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Former CRO succeeds founder as CEO; launches Compose.ly Growth Grant to support underserved marketers
INDIANAPOLIS (May 12, 2026) — Compose.ly, an Inc. 5000 content and SEO marketing agency serving brands like WebMD, Calendly, TED, and Alliance Funding Group, today announced the appointment of Nicole MacLean as Chief Executive Officer. MacLean, who most recently served as Chief Revenue Officer, succeeds founder Mike Leonhard, who has transitioned to the role of Chairman of the Board.
"One of the most rewarding parts of being a founder is recognizing when the right leader is ready to take the helm," said Mike Leonhard, Compose.ly founder and incoming Chairman of the Board. "Nicole is one of the hardest-working and most accomplished leaders I've ever known, and her transition to CEO is the natural next step for the company. I couldn't be more confident in her ability to lead us into this next chapter while I continue to support our mission from the Board."
MacLean joined Compose.ly in 2022 as Head of Marketing and quickly expanded her influence across revenue operations, sales, and new business lines. Under her leadership as CRO starting March 2024, the team saw a 67% increase in close rate and a 23% increase in total company revenue. She also led the go-to-market strategy for Compose.ly's contract writing business line, which scaled to multi-million-dollar revenue within 18 months.
MacLean brings a career-long perspective as a practicing marketer to the CEO seat. Before Compose.ly, she served as Senior Director of Marketing at 120Water, where she achieved 300% year-over-year revenue growth from new business and supported a training engine to deliver compliance education to 10,000 water systems. Prior, she built the events function at Emplify (acquired by 15Five), which drove more than half of the company’s revenue. Her career began at ExactTarget (acquired by Salesforce), and she is a graduate of the Orr Fellowship and Edge Mentoring programs. She holds a Bachelor’s degree in Marketing from Ball State University.
"I grew up in tech startups where you had to be creative and scrappy with resources, and that has shaped how I approach leadership,” said Maclean. “I've watched marketers get burned by agencies that sold big and delivered small, and I've sat across from them as they rebuilt trust. As CEO, my goal is to make sure Compose.ly is strategic partner who is transparent about what's not working, accountable to the budget, and committed to driving outcomes for clients."
Introducing the Compose.ly Growth Grant
One of MacLean's first initiatives as CEO puts that partnership philosophy into practice. The Compose.ly Growth Grant, launching today, is designed for small, growth-stage businesses that believe in the long-term value of organic content but lack the resources to invest in a sustained strategy. Recipients will receive the same caliber of work Compose.ly delivers to mid-market and enterprise clients, including SEO and AI visbility strategy, blog and content creation, and reporting insights.
"There are so many excellent marketers out there who either believe in organic content but can’t justify the investment, or have been burned by agencies that oversold and underdelivered," continued MacLean. "We have a unique ability to give one of those teams a real shot at building the foundation they deserve.”
Two grants will be awarded each year, with the inaugural recipient receiving services from July through December 2026. Recipients will be selected by a panel of judges including MacLean, fellow Composer Robert Bernsteen, Elizabeth Irvine, Sr. Director of Growth Marketing at Siteimprove, and Martin Hamery, Production Team Lead at GetYourGuide. Applications will reopen at year-end for the January-through-June cycle.
Learn more and apply for the Compose.ly Growth Grant: compose.ly/growth-grant
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About Compose.ly
Compose.ly is a content marketing and seo agency that helps brands like WebMD, Calendly, Money.com, TED, and Get Your Guide turn organic content into measurable growth across search, AI platforms, social, and newsletters. What began as a trusted content writing service has grown into a fully integrated marketing partner, combining strategy, SEO, content creation, paid media, and analytics under one roof. Compose.ly has been named to the Inc. 5000 list for three years running, and was recognized as a 2025 Inc. Power Partner, an honor based on client testimonials and interviews.
Learn more at https://www.compose.ly/
