# Desiree Gruber

> Desiree Gruber is the New York founder and CEO of Full Picture, the creative agency she started in 1999 after eight years at Rogers & Cowan. She co-created and executive produced Project Runway through its first 16 seasons, helped shape the Victoria's Secret Fashion Show, and later co-founded the early-stage fund DGNL Ventures. Her career links publicity, television production, brand building, investing, and civic work around one durable idea: the story is part of the product.

- **Role:** Founder and CEO at Full Picture
- **Organizations:** Full Picture, DGNL Ventures, UNICEF USA, God's Love We Deliver, Tech:NYC, CNBC Changemakers
- **From:** Miami, United States
- **Nationality:** American
- **Known for:** Co-created and executive produced Project Runway through its first 16 seasons., Received a Peabody Award as part of the Project Runway team., Earned 14 consecutive Emmy nominations for Outstanding Reality Competition Program from 2005 through 2018.

## Career timeline

- **1989** — Began her professional career as an assistant in EMI Records' A&R department.
- **1991** — Joined Rogers & Cowan as an assistant publicist and later rose to vice president of entertainment.
- **1995** — Worked on the inaugural Victoria's Secret Fashion Show and continued with the event for more than two decades.
- **1999** — Founded Full Picture in New York, combining publicity, production and management.
- **2004** — Co-created Project Runway with Heidi Klum and Full Picture's television team; the series premiered on Bravo.
- **2007** — Project Runway received a Peabody Award.
- **2016** — Co-founded early-stage investment fund DGNL Ventures with Nir Liberboim.
- **2018** — Received UNICEF's Spirit of Compassion Award and completed a 14-year run of Emmy nominations tied to Project Runway.
- **2023** — Full Picture and CNBC announced the annual CNBC Changemakers initiative, with Gruber serving on its advisory board.
- **2025** — Continued serving on the CNBC Changemakers advisory board for the initiative's second annual class.

## Achievements

- Co-created and executive produced Project Runway through its first 16 seasons.
- Received a Peabody Award as part of the Project Runway team.
- Earned 14 consecutive Emmy nominations for Outstanding Reality Competition Program from 2005 through 2018.
- Won a GLAAD Media Award as part of Project Runway.
- Founded Full Picture in 1999 and kept the agency operating across publicity, production, management, content and strategy.
- Co-founded DGNL Ventures, an early-stage fund focused on the intersection of technology, lifestyle and celebrity.
- Received UNICEF's Spirit of Compassion Award in 2018.
- Was named among Fortune's Most Powerful Women Entrepreneurs in 2010.

## Latest updates

- **2025-04** — Served on the advisory board of the second annual CNBC Changemakers program and publicly described it as a community of women leading change across industries.
- **2024-05** — Joined the investor group backing Unrivaled, the women's professional basketball league co-founded by Napheesa Collier and Breanna Stewart.
- **2023-10** — Full Picture partnered with CNBC to launch CNBC Changemakers, an annual initiative recognizing women transforming business.

## Links

- Website: https://www.fullpicture.com/desiree-gruber
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/desiree-gruber-4b7a4564
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/desireegruber/

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Profile page: https://yespress.io/desiree-gruber
Published by YesPress — https://yespress.io
Last updated: 2026-09-24