About 15 years ago during a ceremony recognizing the accomplishments of Chemico Group's employees, founder and CEO Leon Richardson was surrounded by many of his then-240 employees.

They were similarly attired in apparel bearing his company's logo, which is part of the team's daily uniforms but "not one of [my employees] looked like me," recalls Richardson. "I was so focused on building a great company that I lost sight of diversity and inclusion. I knew I needed to make a change."

He made it a personal and professional priority to hire, mentor, train and do business with minority and female professionals and business owners. He also made a decision to help create a future generation of minority and female professionals and entrepreneurs.

Now, women and people of various cultures, races and ethnic groups make up 74 percent of Chemico's 455 employees and 60 percent of its leadership team.

"Diversity and inclusion are important because it [creates] a diversity of thoughts and ideas," he said. "A diverse organization is going to be a more successful organization in my opinion."

Chemico Group is a Tier 1 chemical management supplier to the automotive, aerospace and defense industries. The group is based in Southfield, Mich., has employees in North America and provides goods and services to companies in North America, Asia, Europe and South America. It generates more than $175 million in sales annually, Richardson said.

Since 2014, Chemico has spent more than $36 million, or 6 percent, of its annual procurement budget with minority- and female-owned businesses, he said. Richardson expects to raise that annual spending to 12 percent within the next 18 to 24 months.

He's also fiercely committed to helping prepare a younger generation to become future leaders. Richardson has mentored more than 100 minority high school students seeking careers in the fields of science, technology, engineering and math — also known as STEM.

He also provides internships to undergraduate students who attend historically Black colleges and universities and mentors those students.

Over the years the company had hired "upward of 100" former students Richardson assisted and 10 are currently working for Chemico.

"We don't want them to stay here forever," he said. "We want to expose them to new things which gives them the opportunity to look for additional opportunities with the auto industry or with the sectors we work in."

— Arlena Sawyers