Leon C. Richardson founded Chemico Systems in 1989 and built it into a business supplying industrial customers with chemicals and services to manage how those chemicals are used. The Southfield, Michigan, company grew into The Chemico Group, with work in automotive manufacturing and later aerospace, electronics, healthcare and defense. Its services cover purchasing, inventory management and disposal, alongside product manufacturing and distribution. Richardson serves as the company's founder, president and chief executive officer.
Before the business career, he served in the United States Marine Corps as a non-commissioned officer. He attended the University of Maryland and studied business management at Detroit College of Business, later adding executive management programs at Dartmouth's Tuck School of Business and the University of Michigan's Ross School of Business.
Chemico added facilities and services over several decades. The company opened a paint stripping plant in Pontiac, Michigan, in 1995. Its history dates the start of chemical management services for General Motors and the launch of a Mexican business unit to 1999. A joint venture with Mays Chemical followed in 2006; in 2014, it was converted into Chemico, LLC. Contracts with Boeing and the Defense Department later widened the customer base beyond automotive plants.
Richardson has also worked with organizations that support minority business owners. He served on the Michigan Minority Supplier Development Council's board and chaired its Minority Business Input Committee, which supports the growth of businesses across the state. His roles have included service with the National Minority Supplier Development Council, co-chairing the General Motors Supplier Council and chairing the National Association of Black Suppliers. A supplier council profile also describes his mentoring of students and young professionals.
In May 2023, Richardson joined the Michigan Strategic Fund board. He became a director of Grow Michigan in January 2025 and an independent director of Global Net Lease in March of that year, serving on its audit and nominating and corporate governance committees. Chemico kept winning over its customers, too: in June 2026, the company reported receiving General Motors' 2025 Supplier of the Year award in the industrialization category, its sixteenth from GM, and described its partnership with DuBois Chemicals, pairing Chemico's chemical management services with DuBois' products and local technical support for industrial customers.
