As with most things, there are good and bad CEOs. I've worked for two incredible CEOs, an average CEO, (all F500) and an incredible owner/CEO (startup) with my last company run.

I may be an outlier or lucky having avoided a truly bad CEO. Even so, none of mine were perfect. One of the corporate ones was in place when we outsourced IT to India. He was also CEO when we brought it back.

I will say I'm not a fan of corporate America these days. I will absolutely never work in that environment again if I can avoid it.

Some photos of employees celebrating.

This is possible only when the top guy is a real leader, and not a leech. That is when employees develop loyalty to the company and the leader and want to fight and sacrifice for him. Because they know he's got your back. Everyone is a team.

When everyone is fairly rewarded, then they spend their money back into the community which stays vibrant instead of the money sitting in someone's large portfolio or sent to a foreign country as "remittance".

So heart-warming to see this news on the holy day of Christmas!



Lesia Key used some of her bonus to open a clothing store.


Fibrebond employees react as they are notified of their bonuses.



Hong Blackwell, 67, was able to retire after 16 years at Fibrebond. 'My retirement is nice and peaceful,' she says.

I know Graham, he and his family go to our church, and he has held different leadership positions within the church.

He is a family man, a man of faith, and of course generous with his time, talent, and treasure.

Don't try to assign any of the typical CEO stereotypes to him, because they simply don't apply.

That's what makes him a great leader - we need more like him in this country.

I was fortunate to be in a similar situation four years ago.

I worked for a company that was owned by a private equity firm out of Connecticut. They owned 51%, the remainder was owned by the three company founders. A portion of the owner's equity was designated for key employees, and of course, you earned your portion over a five year period. If you left the company you walked away from your equity...but if you stayed and the company was sold you'd receive compensation.

Of course, I was blind-sided in February 2022 when one of the founders called me and said they'd been sold to another private equity firm and I was going to get a payout. I remember it was around 7 p.m. and I had just pulled into the driveway after paying $6 at a convenience store for a gallon of milk. I wish I'd recorded the conversation. I kept saying, "what?", "you're kidding," "are you serious," "I'm getting how much?" "Oh my gosh," "thank you, thank you, thank you!"

I walked into the house and told my wife I didn't feel so bad for paying $6 for that gallon of milk.

Thanks for posting that story OP...it brought back some happy memories.

infinity ag said:

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It is common knowledge that that modern day US CEOs are trashy, lying, cheating scum of the earth, and in general despicable, execrably abhorrent slimy and oily characters.

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I know multiple CEOs that have forgone pay, second mortgages on the house, selling all their personal belongings, zero vacations, and mountains of debt to get their companies to success.

They've done it to make payroll so everyone stays. They've done it to ensure bonuses were paid. They've done it to ensure inventory was met and customers were happy.

All of this is to find success, but you don't usually hear about all those CEOs... Not the random guy that lives in a modest house near you trying to make it work.

rausr said:

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I know Graham, he and his family go to our church, and he has held different leadership positions within the church.

He is a family man, a man of faith, and of course generous with his time, talent, and treasure.

Don't try to assign any of the typical CEO stereotypes to him, because they simply don't apply.

That's what makes him a great leader - we need more like him in this country.

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That is awesome. Thanks for sharing. He is a great man. If even a few more were like him, the world would be a much better place.

ToddyHill said:

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I was fortunate to be in a similar situation four years ago.

I worked for a company that was owned by a private equity firm out of Connecticut. They owned 51%, the remainder was owned by the three company founders. A portion of the owner's equity was designated for key employees, and of course, you earned your portion over a five year period. If you left the company you walked away from your equity...but if you stayed and the company was sold you'd receive compensation.

Of course, I was blind-sided in February 2022 when one of the founders called me and said they'd been sold to another private equity firm and I was going to get a payout. I remember it was around 7 p.m. and I had just pulled into the driveway after paying $6 at a convenience store for a gallon of milk. I wish I'd recorded the conversation. I kept saying, "what?", "you're kidding," "are you serious," "I'm getting how much?" "Oh my gosh," "thank you, thank you, thank you!"

I walked into the house and told my wife I didn't feel so bad for paying $6 for that gallon of milk.

Thanks for posting that story OP...it brought back some happy memories.

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Super news! Thanks for sharing. In recent years we have been conditioned to not expect our fair share which is why we are shocked when in rare cases we actually do (thanks to some good people).

I hope you invested your share very well! Congratulations! You deserve it.

That story was perfect for a nice Christmas story to show that goodness still exists in the world.

aggie93 said:

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Ragoo said:

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Fibrebond builds electrical power distribution buildings. They did sell this year.

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Exactly. So they were privately held and didn't give out stock to employees so when the company sold they wrote them checks for a portion of the sale. They didn't have to do it so that's great but most companies do something similar but more directly through equity. Paying out large bonuses with a change of control isn't unusual, both to reward people that worked there and to be fair some employees may become redundant in an acquisition.

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The magnitude of the bonus pool is quite generous, though, right?

Like, definitely not a profit first type of decision.

Or do you disagree?

On brand OP. I look forward to your next job search post where you cry about your current meanie manager and meanie HR. Everyone is a stupid head meanie which is why you job hop annually.

A lot of startups allocate 10-20% of the equity pool to employees.

Lots of an Nvidia and SpaceX employees are millionaires many times over.

Sharing valuation gains with employees is not as rare as OP makes it sound.

NY Post is also reporting this. Maybe this kind of leadership will catch on and become the norm rather than the exception. This is true capitalism.

I was discussing this with my friend Tom Fox on a different thread about retirement. My goal is $20 Million net worth. I am about 5-7 years away. Once I hit the goal, I will skim off whatever gains I have beyond this and actively help people who need it. Like the person who lost his/her job and cannot pay rent.

Louisiana boss hands workers $240M in bonuses after selling his company for $1.7B
https://nypost.com/2025/12/25/business/louisiana-boss-hands-workers-240m-in-bonuses-after-selling-his-company-for-1-7b/


Graham Walker, the former CEO of Fibrebond, required that 15% of the proceeds from the sale of his family company go directly to employees a $240 million windfall.

Quote:

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A Louisiana factory chief proved to be a real-life Santa Claus giving each of his 540 full-time employees six-figure bonus checks totaling $240 million.

The generous gesture came after the benevolent boss sold the company for $1.7 billion.

Graham Walker, the now-former CEO of Fibrebond, told The Wall Street Journal that he would not agree to sell his company if prospective buyer Eaton did not earmark 15% of the proceeds for its employees even though none of them owned stock.

The deal, which was completed earlier this year when Eaton acquired Fibrebond, triggered payouts to 540 full-time workers, averaging about $443,000 per worker spread over five years.

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Garrelli 5000 said:

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On brand OP. I look forward to your next job search post where you cry about your current meanie manager and meanie HR. Everyone is a stupid head meanie which is why you job hop annually.

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I dont know InfinityAg's track record on all this, but this comes across as very ******y.

Cromagnum said:

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Garrelli 5000 said:

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On brand OP. I look forward to your next job search post where you cry about your current meanie manager and meanie HR. Everyone is a stupid head meanie which is why you job hop annually.

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I dont know InfinityAg's track record on all this, but this comes across as very ******y.

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Then you should search his history because this post is spot on.

Graham is my cousin's husband - literally sat right next to him at Christmas dinner yesterday at my mom's house. We were talking about this (as obviously, it had made the news), and he really didn't want to talk about, just basically said that without these employees, many of whom had been working at the company before he was involved, this couldn't have happened. Honestly, knowing him, this move didn't surprise me.

Graham and my cousin met at Sewanee, and he has always been a good, good guy. He as 4 kids, one of which is special needs, and has always been a family first, god first kind of guy. He is down to earth, but has always been so focused on work, that when we asked him what he was going to do now - all he could say was that he had no idea at all; he had no time for hobbies before.

I am so happy for him and his family, they deserve it.

AF98

Ducks4brkfast said:

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infinity ag said:

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It is common knowledge that that modern day US CEOs are trashy, lying, cheating scum of the earth, and in general despicable, execrably abhorrent slimy and oily characters.

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Not it is not. You need to seek help.

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It is if you work anywhere in Biotech or Corporate fields. Very few people with morals at the top. They also tend to just be good at talking and when they screw up a company, all the people who were good at their jobs lose theirs and the CEO gets a payout. CEOs that really care about their workers, i.e. back it up with action, are a rare breed.

Thanks.

Obviously, Uncle Sam got his six figures, and I invested about 95% of the remainder.

But candidly, it was bittersweet. There were a select few who got the payout, and for weeks none of us would talk about it with a salaried co-worker because we didn't know who was part of the deal.

BusterAg said:

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aggie93 said:

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Ragoo said:

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Fibrebond builds electrical power distribution buildings. They did sell this year.

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Exactly. So they were privately held and didn't give out stock to employees so when the company sold they wrote them checks for a portion of the sale. They didn't have to do it so that's great but most companies do something similar but more directly through equity. Paying out large bonuses with a change of control isn't unusual, both to reward people that worked there and to be fair some employees may become redundant in an acquisition.

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The magnitude of the bonus pool is quite generous, though, right?

Like, definitely not a profit first type of decision.

Or do you disagree?

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Not at all, I think it's great. I'm just pointing out that many companies have equity and if it is a private company that sells employees can make a lot of money. Doesn't take away that this was a nice thing to do, just don't think that acting as though this is something that other companies don't do is inaccurate. It seems set up as an anti capitalist story where the one good guy gave back.

I work for a pharmaceutical manufacturer (around $1 Billion revenue annually) and my CEO is a very caring and generous man.

In my almost 10 years there we've had 1 price increase and 2 price decreases, so his goodness extends beyond just taking care of his employees.

Quote:

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This is possible only when the top guy is a real leader, and not a leech. That is when employees develop loyalty to the company and the leader and want to fight and sacrifice for him. Because they know he's got your back. Everyone is a team....

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Looks to me like she took the money and used it to quit her job.

Some loyalty

Quote:

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I was discussing this with my friend Tom Fox on a different thread about retirement. My goal is $20 Million net worth. I am about 5-7 years away. Once I hit the goal, I will skim off whatever gains I have beyond this and actively help people

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What are you giving now?

Ever hear of the widow's mite?

If you're not sharing your abundance now, it's doubtful you will later.

Agfencer98 said:

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Graham is my cousin's husband - literally sat right next to him at Christmas dinner yesterday at my mom's house. We were talking about this (as obviously, it had made the news), and he really didn't want to talk about, just basically said that without these employees, many of whom had been working at the company before he was involved, this couldn't have happened. Honestly, knowing him, this move didn't surprise me.

Graham and my cousin met at Sewanee, and he has always been a good, good guy. He as 4 kids, one of which is special needs, and has always been a family first, god first kind of guy. He is down to earth, but has always been so focused on work, that when we asked him what he was going to do now - all he could say was that he had no idea at all; he had no time for hobbies before.

I am so happy for him and his family, they deserve it.

AF98

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This is so cool!
People like him are very rare today. I wish him the best and especially for his child with special needs.

question: Is this company privately or publicly held?

It was privately held.

Intelligent CEO (Garage to S&P Mid Cap company)
Decent CEO (small financial company , invested his own money)
Awful CEO (bankruptcy - 20 mil revenue on 240mil debt, squandered family wealth)
Amazing CEO (MidCap Semiconductor company)
Meh CEO (Same Semicondcutor company)
******* CEO (current job)

That's been my run so far.