Biography

Frances C. Gretes, founder and principal of GRETES RESEARCH SERVICES, has earned a national reputation as an experienced professional. Her successful career includes more than 25 years of providing information, new business and marketing services to global architectural firms, media corporations, and a variety of professional services firms.

As former Director of New Business for the international firm of Rafael Viñoly Architects, Fran established and managed a department responsible for new business, media, and research for the 170-person staff. She identified and evaluated more than 500 new business prospects worldwide; and developed strategies that helped the firm enter new markets and win projects worth a total construction value of more than $2 billion. The firm received thousands of mentions in the worldwide media during her tenure from 2002-2006.

For international A/E firm, Skidmore, Owings & Merrill, Fran established and managed an information center for 13 years in New York City where she conducted research in support of the firm’s business development efforts and design process. She filled a similar role from 1973 to1976 for international A/E firm, Atlanta-based John Portman & Associates.

A frequent guest speaker on strategic gathering of business intelligence, Fran has published many articles and a book found in architectural libraries worldwide, The Directory of International Periodicals and Newsletters on the Built Environment. Her professional training as a librarian and experiences as a senior researcher for NBC News and Fortune honed her research skills and understanding of the media, amplifying her value in competitive research and media placement. She is an art history graduate of the College of William and Mary and holds a Master of Librarianship from Emory University. She is active in several professional organizations including the Association of Independent Information Professionals, Society for Marketing Professional Services and AIA New York Chapter Marketing & Public Relations Committee.