Danny Simpson has announced he will step down from his role as CEO of MID Group and MID Communications Ltd in December after 15 years.
In a personal message on LinkedIn he spoke of his pride at growing the business from a £2m operation to £20m with over 180 employees at its peak.
Simpson is a past chair of pro-manchester and helped grow MID Communications and MID Group into the largest multi award-winning O2 franchise in the North West.
His decision follows the closure of the franchise model and he’s stayed within the business to try and help staff with the transfer or supported them in finding alternative employment.
He’s passionate about gender disparity and mental health was included in BusinessCloud’s Northern Leaders Futures list.
He wrote: “We set out to become one of the best mobile retailers in the franchise model and have achieved many great milestones and accolades, including one of our proudest moments: Investors in People Platinum, Franchise of the Year, Investors in Environment and many others collectively and personally.
“I also had the pleasure of leading an incredible tribe of people that built a business to form a group to though many difficult and challenging changes over the many years. I am proud to remain as a shareholder and investor of MID Digital Solutions, led by great sales director Joshua Braddish.
“I am excited to see where you and the team will take it going forwards in 2025. You’re doing a great job and I’m pleased to see you get some shares in the business with us very soon to build the next chapter of the business.
“I would like to take this opportunity to thank everyone involved (you all know who you are too many to tag) in the MID Communications Ltd journey.
“Every single person played a HUGE part in making the business what it was – a great place to work with a fantastic culture that made a difference to our communities, customers and team members every day.
“The business will continue to remain in the group as it transitions once again to its new glory.
“I would also like to thank our amazing customers for choosing us and continue to choose us with MID Digital, suppliers, partners and fellow franchisees who all made the journey truly amazing, challenging and rewarding.
“Now is the right time for me to move into some new chapters in my life and career.
“I look forward to taking some downtime over the next couple of months with my wife and children while still spending time in my non-executive director roles and finishing off some loose ends while starting conversations for my next adventure and roles.
“Thank you again, it’s been a real honour to serve this business and our people I will treasure the experience and memories for a lifetime, now onwards to the next adventure in 2025, which I’ll share in January.”
Simpson has been widely praised on LinkedIn for his contribution.
Lisa Lawlor, marketing manager at Cloud4 Technology, wrote: “Congratulations on the massive success and achievement. Enjoy your downtime and look forward to hearing about your new adventure in the New Year.”
Former colleague Jennifer Hulme, who is now group human resources director at Marlowe Fire & Security Group, added: “Congratulations on your amazing achievements Danny and all the best on your next adventure.
“I was privileged to be a small part of the MID Comms journey. It will always hold a special place as a truly brilliant five years doing some crazy innovative stuff along the way.
“Thank you for being a great boss, leader and coach. I will value the things I learnt from you, as I continue in my career.”