The Owner's Box @WashU Olin
Episodes
Tactic's from the Owner's Box: Sustaining a Mission-Driven Media Company
19 Feb 2026
Contributed by Lukas
The Washington Post just announced it was laying off 30% of its workforce. 300 newsroom journalists told to put down their pens, entire sections gutte...
Tactics from the Owner's Box: Sustaining a Mission-Driven Media Company
19 Feb 2026
Contributed by Lukas
The Washington Post just announced it was laying off 30% of its workforce. 300 newsroom journalists told to put down their pens, entire sections gutte...
Balancing Ambition in a Culinary Portfolio with Nina Compton
27 Jan 2026
Contributed by Lukas
Today we have an opportunity to chat with my friend, Chef Nina Compton, the owner of the acclaimed Compère Lapin in New Orleans. Nina's journey f...
S3: E4: New Growth from Deep Roots with Tad & Ben Edwards
23 Dec 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Today’s guests are a father-son duo who have been on a fascinating journey of growing up with the family business, exiting that chapter, and decidin...
Tactics from the Owner's Box: The Family Mission Statement
11 Dec 2025
Contributed by Lukas
In October, Juliet Chung of the Wall Street Journal wrote a piece titled "Wealthy Families Are Writing Mission Statements to Avoid Fights, Lost Fortun...
S3: E3: 4 Hands & Voltron - Balancing Creativity with Commercialization
25 Nov 2025
Contributed by Lukas
On today’s episode, we hear from the two St. Louis entrepreneurs who made this collaboration happen: Kevin Lemp, owner of 4 Hands Brewing Co., and B...
Tactics from the Owner's Box: Ownership Overhaul at OpenAI
06 Nov 2025
Contributed by Lukas
OpenAI's ownership redesign has the potential to shape how the technology on our screens and in our pockets affects our economy and our society. Can t...
S3: E2: Business as a Mechanism of Change with Hatch Africa's Dave Ellis.
24 Oct 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Straight out of college, today's guest wanted to make an impact on the African continent. For him, the best way to do this was through policy or the w...
Tactics from the Owner's Box: Control Beyond the Grave: Giorgio Armani and Ownership
30 Sep 2025
Contributed by Lukas
One week before his passing, Giorgio Armani sat down with the Financial Times to talk about control, something he knew a thing or two about. In this e...
S3: E1: Weathering the Storm: Small Businesses Need a Village
09 Sep 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Today's guest, Dilawar Syed, is a perfect person to kick off this season. I met Dilawar last year while working with the Brookings Institution, focusi...
S2: E7 The Tradeoffs in Scale with David Stine of David Stine Furniture
26 Jun 2025
Contributed by Lukas
In today’s episode, I talk to a craftsman who has explored the tradeoffs inherent in an over attentiveness to scale when developing a business – D...
Tactics from the Owner's Box: Lessons on Enterpreneurship with John McDonnell
12 Jun 2025
Contributed by Lukas
What does it take to be an entrepreneur? What is the skill set that separates the entrepreneur from the rest of us? Might there even be a personality ...
S2: E6: Employee Ownership in Private Equity Deals with Anna-Lisa Miller of Ownership Works
22 May 2025
Contributed by Lukas
In today’s episode, Peter Boumgarden sits down with Anna-Lisa Miller, Executive Director of Ownership Works. Her organization is built on a bold pre...
Tactics from the Owner's Box: From Side Hustle to Entrepreneur
08 May 2025
Contributed by Lukas
For some people, a gig is a short-term step to something different, something bigger, an unspoken plan still not yet disclosed in the space unknowing ...
Tactics from the Owner's Box: Entrepreneur as Orchestra Director
27 Mar 2025
Contributed by Lukas
To be a healthy leader means to step back... and let other voices or instruments rise to the top. Today's short “Tactics from the Owner’s Box” t...
S2: E5: Stewarding Potential with Katie Ford
13 Mar 2025
Contributed by Lukas
In today’s episode, we learn from Katie Ford all about how one company shaped the modeling business, and what that means for the person holding the ...
S2: E4: Quantifying Kindness with Daniel Lubetzky
13 Feb 2025
Contributed by Lukas
If you have a company that strives to be, in their own words, “Kind to one’s tastebuds, body, and the world” -- can you tease out when it pays t...
Tactics from the Owner's Box: Purpose and Profit
30 Jan 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Over the past few years, I've had the privilege of listening to, learning from, and working alongside an extraordinary group of private business owner...
S2: E3: Ownership and Invention with Jamie Siminoff
16 Jan 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Today’s episode, gets inside the mind of an inventor, and seeing how that work applies to community development in a small town in rural Missouri.
Tactics from the Owner's Box: Navigating the Complexity of Partnership
02 Jan 2025
Contributed by Lukas
In today's tactics from "The Owner's Box" -- we are going to revisit a few voices from Season 1 to learn how they approached partnership, and what it ...
S2: E2: Scooping for Success with Richard Graeter of Graeter's Ice Cream
19 Dec 2024
Contributed by Lukas
In 2021, the National Frozen & Refrigerated Foods Association and the American Frozen Food Institute inducted Richard Graeter into the 2021 Frozen Foo...
Tactics from the Owner's Box: A Cabin in the Woods
03 Dec 2024
Contributed by Lukas
A few weeks back, Peter Grant from the Wall Street Journal reached out with a question. How do families with real estate approach this investment diff...
S2:E1: Main Street's Tidal Wave of Ownership Transition
19 Nov 2024
Contributed by Lukas
In 2024, Peter Boumgarden had the opportunity to lead a group of researchers and commissioners in a shared venture between Washington University in St...
Episode 6: All That We Bring to the Table with Cindi Bigelow
27 Aug 2024
Contributed by Lukas
For those of you playing along at home.... while this season has highlighted a number of different voices, there is at least one that is characteristi...
Tactics from the Owner's Box: The Discipline of Long-Run Ownership
09 Aug 2024
Contributed by Lukas
In the space of ownership, the vision of building, scaling, and selling has become a shared mantra of success in the world of business schools formed ...
Episode 5: Brothers in the Vineyard: Growing Fraiche Wine Group
26 Jul 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Welcome to Episode Five of the Owner’s Box by WashU Olin’s Koch Center for Family Enterprise. This week, we learn from Michael and John Kennedy on...
Tactics from the Owner's Box: The Four Critical Questions of Ownership
11 Jul 2024
Contributed by Lukas
In today’s tactics from the Owner’s Box, we introduce the four critical questions for strategic owners – questions of What, How, When, and perha...
Episode 4: Creativity and Continuity with Stuart Weitzman
27 Jun 2024
Contributed by Lukas
The brand is a celebrity favorite no matter the occasion. Lorde. Gigi Hadid, Jessica Alba, Blake Lively, Selena Gomez, the list goes on. Today's episo...
Tactics from the Owner's Box: The Psychology of Legacy
13 Jun 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Today on “Tactics from The Owner’s Box,” we explore the meaning of legacy and how it plays into the design of a business and philanthropy over t...
Episode 3: The Beautiful Game
30 May 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Today we discuss how a multi-generational family enterprise has brought soccer back to St. Louis, and their hopes and plan to make an impact far beyon...
Tactics from the Owner’s Box: Social Discount
09 May 2024
Contributed by Lukas
In the business world, you hear a lot about why and how a business plans to balance social and business good. Ultimately, how much overlap you see bet...
Episode 2: Creative Control with Jeremy King
25 Apr 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Today, we explore the tension between commercial and creative objectives, and what we can learn from a culinary entrepreneur preparing for his third a...
Tactics from the Owner’s Box: Succession
11 Apr 2024
Contributed by Lukas
If you sit in the owner’s box or sit in a position of leadership, how might your assessment of those coming behind you be shaping how much control y...
Episode 1: Transitioning with Soul
28 Mar 2024
Contributed by Lukas
"Transitioning with Soul" -- is our first episode and features Ari Weinzweig of Zingerman's, Danny Meyer of USHG Acquisition Corp. Shake Shack and USH...
Season 1 Trailer
26 Mar 2024
Contributed by Lukas