Two local women have won one of the UK’s most prestigious business awards: Employee Owned Leader of the at the EOA Awards. The story of how they did it is one that their local communities can be proud of.
Marie Buss, who lives in Brighton with her two young sons, and Sarah Owen, who lives in Worthing with her young daughter, are the co-Managing Directors of Outcomes Star – a social enterprise that makes tools used by thousands of health and social workers across the UK to help the people they support. Together, they have just won the UK Employee Ownership Leader of the Year Award, one of the top business leadership prizes in the country.
What makes their achievement particularly special is the kind of organisation they lead. Outcomes Star is owned by all its employees, meaning every member of staff has a real stake in the company’s success. And Sarah and Marie run it together, as equal partners, sharing the decisions, the responsibility, and the pressure that comes with leading a growing international organisation.
From a difficult moment to a national award
When Sarah and Marie took on joint leadership of Outcomes Star three years ago, the organisation was going through one of its hardest periods. The founders had just left, there were significant changes, and the team was uncertain about the future.
They worked with the whole team to build a new vision for the organisation, improved how it was run, and created a culture where everyone felt involved and valued. Staff satisfaction improved significantly and the organisation grew stronger. And this year, the judges at the UK Employee Ownership Awards recognised what they had built and how they had built it.
Marie says, “I feel very humbled by the award and I’m so proud of my team and how they carry our collective vision forward. The team is incredibly talented, supportive and driven. They innovate and strive for excellence every single day and take full ownership of their work while looking out for the future of our organisation.
I’m so lucky to share this role with Sarah, our different skillsets combined with our shared vision is what makes it work.”
Sarah says, “Employee Ownership is the ultimate team effort. Having Co-Leaders is key to that – and I am so happy that Marie and I get to do this together. We are both so proud of the organisation we are building together with the team, supporting services and practitioners making a real difference to the most vulnerable in society.”
Two local women, two local communities
Marie has lived in Brighton for many years and is deeply rooted in her local community. As well as her demanding day job, she is a governor at Patcham Infant School where she helps support the education of local children. Before joining Outcomes Star, she spent five years working in the probation service, supporting people to turn their lives around. That experience of working with people at their most vulnerable has stayed with her, and it shows in how she leads.
Sarah lives in Worthing, where alongside her demanding role at Outcomes Star, she acts as Treasurer for a local community group. It’s a quiet, unglamorous kind of community contribution, and entirely typical of someone whose professional life is also dedicated to supporting people through difficult times.
Both women are mothers of young children, and both are deeply connected to their communities.
What Outcomes Star does
Outcomes Star’s tools are used by social workers, housing support workers, mental health practitioners, youth workers and many others across the UK to help them have better conversations with the people they support — and to track and celebrate the progress those people make, however small. This work is vital in helping frontline workers do their jobs better and helping the people they serve feel seen and understood.
The organisation is based in Brighton, but its impact is felt across the country, where the relational support that Outcomes Star champions makes a real difference to real lives.
Annika Small OBE, Chair of the Outcomes Star Board said, “Sarah and Marie have built something remarkable – not just a successful organisation, but one that lives its values. They lead with honesty, with care, and with their whole team alongside them. This award is richly deserved, and I know the whole of Outcomes Star – and their local communities – will be celebrating with them.”
