We are members. We are owners. The history of an empowered and invested workforce Founded in 1947 in Muscatine, Iowa by visionaries C. Maxwell Stanley, Clement Hanson, and H. Wood Miller, HNI opened its doors under a new premise where all would be treated equally and respectfully as members and owners of a productive industrial enterprise. Employees at HNI have continued to call each other members and almost all are shareholders. Empowered to think and act like owners and trusted to make business-improving decisions, every HNI member stands to benefit from individual and group successes. It is this driving force of empowered accountability paired with respect and integrity that defines us.