GMR Announces First-Ever Head of Sustainability Hire

Long-time GMR StoryMaker Fran Sutter will fill new role.

GMR Marketing announced the appointment of veteran StoryMaker Fran Sutter as its first Head of Sustainability. Sutter will lead the agency’s sustainability efforts under its Impact & Inclusion department by expanding awareness and collaborating on tangible solutions with StoryMakers developing our unforgettable experiences born of humanity.

GMR has always had a sustainability-focused Agency Experience Council (AEC), of which Sutter was a volunteer co-lead. However, the need for a Head of Sustainability was identified through consistent demand from agency teams and clients, who prioritize sustainable experiences that intentionally consider social, environmental, and economic impacts.  

“At GMR, our goal is to cultivate a thriving organization by prioritizing equity, championing diversity and inclusion, and leading the charge in environmental stewardship. Our commitment to DEI and sustainability enables us to reach that ambition,” said Aliah Berman, GMR’s Chief Impact and Inclusion Officer. “An important connection between these areas of work is that they overlap in the objectives they’re trying to achieve, and the strategies for the work in each area will support the other.

“Our ambition here extends beyond reducing harm to delivering positive, shared outcomes for the business of GMR and our clients, as well as greater society and the environment,” Berman continued.

Sutter, a GMR StoryMaker since 2005, has held various client consulting roles from account coordinator to, most recently, vice president. Her deep knowledge of GMR’s work and process make her intimately aware of the challenges teams face when delivering sustainable world-class solutions on time and in budget. 

“Our focus on impact and inclusion drives our competitive potential around innovation and creativity, allowing us to address the evolving needs of our agency and of our clients,” Sutter said. “We are an agency born of humanity and we won’t ignore the potentially harmful effects on people caused by inaction on environmental matters. Sustainable practices can lead to reduced energy consumption, lower waste disposal costs, and more efficient use of resources.”

In addition to her work as co-lead of GMR’s Sustainability AEC, Sutter is a participating member of Ad Net Zero. Her position on the AEC allowed her to find pathways to progress sustainability within the agency’s existing processes. She was responsible for setting GMR’s sustainability strategy, developing frameworks to improve environmental impact internally and through agency work. In 2023, Sutter led the internal environmental impact assessment with the help of an accredited third party. 

Head to GMR’s 2023 DEI Year in Review for more information about the agency’s sustainability efforts.