Founders Advisors announced a new firm vision, mission and values on Monday morning. In an internal communication to employees, Founders CEO, Duane Donner, revealed the change comes to line up with the company purpose, Servant Leadership. To launch this new era, the firm welcomed retired CEO of Synovous Bank, Jimmy Blanchard, to speak to the team about his experience in implementing the servant-leadership model.

Blanchard has made an indelible mark in the world of business. He served for more than three decades as the CEO of Synovus, overseeing a period of dramatic growth, sits on the boards of companies ranging from AT&T to Chick-fil-A, and his list of accolades includes “Most Respected CEO,” “Georgian of the Year,” and dozens more. Under his leadership, Synvous was named “Best Place to Work.”  However, Blanchard did not take the opportunity to relish in his accomplishment but, instead, used it as a launchpad to implement a then unproven model of Servant Leadership into the company. “My job as a leader is to empower, equip, infuse with confidence, express appreciation, and treat people with dignity rather than bossing them around,” said Blanchard (TheRedeemed.com). After years of success in doing so, Jimmy now teaches three-day, immersive seminars on what it looks like to live out the servant leadership model.

To conclude the morning, Founders Leadership Team signed the new vision, mission and values, pledging to uphold them to the best of their abilities and to be held accountable in doing so. See photos below of the announcement: