Yes, an owner can be the transferee if the active companies have a qualifying relationship, he has one continuous year of qualifying employment abroad in the last three, and his U.S. role is primarily executive or managerial. As an owner or major stockholder, he must also document that the U.S. services are temporary and that he will be transferred to an assignment abroad afterward.
Ownership is permitted; it is also scrutinized
Nothing in the L-1 rules prevents the person who owns the group from being the person transferred. Common ownership can establish the qualifying relationship, but years of ownership do not by themselves prove the qualifying year: the petition must document one continuous year of qualifying full-time employment abroad within the relevant three years. The U.S.
role must also be primarily executive or managerial rather than a working-surveyor position with incidental authority, assessed in the context of the organization's actual staffing and operations. For an owner or major stockholder, 8 CFR 214.2(l)(3)(vii) adds a different requirement: evidence that the U.S. services will be temporary and that the beneficiary will be transferred to an assignment abroad when they are complete.
Corporate records, the board resolution, the employment agreement and a documented return assignment should address those points without claiming that the company must be able to terminate its controlling owner.