OUR TEAM

Lamar Richardson (CEO | Co-Founder)

Lamar Richardson is a 3x Tony Award®-winning Broadway, film, and television producer. In 2026, he made history as the youngest Black lead producer to win a Tony Award® in one of the ceremony’s top production categories at age 33 and became the 4th overall following Ken Harper (1975), Oprah Winfrey (2016), and Glenn Davis (2025). In 2024, Richardson also made history as the youngest Black producer to win two Tony Awards® in one season at age 31. He received his B.A. from Columbia University in 2015 and was discovered by Phylicia Rashad, who cast him as 'Sylvester' in her 2016 production of August Wilson's Ma Rainey's Black Bottom at the Mark Taper Forum. Richardson co-founded Ivy Lion Productions in 2022, an independent production banner aimed at producing prestige artist-driven, commercially ambitious projects targeting new, diverse audiences. On Broadway, he made his Lead Producer debut with the critically acclaimed Fall 2025 revival of Ragtime, produced in association with Lincoln Center Theater. Other Broadway co-producing credits include Death of a Salesman, New York, New York, The Wiz, Merrily We Roll Along (Tony Award®), Appropriate (Tony Award®), Gypsy, Othello, Smash, and Proof. London/West End credits include The Hunger Games: On Stage at Troubadour Canary Wharf Theatre. His film credits include Bleecker Street's The Fabulous Four. Over the years, Richardson has developed and packaged several scripted TV projects starring the likes of Lorraine Toussaint, Glynn Turman, Patina Miller, Rome Flynn, Gabrielle Dennis, Trai Byers, and more. Other education includes studies at Duke University, Oxford University, and Columbia University School of the Arts.

Zaire Julion-Richardson (COO | Co-Founder)

Zaire co-founded Ivy Lion in 2022 after a wealth of industry experience and expertise. She was an analyst at NBCUniversal, a TV Talent Assistant at ICM Partners, and she worked in development & production at Courtney Kemp’s production company, End of Episode, where she worked on shows such as POWER on Starz and ABC’s Get Christie Love pilot. She was 1 of 12 participants in Diverse Representation’s Black Entertainment Executives Pipeline Program. Zaire obtained her MBA from Columbia Business School and B.A. from Johns Hopkins University.