DETROIT — Lambert & Co. managing partner Michelle Olson has been named the firm’s next CEO, succeeding founder Jeff Lambert who will become chairman.

Olson will assume the chief executive post on January 1. Her responsibilities will include driving client, practice and talent growth, while also managing the agency’s largest client relationships.

Olson, who leads Lambert’s Phoenix office, joined the agency in 2019. She ran her own agency, Olson Communications, and spent five years with ad agency Fingerpaint after it acquired her firm.

Don Hunt, a 22-year veteran of the firm, will remain president, with a focus on agency operations, M&A integration and client satisfaction.

Jeff Lambert, meantime, will remain the firm’s largest shareholder and continue to lead the consultancy’s vision, innovation and M&A. He will also focus on leading fintech startup Tiicker, his nonprofit Americantbreathe.org and consulting work in DE&I.

“I’m extremely proud of the firm that we’ve become and the growth that we’ve achieved, including a 50% increase in the last two years,” Lambert said. “However, the only way for our momentum to continue is to scale my time and our top talent. Michelle Olson is the answer. She’s a proven agency CEO, an industry leader, and a trusted friend for over a decade, much like my partner and president Don Hunt. I’m looking forward to Michelle’s handprints on our culture, team and trajectory for years to come and grateful to have colleagues that allow me to create the new and next ideas, services, companies and collaborations.”