Scott McCormick, one of the founders of the Kansas City-based agency VML, Inc., will offer the Distinguished Executive Lecture in Business and Leadership at 7:30 p.m. April 10 in the Gill Family Meeting Room in Yates-Gill College Union on the William Jewell College campus in Liberty, Mo. The lecture, entitled “A common-sense culture for creativity, innovation and fulfillment,” is free and the public is invited to attend; tickets or reservations are not required.

McCormick currently serves as VML’s Chief Vision Officer. VML is the second agency he has grown, having helped take another Kansas City agency, Valentine Radford, from $14 million to $150 million as executive creative director.  The company has offices across the U.S., Europe, South America and Asia. Forrester Research named VML one of the Top 5 interactive firms in North America, and Ad Age recently named VML one of its 2012 A-List Agencies.

A copywriter by trade, McCormick’s work has been recognized in competitions across the U.S. and internationally. He moved VML into the interactive arena at a very early date, guiding the “holistic communications” philosophy that has put VML at the forefront of the industry. He brings more than 35 years of experience in the creative processes of advertising, marketing and sales promotion to his current position. 

As founder and President of VML, McCormick shaped the culture that has been the key to the firm’s success. He refers to it as a “commonsense culture,” based on a set of core values that he says are as much a way of living as they are a way of working. McCormick cites horizontal management and an entrepreneurial environment as key components of VML’s culture. The company has been named twice among the 25 best companies to work for in America.

McCormick is an active community leader, currently serving on numerous boards as well as holding national and local roles with JDRF, the leader in the fight against type 1 diabetes. He was named the Kansas City Ad Club’s Advertising Professional of the Year in 2004, and JDRF International Volunteer of the Year in 2008.

William Jewell College is committed to bringing together talented students and gifted faculty mentors within a vibrant community sparked by a rigorous and intentional liberal arts curriculum. A full range of personal and professional development experiences are presented by the selective national liberal arts college’s location within the Kansas City metroplex of more than two million.