Fourteen years after launching her own marketing agency, Julie Lando-Cross has sold it to one of her first employees, Lissa Scott, the agency’s COO and creative director.
- “It was just the right time,” said Lando-Cross, who plans to stay on for a few months to assure a smooth transition at the York-based firm, GRIT Marketing Group.
- She declined to disclose the terms of the transaction but said it felt right to sell to Scott.
- “She’s been with me since practically the beginning and a large part of the reason the company is so well-run,” Lando-Cross wrote in an email. “While I had other offers, the most important thing to me in this decision was to protect the culture and the team at GRIT and I know Lissa will do both.”
- Of the other offers, Lando-Cross said, one was from a firm in the same industry, the other was not.
What’s next: Lando-Cross said she plans to take time off to relax but has some ideas for the next chapter.
- They include continuing to work with her husband, David Cross, on real estate development projects. Cross is president and owner of Mechanicsburg-based construction company Mowery.
- The couple, for example, is partnering with developer Derek Dilks on an apartment project called Schoolhouse Flats at the former Lemoyne Middle School in Lemoyne.
- “I know I’m too young (and driven) to retire but am fortunate enough that I have time to figure things out,” Lando-Cross wrote.
The background: Founded as Moxie, GRIT offers branding, digital marketing, graphic design and public relations, among other services.
- It has offices in York and Lancaster, though its employees currently are working remotely.
- There are no specific plans to bring them back to the office, Scott said, noting that they already were partially remote before the Covid-19 pandemic.
- The offices remain available for use and employees meet with clients in person, if desired. But, Scott said, “GRIT’s priority on family and life satisfaction (beyond just job satisfaction) is something that’s really important to me, so we will continue a hybrid work environment indefinitely.”
–by Joel Berg, editor of biznewsPA
