Accepting: Valerie Freeman, CEO, Imprimis Group
Presenting: Tom Trotter, IBM Executive (retired)

Valerie Freeman is the founder and CEO of Dallas-based Imprimis Group Inc., a leading supplier of staffi ng, recruiting, and human resource services. Imprimis operates under the brand names Imprimis Staffi ng, Bravo Technical Resources, Freeman+Leonard, Art Squad, Mature Personnel and Third Party Pay. Imprimis has been named one of the largest independently owned staffing firms in Texas.

Born and raised in Houston, Freeman graduated with bachelor’s and master’s degrees in education. She has been involved in starting several staffi ng businesses, two banks and the Texas Women Ventures Fund, among other ventures. One of the reasons that Freeman co-founded the Texas Women Ventures Fund was because of the inability of women to get the capital they needed to grow without losing control of their businesses. “TWVF is one of the only vehicles of its kind in the U.S. and has been extremely successful,” she said. “I also co-founded ANSERTEAM L.L.C., the Alliance of National Staffi ng and Employment Resources, which is the only WBE-certifi ed staffi ng alliance in the U.S. which is owned by its WBE members.”

In addition to serving on the WBC-SW board, Freeman serves on the board of the North Dallas Chamber of Commerce, Girl Scouts of Northeast Texas and the steering committees of the Executive Women’s Roundtable and Women Corporate Directors. She is also the immediate past chairman of the board of the Dallas County Community College District where she is the fi rst and only woman to chair the board in its 25-year history.

Freeman is a past recipient of the ATHENA® Award by the Dallas Regional Chamber and Real Girls Real Women Award by the Girl Scouts of North East Texas, in addition to twice receiving the Women Business Enterprise of the Year Award and WBE Advocate of the Year Award from the WBC-SW. She is also a Distinguished Alum of the University of Houston.“

For corporate leaders, I would say to get involved in supplier diversity organizations like WBENC and its affi liates because it’s easier to push for change with a group of like-minded people, and also because of the education and tools those groups provide,” she said. “I would also advise corporate leaders to take a chance on more innovative alliances among WBEs that allows us to provide services nationally and globally. Although this has been encouraged by corporate leaders, it is slow to be accepted.”

Posted in: Honorees 2010