RICHARDSON IS EVERYWHERE
“Creating opportunities for talented people is at the core of everything we do.”
Mark has spent 30+ years building authentic relationships that last. His professional network stretches across the private, public and non-profit sectors. He understands the value of the word “Human” in the term Human Resources. And he knows the difference between “being a connection” and “having a connection.”
From his early days as a young professional working in agriculture and newspaper sales to an almost decade-long career in the telecommunications industry, Mark was considered a bit of a pioneer. Soon it wasn’t uncommon for him to be driving change. Change became the very thing he was hired to make happen.
After years as a thought leader and change agent at the Greater Madison Chamber of Commerce, Richardson caught the eye of Wisconsin Governor Jim Doyle’s administration. He served as Deputy Secretary of the Wisconsin Department of Tourism, a cabinet-level state agency charged with supporting Wisconsin’s (then) $13 billion hospitality industry. Richardson finished his public service as Division Administrator with the Wisconsin Department of Commerce where he helped lead the agency’s Minority Business Development and Entrepreneurship Bureaus.
“Forget the Six Degrees of Kevin Bacon. Talk to any savvy business professional in the Madison area and you’ll likely find they’re no more than Two Degrees from Mark Richardson. This is someone who knows how to connect the dots – bringing the right people to the right conversations, creating new and productive partnerships. ”
Returning to the non-profit arena, he joined the leadership team of the Urban League of Greater Madison in 2010 as their V.P. of Workforce Development where he was responsible for the management, growth and evolution of that organization’s work readiness training programs and partnerships. Helping area employers identify and hire talented people became his passion. Mark was one of the chief architects in the design and creation of the region’s leading Workplace Diversity & Leadership Summit.
“Mark is an energetic, strategic business leader. He is an engaging communicator who speaks and writes with vision, clarity and good humor. Mark embraces research and thoughtful reflection and he inspires strategic action; in himself and in those he leads. Mark is a talented bridge-builder, who expertly brings together people of all backgrounds to address important community issues and to develop the solutions necessary to move forward. I would partner with Mark again in a heartbeat.”
In addition to consulting with individuals and organizations Richardson also invests in the Madison region by lending his time and talents to several area boards, committees and commissions.
Current Board, Committee and Commission Affiliations: StartingBlock Madison (Co-Chair), Associated Bank (Advisory Board), Mann Scholars Education Fund (Chair), Sustain Dane (Vice-Chair, Executive Committee), Monona Terrace Convention & Community Center.
Past Board, Committee and Commission Affiliations: Madison Region Economic Partnership Leadership & Diversity Committee, Madison College Community Council of Color, United Way Diversity & Inclusiveness Committee, Dane County Economic Development Commission, and the City of Madison Redistricting Committee.