Appointment marks return to private industry for the former New York State Department of Health assistant commissioner, public affairs
Gary Holmes has joined independent marketing, advertising and public relations agency Mower as vice president, director of public relations and public affairs. Holmes brings more than 20 years of senior management, government and news experience to his post, most recently as assistant commissioner, public affairs for the New York State Department of Health.
“We’re thrilled to welcome Gary to Mower’s leadership team,” said Mower president and COO Stephanie Crockett. “Gary is highly regarded in the corridors of state government, industry and the press, and his experience on the ground in Albany adds an important dimension to the scope of knowledge we bring to our advocacy work for clients in both the nonprofit and profit sectors.”
During his four-and-a-half-year tenure with the Department of Health, Holmes acted as the chief liaison to the press office for Governor Andrew M. Cuomo. His achievements included managing the daily press response for the agency at the apex of the COVID-19 pandemic. Homes entered public service in 2015 as director of communications for the New York State Department of Transportation.
A broadcast journalist by trade, Holmes served as news director at Time Warner Cable News Albany/Hudson Valley from 2007-2015. Before that, he was senior executive producer at YNN Albany, where he launched the nightly political/public affairs program Capital Tonight. His early career included stints at ESPN (Bristol, Conn.), Harbour Media Relations (Saratoga Springs, N.Y.) and WRGB (Schenectady, N.Y.)
Holmes is a graduate of Ithaca College, where he studied video production and corporate communications.