About Krystal EO
Ownership is the structural lever that determines how value is created and shared.
Krystal EO's single purpose is to acquire, and facilitate the acquisition of, interests in UK businesses to make them permanently majority Employee Owned.
As a company limited by guarantee, with Krystal Hosting Ltd as sole Guardian Member, the organisation is structurally protected against acquisition, conversion, or mission drift. It cannot be bought, sold, or redirected. Value cannot be extracted for private gain.
5% of revenues from Krystal Hosting fund all operating costs, allowing 100% of philanthropic capital to be deployed directly into acquisitions and impact.
The Krystal EO team
Simon Blackler
Founder & Creator
Started his first business at 17 in 2002 and built Krystal Hosting into the UK's largest independent web hosting provider and the world's first B Corp-certified web hosting and public cloud company, running on 100% renewable electricity across the UK, Europe and the United States. He stood down as CEO in 2024, becoming Krystal Hosting's Chair, to focus on building Krystal EO.
John O'Brien MBE
Chair
John has over forty years' leadership experience across the military, business, and the social impact sector. He is the founder of Anthropy, the UK's largest leadership gathering focused on the future of Britain and is also a serial author and advocate for responsible business, focused on purpose-led performance and leadership in a changing world.
Madelyn Postman
Non-Executive Director
ESG Director at Menzies LLP / Grain Sustainability, board member of 1% for the Planet and Fluo Technologies, public speaker, and published author.
Milly Larmer
Director of Philanthropy
Holds a Master's in Philanthropic Studies, with a career across international development and strategic fundraising spanning the UK, Asia, Africa, South America and the Middle East, and is Deputy Chair of the Nimsdai Foundation.
External validation
EDHEC Business School, one of Europe's leading business schools, has selected Krystal EO as the subject of an independent research project led by Masters researchers: 'Scaling Employee Ownership: A Stakeholder-Centred Strategic Framework for Krystal EO.' It will produce a stakeholder impact and needs report, an investor-ready business model, and financial scenario projections through to 2050.
