VANCOUVER, Washington — The partners of the award-winning PNW-based multi-family marketing agency, GTMA, are pleased to announce the appointment of Barrie Buckner as Chief Executive Officer. Buckner is an accomplished entrepreneur having started businesses in entertainment, music production, and real estate development. Over the last 20 years, he’s acquired skills as a marketing executive, sales leader, and operations expert.
Buckner succeeds Co-Founder Joshua Swanson, who is stepping down to give attention to GTMA’s recent investment, faith-based publication Worship Leader Magazine and media business Authentic Media. Swanson said, “After 12 years of success, GTMA is ready for a leader like Barrie. His passion for company culture, operational excellence, and understanding of new marketing technologies and strategies will serve our team and clients well. I’m so excited to see him take this great company to the next level.”
Barrie is an entrepreneur, owning and operating two music business endeavors. He built a music production company that produced and recorded music for radio and television commercials, partnering with advertising agencies such as Leo Burnett, BBD, Burrell Advertising, and others. He built a children’s brand named Lullaby Confessions that paired positive affirmations with music and books. Through this organization, Barrie built partnerships with Babies “R” Us, Jenny June Sleep Therapy, Nickelodeon UK, Baby First TV, and others.
Barrie joined GTMA in 2014, where he served as the Partnerships Manager, initially focusing on growing west coast business, but his territory was quickly expanded to the entire country. As a two-man team, partnering with the CEO, Barrie was responsible for growing the agency’s revenue by 233% over three years. In 2020 Barrie began to lead the company’s Account Services department, with the responsibility of running the sales team that acquires new business across the U.S. and maintaining existing business via the account management team. He’s also championed forward-thinking ideas about enhancing company culture in the new remote work environment.
"I could not be more honored and excited to lead this company," Buckner says. "Over the past nine years, it has been a constant joy to work at GTMA. I can't say enough about how talented, smart, and fun this team is. I look forward to introducing several aspects of our organization, such as web development, branding, and production, to our core multifamily developer audience."
“I can’t think of a better person to take over the leadership of GTMA,” said GTMA Co-Founder Jason Naumann. “Having worked closely with Barrie for almost a decade, I can say that his passion for excellence, his commitment to integrity, and his drive to make this company the best it can be makes him the ideal person to direct GTMA into its promising future.”
Barrie holds a bachelor’s degree in music and business from DePaul University in Chicago, Il. He married his college sweetheart, has three children, and lives by the quote his father taught him, “If you’re going to do it, do it well."
