Gary Owens

Following an award-winning 30-year career overseeing large-scale customer service operations and human resource teams, Gary Owens brings to NextGen Marketing Group™ a proven understanding of the customer service paradigm and how to generate organization responsiveness.

Recent engagements have included process development for a national wireless communications company’s start-up of Internet access on US airlines, service upgrades and organizational design for a global bank’s credit card validation and transaction management operation, and organizational assessment for a global bank’s securities management division.

Prior to joining NextGen Marketing Group™, Gary was CEO (and an owner) of ACCENT Marketing Services which, under his leadership, doubled in revenue and quadrupled in profitability. ACCENT Marketing is a marketing services, database management and customer care company with operations in the US, the Caribbean, and Asia Pacific. The firm ranked as the number 11 marketing services agency in Advertising Age‚Äôs 2004 annual marketing services report.

Previously, Gary held executive positions in customer service operations with Sprint Long Distance, most recently as Vice President, Customer Solutions, Mass Markets Organization. During the course of his tenure, his groups were recognized for “Best Customer Service” by the Yankee Group, won six “Highest Customer Satisfaction” awards by J.D. Powers and Associates, garnered the International Customer Service Association Award of Excellence and earned the Sprint Chairman’s and State of Missouri’s Quality Award.

During his 20 years at Sprint, Gary also served as head of Human Resources for Carolina Telephone and for the Long Distance Division. During this period, Gary and his HR organization were responsible for providing all facets of human resource services for 22,000 employees. Gary also led the start up for Sprint’s Competitive Local Exchange Carrier (CLEC) organization as local telecommunications was deregulated in the United States in the late 90’s.

A frequent national and international speaker, Gary has been a guest lecturer at Avila College’s Executive MBA program, Cornell University’s Executive MBA program and Miami University’s School of Business. He’s also been a member of the Business Advisory Council to the Dean of Miami University’s School of Business, and a member of the Board of Directors for the University of Southern California’s Center for Telecommunications Management. In 2007 he co-chaired an executive session for the Human Resource Planning Society’s regional meeting in Washington, DC.

Gary is a graduate of Miami University, Oxford, Ohio, where he earned a B.A. in Political Science with an English minor. He and his wife, Diana, now reside in Salem, SC.