MotivAction, a leading meeting, incentive, and engagement company, has been acquired by Twin Cities neighbor Augeo, an employee and customer loyalty and engagement firm.
A few years ago, after more than 30 years in the business, MotivAction’s CEO and majority shareholder William Bryson turned his eye to retirement. That, says MotivAction president and COO Joseph Keller, got the company thinking about its next steps, and in late 2018, executives at the Minneapolis-based company began conversations with St. Paul-based Augeo that eventually led to the September 5 announcement.
“It was about finding the right cultural fit and the right strategy fit,” says Keller, who will remain president of MotivAction, heading up the enterprise engagement division and reporting to Augeo CEO David Kristal. The two companies will each retain its current name and full staff. Keller says there is “virtually no overlap” between the companies’ client bases.
Until now, Augeo was not involved in the meetings and events side of employee and customer engagement; MotivAction will round out Augeo’s approach. The acquisition “doesn’t change things” for MotivAction clients, says Keller, who calls the new ownership under Augeo “a growth play.”
“You can’t look at engagement in silos. You need to look at the entire enterprise,” he adds. “We’ve always looked at ourselves as an enterprise engagement company. Meetings and events are foundational to enterprise engagement.”
