Who We Are

Anne Claire Broughton is Principal of Broughton Consulting, LLC, a firm which helps organizations engage employees at all levels for business success through open book management, employee ownership, and healthy organizational cultures. Broughton is active with efforts to educate retiring business owners and their advisors about the possibility of employee ownership as an exit strategy, and she is a contract open book management coach with The Great Game of Business.

Publications include Using an Employee Owned Trust for Business Transitions (with Corey Rosen and five other authors),  The Human Capital Advantage: A Curriculum for Early Stage Ventures (with The Hitachi Foundation), the Business Action Guide Series of innovative employee engagement practices (with The Hitachi Foundation),  Employees Matter: Maximizing Company Value Through Workforce Engagement profiling 24 companies that can link their progressive employee practices with improved bottom line results, “Embracing Open Book Management to Fuel Employee Engagement and Corporate Sustainability” (with UNC Kenan-Flagler Business School), and Beyond Paycheck-to-Paycheck: Wealth Building Strategies for Venture Capital Funds to use with Portfolio Companies and Their Employees.

Broughton is the Founder and former Executive Director of the North Carolina Employee Ownership Center. She previously spent more than 13 years advising early stage business as Co-Founder and Senior Director of SJF Institute (a business accelerator affiliated with SJF Ventures). Nonprofit boards she has served on include Carolina Common Enterprise, EarthShare North Carolina, and AMCREF Community Capital. In her spare time, Broughton enjoys violin and vocal performance, travel, and spending time outside.

 

Broughton Consulting, LLC became a certified B Corporation in 2017. The firm was re-certified in January 2022 and again in March 2025 – with the highest score yet. In 2019, Broughton Consulting was honored as Best for the World: Customers for its work on behalf of underserved populations.

  • “It was a pleasure working with Anne-Claire on The Human Capital Advantage: A Curriculum for Early Stage Ventures. In addition to her considerable employee engagement expertise, she truly walks her own talk, empowering her partners to contribute to the development process. The result is a curriculum that will serve as an excellent resource for the next generation of entrepreneurs and business leaders.”

    - Renata Hron Gomez, Director of Entrepreneur Programs

  • "Anne Claire is the knowledgeable and enthusiastic consultant every business owner dreams about! She always had pertinent insights and was able to open doors I did not know existed. Highly recommended if you reach a crossroads and need help choosing the most vital option for maintaining and expanding the essence of your business."

    -Blaise Kielar, Owner

  • "Anne Claire’s expertise in the field of employee engagement, as well as her tremendous research, writing, and communication skills, were essential to the development of our Business Action Guide initiative. She is a leader in her field, and brings great creativity and diligence to her work. She is great to work with and I would strongly recommend her."

    - Tom Strong, Senior Program Officer

  • "Too often, I have worked with advisors who made assumptions about my business. Anne Claire, in contrast, first listened carefully and gained a deep understanding of our situation. Her analysis gave me valuable insights into the best path forward. I look forward to working with her again."

    – Robert Petrusz, Owner

  • “If you can get Anne Claire to work on your project, you are already ahead of the game. She brings a valuable combination of knowledge, enthusiasm and clear direction to everything she does.”

    -Heather Beard, Executive Director

  • “Anne Claire worked with M Creative, a value-driven strategic communications firm, to increase our transparency and accountability, helping us to ‘walk the talk.’ Her insights, compassion, and humor were invaluable as we became a certified B Corporation and implemented open book management. I highly recommend Anne Claire!”

    -Mary Jamis, President

  • "Anne Claire masterfully coached me to uncover my true career path. Her insights and skills are life-changing!"

    – Anna Adler, Storyteller and Senior Manager of Literacy Programs