Meet ISG Director of Marketing Abby Gram

As the leader of ISG’s robust marketing team, Abby Gram is a resilient creative force who is always ready for the next challenge. Read on to learn about ISG’s #Allin culture, some surprises about the marketing team, her time on the muddy Mississippi, and why she encourages others to “just keep swimming.”

What is one piece of work-related advice you would give?

When I first joined ISG, I was just diving into the architecture and engineering side of the AEC industry. I was a fish out of water in a sea of technicality. Coming from a completely different background, everything sounded like a foreign language to me, and I was tasked with not only writing about it, but selling it. At one point while overwhelmed with a new environment, team, and ISG’s crazy fast pace, I was chasing a deadline and working well into the night alongside a seasoned ISGer and lifelong optimist. Seeing that I was drowning, she cheerfully said “If you are expecting to ever leave for the day feeling caught up, you won’t. Just keep swimming.” Now, on days of multiple deadlines and unforeseen fire drills, if you listen you may just hear a nearby marketer happily humming ‘Just keep swimming’ from Disney’s Finding Nemo as they plug away at their work.

What do you enjoy the most about ISG’s culture?

Fast walkers. Pace setters. No jerks. We all pull our weight and approach everything as a team working toward a common goal. Because we are employee owners, people are excited and jump at the opportunity to contribute to a project. We have a big group of achievers, and it is really impressive to see everyone equally invested in making an impact and determined to do it better than our competition. Everyone is truly #Allin.

What is something about ISG Marketing that would surprise others?

Industry peers and competition are always surprised to learn how much ISG invests in its marketing team, as can be seen in the breadth and depth of our talent. Having a marketing team of our size in the AEC industry is uncommon, but clearly, we have seen the benefits, including in the many ways we show up stronger than our competition.

Internally, I think our employee owners would be surprised to learn how many projects and deliverables we touch outside of strategic communications and project pursuits (proposals). Our job is to help make ISG and its employee owners look good while staying behind the scenes, and I believe we do a pretty decent job of that.

What is the most rewarding part of your job?

One of the most rewarding parts of my job is the working relationships I get to create firm wide. Because marketing is a shared service team, we get to interact throughout all of our 13 locations, 12 business units, and 27 disciplines–forming relationships with architects, project managers, interior designers, engineers, and so many more AEC professionals. We learn from each other and grow together.

What do you like to do in your free time?

Spending time boating with my family on the muddy Mississippi is one on my favorite summertime activities. We enjoy hanging out on the boat, fishing off the dock, grilling out, exploring the back waters, and camping on the different beaches along the river. I switch gears in the fall and winter months, spending my time creating some killer Halloween costumes for my kids and drawing graphite and charcoal portraits.

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