Rags to riches is a uniquely United States story. It’s the American Dream of starting from humble beginnings, working hard, fighting against adversity and making something of yourself. Brian Garish embodies this ethos. Though, his version is a little different. Garish went from stocking shelves at Walgreens to becoming the president of Banfield Pet Hospital, the largest pet hospital chain in the U.S.
He began his career stocking shelves at the local Walgreens pharmacy during high school. Garish dropped out of college after only a six-month stint when he was 18 years old. It was a trying time. Back at home with his parents, he felt lost without any direction. As he explains, “At the time, I didn’t see the value of sitting in class to hear about business. I wanted to do the work.” A mentor at the pharmacy chain suggested that Garish focus on working hard and advancing within the organization, especially since he didn’t have any other alternatives.
Garish gave it everything he had. Over time, he received the equivalent of an MBA by asking questions, watching to see what worked or failed in the stores, emulating the actions of successful employees and honing his interpersonal skills, all as he kept climbing the corporate ladder.
The bottom-up path Garish took made him think and act differently about leadership. The experience of starting on one of the lowest rungs and working his way up the ladder taught him humility and empathy. He understands the importance of hard work with low pay.
After serving about 12 years as a manager at Walgreens, then spending more than 10 years rising from district and regional manager roles to area vice president at CVC Health, Garish is now the president of Banfield Pet Hospital, the industry’s leading provider of preventive care, a division of Mars Inc. His highest priority at the company is creating a high-performing, inclusive culture for 19,000-plus associates at over 1,000 hospitals across the country.
His hands-on retail experience taught him empathy. He actively listened to what customers and staff members wanted and needed during his days in store management. This made him think differently. For example, the vets and the workers wore drab scrubs that only came in two boring colors. In his Banter with Brian series, a companywide invitation to connect employees with their CEO over Instagram, Garish listened to his team and scrapped the humdrum scrubs, announcing it in an Instagram dance video.
In an effort to show appreciation for his hard-working team, Garish and Banfield proudly launched BANDtogether—a series of multi-sector discussions to generate ideas and actions, in response to three societywide challenges.
BANDtogether: The Empowering Initiative
- Improving education: Investing in equitable education is an effective tool for business success and can have a transformational effect on the lives of people. Leaders need to help remove barriers to education, so associates can realize their full potential.
- Elevating mental health: 83% of U.S. employees experienced negative emotions associated with poor mental health in the past year. By breaking down stigmas and addressing mental health head-on, organizations have an opportunity to positively impact not just the workplace, but society as a whole.
- Empowering women: Since the pandemic took hold, more than 2 million women have dropped out of the workforce. This is a clear signal that we must collectively do better to address the challenges this essential population faces. With 86% of its workforce being women, Banfield is uniquely invested in supporting and empowering women in the workplace.
People who want to become veterinarians do it for love. Compared to other medical professionals, like doctors and surgeons, the pay is relatively low. However, the required veterinary education is expensive. Veterinarians have the highest student-debt-to-income rate of any profession. Garish said about this issue, “You have people becoming vets, who only want to make the world a better place for pets, and they’re strapped with this burden. We are proud to be one of 4% of companies that are actually paying down student debt.” The program has contributed around $15 million to pay off debt for veterinary professionals, while helping to refinance more than $16 million in student loans.
Being a vet or working in the pet-care industry has big ups and downs. One moment a family with young children brings in their newly adopted puppy for a wellness visit, then the next patient the vet attends to needs to be put down. This and other heartbreaking patient visits can do harm on a medical profession’s psyche.
Garish pointed out a sobering statistic, “One out of six veterinarians contemplate suicide on at least one occasion, something they refer to in the industry as compassion fatigue. We asked ourselves what we can do about that, so we hired a mental-health professional on staff, as well as launching mental-health pilot programs.” Banfield launched the first suicide-prevention training designed specifically for veterinary professionals, as part of its holistic commitment to the health and well-being. The training is also available for free to the entire veterinary profession.
In the interview, Garish offered sage advice from the wisdom he accumulated over the decades working in retail environments. He believes that you should listen to the people who are closest to your consumer, not only those sitting in your corporate office. Strategy is wasted without empathy. Offering hope, help and optimism is more powerful than any education or knowledge.
You control culture—which matters—whether you are the janitor or CEO. Build trust through two-way dialogue. Garish advocates to look outside your profession for ideas. He acknowledges that he doesn’t have all of the answers and he doesn’t pretend to.
He also calls for a fun-centric workplace with a vibrant open-floor plan, luxurious gym and cafeteria and plenty of toys and games for both employees and the furry friends they bring to the office.
His efforts are effective. Since becoming president in 2017, Banfield has achieved the lowest turnover in its history, while simultaneously averaging double-digit year-over-year growth. Under his tenure, Banfield, a multibillion organization, skyrocketed over 50%.
Garish ultimately went back to college. Instead of getting a business degree and MBA, he once again took a nontraditional turn by obtaining a diploma in philosophy from Indiana University. He serves on a number of nonprofit boards, including Metropolitan Family Services, Columbia River Economic Development Council and the Banfield Foundation. In his free time, Garish spends time with his two cats, Ashin and Kenji.
Source: Forbes
