference, an event gathering delegations from over 106 countries in Kigali, Rwanda, to celebrate cooperatives vital contribution to the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals.
60 days after the most powerful chief executives at the Business Roundtable in the United States called for corporations to balance the needs of shareholders with customers, employees, and their communities, Howard Brodsky is being globally recognized for visionary leadership in doing exactly that. Recognized as the "Nobel Prize of Cooperative Business,” the Rochdale Award is given out every two years to an individual who has made the greatest impact across the world through the innovations of shared ownership, specifically through the cooperative business model that anchors value with members, employees, customers, and their communities. Cooperatives represent over 12% of the global population and employ 20% more people than international corporations. In its history, the ICA has recognized only 16 individuals with Rochdale Awards for their commitment to cooperatives around the world. Previous winners include Sweden’s Hans Dahlberg, Vice President Telia Company, Spain’s Dr. Jose Carlos Guisado, President of the International Health Co-operatives Organisation, IHCO,, Dr. Ivano Bertini, Professor of Chemistry Magnetic Resonance Center and Department of Chemistry at the University of Florence, Kenya’s Esther Gicheru, Deputy Vice Chancellor Finance, Planning and Administration of The Co-operative University of Kenya, and Lee Hong-Koo, former Korean academic, politician, and think tank leader who served as a former Prime Minister of the Republic of Korea.
“Throughout my career, I have felt that businesses should be more than profit centers. While profit is important, it is equally, if not more important that businesses be a force for good. The cooperative business model epitomizes capitalism with a conscience. A more inclusive future is in our grasp. Shared ownership advances shared opportunity, shared wealth, and ultimately shared hope,” said Brodsky, “I am honored and humbled for this recognition.”
This recognition highlights Brodsky’s career of innovation by re-envisioning conventional business through shared ownership. Dedicated to what he calls the contemporary cooperative business model, he has fundamentally transformed family businesses in the United States in an array of industries by structuring the companies as cooperatives – where putting people first, not profit, and leading with values is the task of everyday.
“As a visionary leader and entrepreneur himself, Howard has a passion for invention. He does not simply talk about the future – he leads through his actions,” says Trebor Scholz, Director of the Platform Cooperative Consortium and Associate Professor for Culture & Media at The New School, “Howard is a rare leader that combines vision, innovation, gumption, and connectivity in all aspects of his work.”
Brodsky Co-Founded CCA Global in Manchester, NH in 1984, bringing scale to entrepreneurial family businesses by creating an international enterprise of 15 unique cooperative businesses in multiple sectors of the economy from home furnishings, business services, sports retail stores, to childcare, nonprofits and more. Together, they serve 1 million small businesses in four countries and 20,000 childcare centers across America.
Beyond his innovations domestically, Brodsky has emerged as a leader in the global cooperative movement, founding Cooperatives for a Better World (CFBW), a not-for-profit dedicated to sharing the benefits of shared ownership and the cooperative business model. CFBW has partnered with cooperatives in 14 countries, reaching over a quarter of the world population.
About CCA Global Partners, Inc.
CCA Global Partners is a privately held cooperative base in the United States with member businesses throughout the U.S. and Canada, and in Australia and New Zealand. Since 1984, CCA Global has partnered with entrepreneurial business people to create a cooperative powerhouse unmatched in the marketplace. Across North America, more than 2,800 retail locations, 20,000 childcare centers, and 1 million small businesses benefit from CCA Global’s leadership through its 14 different businesses – Carpet One Floor & Home®, ProSource®, Flooring America® and Flooring Canada®, FEI Group®, The Floor Trader®, International Design Guild®, Lighting One®, savings4membersTM, The Bike Cooperative®, CCA Sports Retail ServicesTM, CCA for Social GoodTM, Innovia Co-opTM, Lionsbridge Contractor GroupTM, and DriveTM.
