From his start at a large advertising agency, Richmond Simpson dreamed of creating a company where culture and creativity thrived. With this, he joined Vimarc, where he became a partner after just two years and is now the CEO.

A year into his tenure as CEO, Richmond’s leadership was tested when Vimarc lost its biggest client. Instead of laying off staff, he remained committed to his people-first approach and continued to invest in his team. This led to landing an even bigger client just a few months after. Such decisions have earned Vimarc multiple “Best Places to Work” accolades and an extraordinary 90% employee retention rate over 5+ years.

As Vimarc grows, Richmond emphasizes servant leadership, flipping the pyramid to show that empowering and growing people is essential to a business’ success.

Richmond’s leadership lessons:

• Embrace vulnerability and authenticity.
• Empower others by relinquishing control.
• Listen actively and attentively.