More Than A CEO: Debbe Garry

Debbe settled into the swivel chair across from my desk.

“Okay, I’m all yours!” she says with a bubbly tone and a smile.

You can feel Debbe’s presence when she walks into a room.

After 25 years in business, we can finally get a glimpse into how Debbe started out.

Out of college, Garry began as an illustrator. She wanted to be able to tell a story through imagery. After getting a job at an advertising agency in the Hudson Valley, she was challenged with having to tell a story with just a few words.

“I was always interested in the why and the who. Who are we talking to? Why are we developing these marketing tools?” Debbe is fascinated by how to best communicate through images or words to a consumer. How will they perceive it? Will they understand the message?

Garry’s relationships are what helped her create the agency that she now runs today.

“Working on my own, as a marketing person, I formed relationships with people that later became my partners in BBG&G.”

Building her business was no small feat. When asked how she credits her success she chuckles and says, “A lot of hard work”.

Rome wasn’t built in a day and neither was BBG&G. It took years for Debbe to get where she is now. 

“What has been really important to us over the years,” she starts, ” is the willingness to embrace new technology and media and learn about it, get proficient with it, and integrate it into our strategy and solutions for our clients.”

Garry finds it extremely important to keep up with the times. In order to stay up to date, she reads and networks, and attends webinars.

“If I need to know something, I do my homework and research.” Garry states. An idea that bends perfectly with our tagline, “It’s the work we do before the work!”

If Debbe could dream it all, in the next five years, BBG&G will be fully team managed and working on even larger scale national and international projects. She hopes that the company will always be a place where clients see BBG&G as a valuable partner and love the work they do. 

As a seasoned professional in the industry, Debbe’s advice for people just starting out is to surround themselves with people whom they can learn from, and be willing to take some risks. 

“Don’t ever feel like you’ve learned it all,” she says. It is so important to never feel like you’re the smartest person in the room. Start with humility and go from there.

By Belle, Social Media / PR Assistant | April 13, 2022