Overview

Gender

female

Investor Type

Angel

Desiree Gruber has parlayed lifelong interests in fashion, culture, art, entertainment, and technology into a thriving media empire. With her agency, Full Picture, as a foundation, Gruber embodies the modern entrepreneurial spirit. Gruber has been instrumental in building some of the world’s most prestigious brands and properties, ranging from 15 years with Victoria’s Secret to the launch of three hotels with Ian Schrager, as well as guiding the careers of high-profile personalities including Heidi Klum and creating the hit television show Project Runway.

Gruber’s career first took shape at Rogers & Cowan, a national public relations agency, where she rose to Vice President of Entertainment and managed various publicity and marketing accounts within the entertainment, music, fashion, and beauty industries while spearheading the overall growth of the firm’s New York office. It was during her tenure there that she helped to conceptualize and develop the landmark Victoria’s Secret Fashion Show, an annual project in which she remains an integral partner.

Establishing her own agency, Full Picture, in 1999, Gruber set out to synergize the traditionally separate fields of public relations, management, and production. Under her guidance, Full Picture has become a creative force and evolved into a full-fledged multimedia company at the crossroads of the fashion and lifestyle industries. Its many successes include Lifetime’s Project Runway and the trendsetting HSN shopping shows Curations with Stefani Greenfield. Gruber also works with online portals such as MSN and top-line brands including Kraft, Special K and Tylenol to create award-winning branded entertainment.

Gruber’s expertise in marketing and branding campaigns, for which she has received over twenty awards, has positioned her among the most respected figures within the media industry. Her experience in forecasting and developing trends has also helped her create an innovative approach to producing original film, television and Internet programming. She was selected as one of Fortune’s Most Powerful Women Entrepreneurs of 2010, and has received a Peabody Award and eight Emmy nominations for executive producing Project Runway.

Ms. Gruber has been awarded an official Mayor’s Proclamation by the City of New York for her professional and civic accomplishments. She serves on the Boards of the U.S. Fund for UNICEF in New York and God's Love We Deliver, an organization that delivers nutritious, freshly prepared meals to people living with HIV/AIDS or other serious illnesses. She has been profiled in such publications as O: The Oprah Magazine, Variety, New York magazine, Gotham and PR Week.