Debra Gaynor
Chief Business Strategist
Insight and innovation start here. Debra guides the agency in the constant evaluation of “how can we do things better?” for clients
Experience
- As Chief Business Strategist, Debra works across the agency providing oversight and insights on strategy and innovation as well as assessing business opportunities with current and new clients
- Trained as a journalist, she has worked for more than 25 years at some of the world’s most respected PR agencies, including Burson-Marsteller, Weber Shandwick and Edelman Worldwide on brand marketing, corporate, B2B and crisis assignments
- She has led domestic and global programs for a broad range of brands, including Advil, The “Milk Mustache” campaign, Nexium, Similac, M-M-R and Varivax vaccines, The Merck Manual Home Edition and Quest Diagnostics
- She is a strong believer in the “whole brain” approach to problem solving, with a deep dive in research and analytics supporting insights and strategic platforms
- Debra has received a number of PR awards for her work, including the Silver Anvil, the Creativity in Public Relations Award (CIPRA), and the Big Apple Award
Education/Special Skills
- Debra’s BA/BS is from the S.I. Newhouse School of Public Communications at Syracuse University
- She spent a good deal of her career in the healthcare arena, and can comfortably discuss the many “languages” of science and medicine
- She is a member of the Diabetes Advisory Board of the Naomi Berrie Diabetes Center and PR advisor to The New York Stem Cell Foundation and The Three Tomatoes
