The right leadership and the right chapter: the evolution of an agency business

There are only a few things in life you get to love deeply, build carefully and then, when the time is right, trust forward.

For me, Curious Plot has been one of those things.

Not quite like family, of course. Nothing is. But also, not less important in the way work can become deeply personal when it is connected to people you believe in, clients you respect, and a purpose that continues to matter. This agency has been one of the great loves of my professional life because of the people who choose to be here and the mindset they bring to the work. Curious people. Brave people. People who believe better is always possible and are willing to do the work to get there.

After 15 years with the agency and nearly eight years as CEO, today is my last day at the agency. It is a day filled with gratitude, pride, reflection and real optimism for what comes next.

Leadership transitions can sometimes feel like endings. I do not see this one that way. I see it as the next healthy step in the life of a business that has been built with intention. The role of CEO was never meant to be permanent for me. It was meant to be purposeful. And part of purposeful leadership is knowing when the business is ready for its next chapter, and when the next leader is ready to take it there.

Agencies, like people, move through seasons. What a business needs in one chapter is not always what it needs in the next. The best organizations understand that growth is not a straight line. It is a series of decisions, pivots, investments, lessons and moments of clarity. Leadership should evolve with those moments.

Curious Plot has been on a 15-year journey shaped by three important chapters.

The first was the startup chapter.

Those early years were built with entrepreneurial energy, grit and a willingness to do what needed to be done. The work was often project based and fast moving. The business was being formed in real time, through client relationships, talent, trust and a belief that there was room in the market for an agency with deep roots in food and agriculture. That chapter mattered. It created the foundation, the client base, the reputation and the energy that made everything else possible.

The second chapter was about stable growth.

This is the chapter I had the privilege of helping lead. It was a season of scaling with intention, strengthening the business, expanding capabilities, deepening our expertise and building a stronger foundation for the future. We grew the agency, broadened our services, diversified our client base and sharpened our focus on food, agriculture and companion animal care. We built a national team while staying anchored in Minneapolis. We invested in leaders, in culture, in integration, in strategy and in the kind of business discipline that helps an agency grow with purpose, not just activity.

One of the defining moments in this chapter was our rebrand to Curious Plot.

Five years later, I still see that decision as much more than a name change or a new identity. It was a business decision. It gave us language for who we were becoming and clarity around the kind of agency we wanted to build. It sharpened our point of view. It helped us show up with more confidence. It signaled that we were not simply evolving our marketing, but maturing our business.

A rebrand does not make a company stronger on its own. People do that. Leaders do that. Clients who trust you do that. But the Curious Plot brand gave us a platform to tell a stronger story and a clearer reason to keep building.

And now, the agency enters its next chapter from a position of momentum and strength.

This is the right time for Mitch Van Kampen to lead Curious Plot forward as president and CEO. Mitch has been part of this agency for 14 years. He understands our clients, our categories, our people and our culture. He has helped shape our strategy, our growth and our point of view. Most importantly, he believes deeply in what this agency can become.

The next chapter is not about maintaining what has been built. It is about multiplying what is possible.

The second chapter required stability, focus and scale. This next chapter will require momentum, leadership depth and continued evolution. It will require the agency to keep developing people as intentionally as it develops clients and capabilities. It will require more leaders at more levels who are ready to step forward, make decisions, build trust, challenge old assumptions and prepare the business for what comes next.

That is what healthy businesses do. They keep learning. They keep growing. They keep asking what the future needs from them.

I believe the future belongs to agencies that are more than just creative shops or execution partners. The future belongs to agencies that can help clients think, decide, move and measure in smarter ways. Agencies that understand business pressure, market complexity, category nuance and the need for ideas that work in the real world. Agencies that are strategic, curious and willing to change before the market forces them to.

That is the agency Curious Plot is built to be.

I am proud of what we have built, but even more proud of how we have built it. We have built it with high standards and care. With accountability and humility. With a belief that strong culture and strong performance are not competing ideas. With leaders who are ready to lead. With clients who trust us. With team members who push the work and each other to be better.

I am especially proud that this transition has been planned with care. It is not sudden. It is not reactive. It is the result of a long-term succession plan, an incredibly strong leadership bench and a business that is ready for its next season.

For me, this moment is deeply personal. I am retiring from agency leadership, but I am not stepping away from the work I love. I am looking forward to an encore chapter that will include select consulting work, board service and the chance to keep contributing to an industry that has given so much to me. I am also looking forward to more time with the people I love most outside of work.

But today, my focus is on gratitude.

Thank you to the team members who have made Curious Plot what it is. Thank you for your talent, your trust, your resilience, your candor and your belief in better. Thank you to the clients who have allowed us to be part of your businesses and your brands. Thank you to our leadership team, past and present, for helping build an agency with real strength. Thank you to Land O’Lakes for its continued support and belief in this business. Thank you Heather Malenshek for your steady steer. Thank you to our Board of Advisors who always support our clients and their business opportunities. And thank you to Mitch for being ready, willing and able to lead what comes next.

A business is never finished. That is the beauty of it. Every chapter creates the conditions for the next one.

The startup years created belief.

The stable growth years created strength.

The next chapter will create momentum for what comes after that.

Curious Plot is ready. The leadership is ready. The team is ready. And I leave this role with a full heart, deep confidence and great excitement for the future of an agency I will always love. 