Revolt has announced a new ownership structure after its founder, Sean “Diddy” Combs, stepped aside as chairman of the television and media company. Current employees will become the largest shareholder group of Revolt as Combs’ shares of the company have been fully redeemed and retired. “This is something that we’ve been looking to do, waiting to do, believing that the people who give this company their blood, sweat and tears should have some sort of upside opportunity if and when we win,” Samuels said in an interview with Variety .
He added, “All of the data suggests that the companies that have incentive pools for their employees outperform the rest. They perform better financially, they perform better with company morale and culture and they perform better as it relates to retention.” Employee participation will be allocated over the coming months as Revolt promises staff members a detailed breakdown of the process.
The change in ownership comes after various reports of big-money investors seeking to buy Combs’ stake in the company, including Essence Ventures CEO Richelieu Dennis. Notably, the company, of which about 80% of the staff are people of color, will remain Black-owned under the new structure. “There’s no structure that we would have accepted that was not Black-owned,” Samuels said.
He said the company plans to keep “dreaming bigger and Blacker.” Added Monique Chenault, president of Revolt Studios, “We seek out and embrace the genius.