About Us
Gary F. Grates || Managing Partner
Gary F. Grates is Managing Partner at GCG, a strategic communications consultancy and advisory firm.
He is a globally renowned, recognized, and respected expert in corporate communications, change management communications, employee engagement, and corporate strategy execution. Grates counsels senior leaders and Boards of Directors from global organizations in the areas of business transformation, leadership transition, M&A integration, crisis/issues, labor-management relations, organizational effectiveness, employee engagement, function optimization, internal communications improvement, and strategy implementation.
His work, specifically in change management and business transformation and strategy deployment is regarded globally as his work includes General Motors, Volvo, Caterpillar, PepsiCo, Harley-Davidson, Vale, Dell, HP, Kimberly Clark, Merck, and Ipsen to name a few.
Prior to GCG, Grates was a Principal at Real Chemistry, a global health innovation company with offices globally. The firm - which from $47m to $450 m during his tenure - comprises complementary communications, marketing, strategy, creative, digital, clinical trial, science, and medical expertise focused on integrated business solutions in the areas of product supremacy, innovation, change, organizational effectiveness, and growth for the world’s leading organizations, specifically healthcare.
A member of the Executive Team, Grates created and led the Corporate and Strategy portfolio of services working with global organizations on brand relevance and product supremacy.
He designed several proprietary services aimed at organizational performance and reputation:
- The Change Monitor | Internal analysis of an organization’s change readiness focusing on intent, alignment, content, frequency, and interaction
- Corporate Relevance | analytics-based model identifying corporate relevance among global organizations by sector and industry to strengthen organizational excellence
- Employee Worldview | analysis of an organization’s employed archetypes to inform communications
- Inception | signature crisis simulation module to gauge organizational handling of issues and crises.
- ESG Mirror | assessment of an organization’s ESG platform vs competition and best practices
- Corp Comms Function Optimization | analytics and research-based improvement process to strengthen Corp. Comms functions in alignment with corporate situation
He has more than 25 years of corporate, marketing/brand, labor, and strategic communications experience with a particular expertise in creating effective executive visibility efforts to dimensionalize a corporate brand’s story, organizational (change) management/employee (internal) communications.
Grates has counseled more than one hundred organizations and CEOs including: Pfizer, Merck, City of Hope, Roche, Genentech, HP, Intel, General Motors, PepsiCo, Caterpillar, Shell, Viatris, Organon, Kraft, Nissan, GE, Carrier, United Technologies, Novartis, Exxon/Mobil, Shell, AMD, Visa, Yum! Brands, eBay, PwC, Deloitte, Wyeth, British Airways, VW, Volvo, Ipsen, United Airlines, Pfizer, Coca-Cola, Anheuser-Busch/InBev, Kimberly Clark, The McGraw-Hill Companies, ITT, Vale, and Dell, to name a few.
From 2006-2011, Grates established and led the global Change and Employee Engagement Practice at Edelman,the world’s largest public relations firm, putting in place a network of specialists and developing a distinct portfolio around change management, internal communications, social media, and employee engagement for organizations throughout the world.
Prior to Edelman, he served as Vice President-Corporate Communications/North America at General Motors Corporation. While VP of Communications/North America, Grates was responsible for brand, product, media, internal, financial, and public policy communications for GM’s North America Region, reporting to the CEO. He was also the global process leader for internal communications and a member of General Motors' North American Strategy Board, the senior most governing body in North America. In addition, he was member of the teaching staff at General Motors University (GMU) and was selected to join the company’s exclusive Senior Executive Program, a leadership development program.
Prior to joining General Motors, he was Chairman and President of GCI BoxenbaumGrates, a noted strategic communications consultancy and Executive Vice President and Managing Director of GCI Consulting, a unit of GCI Group Public Relations and Grey Advertising, responsible for managing the firm’s global clients.
A frequent facilitator, lecturer and author on issues facing corporate management and communications professionals worldwide, Grates has been referred to as the “thought leader” in change management communications and effective corporate communications and positioning. He has published more than 700 articles/white papers on the strategic importance of communications in achieving business excellence.
Grates is co-director of the Weiss Center for Social Commerce at Syracuse University’s Newhouse School of Public Communications, which teaches and trains students to successfully work in today’s digital marketplace and executive sponsor of the Emerging Insights Lab at Syracuse University, a laboratory for innovative technologies, approaches, and models in communications and marketing.
He is an Adjunct Professor at Syracuse University’s Newhouse School of Public Communications, a Teaching Professor and member of the Advisory Board at ABERJE - the Brazilian Association for Corporate Communications, a former Trustee of Utica College of Syracuse University, a member of the Arthur W. Page Society, PRSA, and chairman of the Organizational Communications Commission at the Institute for PR Research (IPR).
He was named one of Syracuse University’s Newhouse School’s top “40” graduates.
Grates holds a bachelor’s degree from Utica College of Syracuse University and a master’s degree from the Newhouse School of Public Communications at Syracuse University.