Faces of women-led businesses: Mary-Ellen Willard

Mary-Ellen Willard, partner and executive creative director at adHOME Creative, shares her unique perspective on what it takes to build and sustain a successful venture

London Inc. is proud to present its inaugural look at some of the city’s leading female owned and/or operated businesses and the faces that run them. Twenty-four women who are shaping industries, redefining entrepreneurship and inspiring generations of women to come, share the challenges they’ve overcome, what they attribute their success to and what it takes to build and scale a brand.

Mary-Ellen Willard
Partner & Executive Creative Director
adHOME Creative
519-673-2018 • adhomecreative.com

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MARY-ELLEN WILLARD FIRST joined the creative marketing agency she eventually purchased in 2005. When the opportunity to take over ownership presented itself in 2012, she jumped. “I was motivated to create an inspiring ­environment for our team that I would genuinely be proud to lead,” she recalls, “so I bought the company.”

And while no path to success is ever easy, it can be especially trying for women leaders in an industry that’s intense, highly creative and complex. “I’ve learned a lot through trial and error and using my gut instinct, which has successfully guided me through many creative presentations where I was often the only female in the boardroom,” she says.

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Committed to nurturing a culture in which team members are valued for their talents and contributions, Willard says her most important asset is her network — the people she knows and works with in real time. “It’s the relationships I’ve built over the years that define my success — relationships with talented individuals who have chosen to invest their careers in you, as well as clients who have become genuine friends. I am extremely grateful for every moment, and I try to never take it for granted.”