Employee Ownership
30 Years of Employee Ownership
In 1996, employees took control of our destiny and purchased HDR after more than a decade of ownership by an outside company. Today, when you join HDR, you become part of a 100% employee-owned company with colleagues across the world who benefit from this ownership model.
You can feel the impact of our employee ownership culture every day. That means the success of our company is shared by the people who make it happen. It makes us accountable to ourselves and to each other. Because it’s our company, your actions and engagement make a difference — both today and in the future.
We Celebrate These Numbers
National Center for Employee Ownership 2025 U.S. Rankings
- No. 1, Largest architecture/engineering 100% employee-owned
- No. 4, Largest 100% employee-owned
- No. 5, Largest employee-owned
Ranked One of America's Best Private Companies
We were ranked among the top 500 U.S. privately owned companies by TIME in 2026.
"Being an employee-owner of HDR makes me act with a sense of responsibility to myself and others, while performing our best to meet our clients’ expectations within a scope of work, project schedule and quality of deliverables that make the design constructable."
"Working for an employee-owned company is the best employment decision I've ever made. Employees have an opportunity to share in the profits they helped create, and it changes behavior since we all may have a stake in the results."
"As someone who likes to break down barriers and interact with people across all levels and geographies in an organization, a broadly held, employee-owned firm like HDR, is the perfect place for me to call home."
"When employees are invested as owners, it becomes more than a job, and the commitment to success is crucial to the sustainability of the company for the future. Employees can shape the culture of the company for the better."
"Employee ownership makes us a better company because you are not working for someone else, you are working for yourself and those around you. This drives a culture of genuine support from across the globe to deliver our best for clients time and again."
"Life is volatile and fragile. Owning a part of HDR gives me a sense of stability and belonging that motivates me to be better, learn more, try harder, speak my truth and it pushes me to be more involved in our company."
"Employee ownership has enhanced my experience at HDR because it allows employees to have one more thing in common. Sharing successes creates a unique comradery."
"I feel like I am my own entrepreneur — I want HDR to succeed just as much as our CEO because it impacts my long-term bottom line. Our success is every owner's success."
“Every little success, we feel proud because we feel like we’re part of the overall family. The company really treats every employee just like a family member.”
“I think in many organizations, people have the attitude of renters. They are not looking to leave a legacy or impact or nurture others. But when you own it — you treat it like you own it. That’s the magic sauce that keeps people here.”
“ESOPs have the ability to enhance productivity and profitability by all employee-owners having the same mindset to grow the business and continue to do things better. As an investor, it is another means of adding a different type of investment to my retirement portfolio and diversifying by adding to my international holdings.”