Our company's roots began in 1978, when former CBC art director Bryan Mills launched a new advertising agency under his own name in Toronto. Thanks to his creative smarts, the company enjoyed considerable success. To help expand the business even further, Bryan joined forces with MDC Partners in 1990. And expand he did, adding annual report design to his already impressive credentials.
I became CEO in 1999 and by that time, the company was called Bryan Mills Group. I continued to grow the company, bringing it into the digital world – corporate websites, online presentations and the other essentials of modern business communications.
With the addition of investor relations specialists, writers, financial analysts and IPO marketing experts, Bryan Mills Group strengthened its offering for public companies and became a leader in investor communications. To meet new client needs, our firm's core offering increased with the addition of strategists in branding, marketing and social media.
Our capabilities expanded significantly again in 2007, when Calgary's leading investor relations firm added its oil and gas industry expertise and award-winning corporate communication talents to create a national presence. We then became known as Bryan Mills Iradesso.
In 2012, our firm won an astounding 44 national and international awards. These awards, as well as our 95% client retention rate, are a testament to our firm's commitment to outstanding, strategy driven creative and service excellence.
To reflect the continuing evolution in the work we do for clients in a more succinct way, we're changing our name again to bmir – representing branding, marketing, investor/public relations and reporting – financial and sustainability.
I'm very proud of our team of more than 50 amazing specialists. We're all incredibly excited about the future of bmir and the breakthrough solutions we'll be creating for our clients.