Stan Richards' Crisis Put a Spotlight on His Polarizing Way of Running an Agency

‘It’s the weirdest place I’ve ever worked'

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It was only last week that The Richards Group found itself embroiled in controversy due to racial remarks made by its founder, Stan Richards. But the Dallas-based agency’s rapid, downward spiral has brought a new level of attention to its culture and the leadership style of Richards, who at nearly 90 years old, remained actively involved with the agency until “firing” himself days ago.  

While many agency founders essentially become figureheads in their later years, letting new generations of leadership shape the organization, Richards is described by former employees as someone who continued to insist on being in creative reviews, though he also had a reputation for occasionally falling asleep during them.

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