#431: Turning Crisis into a Scalable ESOP with Heather Braimbridge-Cox and Bill Mills

Many business owners dream of building a company that thrives without them, but few understand what it takes to make that a reality—especially when facing a leadership crisis. In this episode, I sit down with Heather Braimbridge-Cox, CEO of Windings, and Bill Mills, founder of The Leadership Process™, to break down how to transform a struggling culture, develop high-performing teams, and turn an ESOP into a thriving, scalable business. 

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Heather shares her journey from private equity executive to leading a 100% employee-owned company through a complete turnaround—one that took engagement scores from crisis mode to elite levels, increased productivity to 99.8%, and turned a struggling manufacturing business into a cash-generating machine that now acquires other companies. Bill walks us through the leadership and execution gaps that trap so many business owners and how to build a culture where people take ownership of results. 

If you're struggling to get your team fully aligned, wondering how to scale leadership beyond yourself, or considering how employee ownership (ESOPs) can create long-term value, this episode is packed with insights you can apply immediately. 
 
Heather Braimbridge-Cox is the CEO of Windings, Inc., a 100% employee-owned precision manufacturing company. After years in private equity, she transitioned to leading an ESOP and discovered a powerful, people-driven approach to building long-term enterprise value. Under her leadership, Windings transformed from a struggling business to an industry leader, growing revenue, tripling profitability, and making strategic acquisitions. She’s passionate about financial transparency, employee ownership, and creating businesses that thrive beyond any single leader.  

Bill Mills is the founder of The Leadership Process™, a system designed to eliminate execution gaps and create high-performing teams. With decades of experience coaching CEOs and leadership teams, he specializes in removing friction, increasing accountability, and building cultures that drive results. His approach has helped companies scale, reduce turnover, and create a leadership pipeline that sustains growth. 

Chapters:  

• (00:00) Introduction of Heather Braimbridge-Cox and recap of achievements 

• (02:38) Heather's background in private equity and operations 

• (05:08) Personal journey from Jamaica to Windings CEO 

• (11:48) Taking over leadership of a struggling ESOP company in 2015, electric motors and unhappy customers  

• (18:15) Ferrari, Formula One, customer service breakdown and cultural misalignment examples 

• (22:30) Re-education on financials and transparent business communication 

• (30:35) Identifying the need for social strategy alongside growth 

• (40:07) Addressing organizational drama and employee interference issues 

• (48:53) Implementation of cross-functional teams and engagement process 

• (59:02) Leadership evolution and developing patience and empathy during transformation 

• (01:07:41) The 3-15 tool and replacing annual reviews system 

• (01:12:2