CCA Global’s Brodsky wins international cooperative honor

At ceremony in Rwanda, he is given ‘Nobel Prize of Cooperative Business’

Howard Brodsky of Manchester, co-founder, chairman and co-CEO of CCA Global Partners Inc., has won another international recognition, this time international Rochdale Pioneers Award for 2019, an honor presented by the International Cooperative Alliance, a consultative organization of the United Nations.

Recognized as the ‘Nobel Prize of Cooperative Business,’ the award is given out every two years to an individual who has made the greatest impact across the world through the innovations of shared ownership, specifically through the cooperative business model.

Brodsky was presented with the award on Oct. 16 in Kigali, Rwanda, during the biennial ICA Global Cooperative Conference, which had delegations from over 100 countries.

“Throughout my career, I have felt that businesses should be more than profit centers,” Brodsky said. While profit is important, it is equally, if not more, important that businesses be a force for good. The cooperative business model epitomizes capitalism with a conscience. A more inclusive future is in our grasp. Shared ownership advances shared opportunity, shared wealth, and ultimately shared hope,” said Brodsky, “I am honored and humbled by this recognition.”

In 1984, Brodsky co-founded CCA Global Partners – an organization that started out as a cooperative of carpet and flooring retailers. Since then, it has grown to become the largest purchasing cooperative in the United States, with member businesses in four countries, covering some 15 industries, including bicycle shops, home furnishings, business services, sports retail stores and childcare provides.

His dedication to the model has made him something an evangelist for cooperatives around the world. He is the founder of Cooperatives for a Better World, a nonprofit dedicated to spreading shared ownership and the cooperative business model. The organization has partnered with cooperatives in 14 countries, reaching over a quarter of the world population.

“As a visionary leader and entrepreneur himself, Howard has a passion for invention. He does not simply talk about the future – he leads through his actions,” said Trebor Scholz, director of the Platform Cooperativism Consortium. “Howard is a rare leader that combines vision, innovation, gumption, and connectivity in all aspects of his work.”