Case Study
5 min read
The Aleut Corporation (“Aleut”) was formed on June 21, 1972, as one of 12 Alaska Native regional corporations (ANCs) established under the Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act. Today, Aleut represents over 5,000 Unangax̂ (Aleut) shareholders and descendants of the Unangax̂ (Aleut) from Aleutian and Pribilof Islands of Alaska. The corporation generates earnings by investing in and overseeing different subsidiary companies, including professional services, IT, defense contracting, technology, real estate, and property management. Through those subsidiaries, Aleut provides dividends, employment, and other opportunities to its shareholders.
But by 2021, Aleut was performing far behind its peers in the ANC world. A lack of trust and shared vision between the Board and the Management Team developed due to a track record of failed or underperforming investments. Operating at a net loss, Aleut was faced with dire and drastic decisions to course correct the organization before it was no longer able to serve the Aleut shareholders and communities.
In the midst of this crisis, Skoey Vergen took the role of Aleut’s CEO. An original Aleut shareholder, Vergen embraced the exceptionally challenging job because it gave him an opportunity to be of service to his people. Looking back to that rough starting condition, Vergen shares that while he didn’t yet have a clear plan for recovery, he was committed to restoring pride and dignity to this company. The turnaround of the business would honor the Aleut culture by working collaboratively with the Aleut team of shareholders and other employees to regain the trust of the Board and the nation.
Vergen set out to engage his Management Team and subsidiary leadership in intervening in the business conditions that had led to the recent performance challenges. In a rocky first year of transition, there were changes to be made in a few key leadership roles and repairs to be done to key financial and control practices. But Skoey knew that those changes would not be sufficient to create a new future for Aleut—they would only stop the bleeding.
Vergen had previously experienced JMW’s capability for changing leadership mindset, and while he called on JMW’s support to guide his own leadership as a new CEO, he also asked JMW to help him create a fundamentally new and different future for this enterprise.
JMW facilitated a Shaping the Future™ program with Aleut’s Management Team. In the first session, leadership crafted their vision for the future, declaring that “We are a best-in-class, innovative, and thriving enterprise; invested in and engaged with our region, culture, community, and shareholders.” This included setting new standards, being an employer of choice, achieving operational excellence, and maximizing shareholder benefits. They would achieve this vision through creativity and curiosity, always looking ahead, and challenging the status quo. It was a bold and ambitious position to take—one that flew in the face of Aleut’s current reality.
The Board was skeptical when Vergen brought this new vision to them. How could Aleut become a best-in-class enterprise when it was so far behind its other ANC peers? This new vision for the future seemed too far outside the realm of possibility. They simply aspired to stop losing money. None of the subsidiary leaders could see the vision either and even questioned Vergen’s role as their new leader.
Vergen leaned on his learning from JMW’s approach to leadership—that a truly new future will almost always require confronting this type of skepticism and critique, not accepting that current trends have to determine future performance. He enrolled his Management Team in staying true to their stand and began to turn around these entrenched mindsets.
The subsidiary leadership and the Board had sessions with JMW’s support in which they were introduced to that same approach to collaborative, high-performing leadership. The subsidiary leadership had a turning point when they realized that Vergen and the Management Team were inviting them to join the conversation on shaping Aleut’s future, helping to clarify the steps needed to achieve that shared vision. Through this process, they were “owning the whole”—taking shared responsibility for Aleut’s success by ensuring the whole of the organization delivered on the commitment. In a day that would reshape Aleut’s future, that group of subsidiary leaders stepped up and committed to be an aligned guiding mind for delivering on Aleut’s vision, while doubling down on the contribution each of them could make to Aleut’s bottom line. That mindset shift changed everything, and the results followed soon after.
The Board went through a similar transformation. They began to see how being stuck in the past was limiting their ability to move forward. They started to hear the authentic passion coming from the Management Team and leadership, along with the willingness of those leaders to be held to account for the performance turnaround. While the Chair, Jenifer Samuelson Nelson, had been an advocate for Vergen’s vision from the start, the rest of the Board came to see that same future vision as a worthwhile aspiration.
In Aleut’s 2024 Annual Report, Vergen reflected on the theme of his first full year in 2022, “The Current is Changing,” when Aleut addressed critical financial losses and focused on restoring stability to create a foundation for the future. This included getting the right teams in place, strengthening their processes, managing their contracts better, and creating a culture rooted in their values. That same year, Aleut also celebrated its 50th anniversary, and according to Vergen, they were then able to not just plan for the next fiscal year but work towards a vision for the next 50 years of Aleut.
Building on that foundation, the following year carried the theme “Strong Tide,” as Aleut began to see the results of its early efforts and felt “buoyed by our strong tide.” The corporation maintained a disciplined and balanced approach to growth while fostering a culture of collaboration, innovation, and transparency across its subsidiaries. The results were significant: they held their topline steady while realizing a $16 million profit—just one year after reporting a $6 million loss. This marked a powerful proof point and sign of credibility that validated their strategy.
Momentum continued in 2024 under the theme “We Persist,” which reflected their turnaround efforts and celebrated the resilience and determination to stay the course. That year, Aleut achieved the highest revenue and profit earnings in its history: growing the topline by 36% to $380 million in revenue and more than doubling profit to $38 million in EBITDA, despite only targeting $18 million.
Looking ahead, a post on Aleut's website underscored the company’s excitement: “On behalf of the Aleut Board of Directors, we are announcing a $10.00 per share distribution for 2025! ... The total 2025 dividend distribution and benefit payout is over $6 million! Since Aleut’s first dividend payment in 1981, we have paid over $77 million to our shareholders.”
Extraordinary leadership is rare, and a leader who stays true to a vision in the face of incredible challenge is even rarer. But it is possible for a new CEO passionate about serving their community to step into a bad financial situation and breakdowns in relationships and turn things around by positively engaging with and drawing people into a vision for a better future.
