Jim Garrard

Founder/CEO

Born in West Palm Beach, FL and raised in Atlanta and Los Angeles, Garrard discovered his love for music and film at an early age and as he grew older, he found ways to indulge his passion for each. "I realize there are vast differences between the film industry and the music industry," he observes, "but art is art. Creativity is creativity. Either someone or something touches you or it doesn't. The medium doesn't matter. It can be a song or a film or a poem or a painting. Either it speaks to you or it doesn't."

Today, Garrard wears many hats: movie producer, label executive, entrepreneur and philanthropist. While each hat has its own style, they are all cut from the same cloth and colored with the same hues: creativity, integrity and, most of all, passion. "No one has ever accused me of being dispassionate," he says. "Anyone who knows me knows that I give 100% to everything I do. I'm very vocal about the people and the projects that I believe in."

Since founding DonnaJean Entertainment in 2003, along with longtime friends Jim Spencer and Steve Kinzer, Garrard has freely invested his time and money into those people and projects that he believes in, starting with international dance diva and longtime friend Claudja Barry. "I brought Claudja into the label at its inception," he explains. "I started the label just for her and gave her part ownership. She came to me and wanted us to work together because most of the majors had used and abused her. So we did our own thing."

And Garrard continues to do his own thing by choosing artists based on their talent and their potential for longevity. "When I see or hear an artist like Claudja or any other artist that moves me, I embrace them. I don't do things by committee. I don't have to ask anyone else's opinion. When something moves me, I feel it in my heart and I act on it. If you can't put your money and your time behind something that touches your heart, why bother to do it at all?"

While Barry's ascension to the top of the dance music charts clearly thrust DonnaJean into the spotlight, Garrard remained true to his founding principles and resisted opportunities to sign more commercial, albeit, disposable artists. He says, "I don't expect every artist I sign to have the same principles and beliefs that I have but I do like to work with people who understand the importance of using their voices to help and heal others. I want platinum-selling artists like any other label but at the end of the day if I've sold a million records without touching a million hearts, then I haven't succeeded."

In addition to Barry, who's new CD is due in November, DonnaJean's music roster comprises urban inspirational artist DPB and Christian artist Kelly Ingram. "I am extremely proud of our artists," says Garrard. "They are truly representative of the DonnaJean brand."

Though his accomplishments in music are well-known, it was the film industry that first recognized Garrard's talent. By the time he was 15, he had already broken onto the entertainment scene as an actor, appearing in such films as "Smokey and the Bandit I," "Smokey and the Bandit II," "Cannonball Run I" and "Cannonball Run II." In 1981, award-winning actor and director Burt Reynolds offered him a job as the assistant casting director on "Sharky's Machine." Garrard's work on the Golden Globe-nominated picture ignited his passion for the entertainment industry and marked the start of a successful career. After his first turn as casting director for "Mafia Kingpin," Garrard earned a reputation as Hollywood's youngest casting director and went on to cast such films as "Hambone & Hillie," "KGB: The Secret War" and "Tin Man."

From casting films to forming a record label to sharing his blessings with the less fortunate (10% of all DonnaJean proceeds go to charity) Jim Garrard has fulfilled not only his dreams but the dreams of many other artists as well.

His goal, he says, has always been to do projects that are a testament to the DonnaJean brand and its namesake - his mother, whom he lost to breast cancer a few years ago -- and to serve as a leading example of what can happen when you're not afraid to ask 'what if.' Says Garrard, "My mother was the most wonderful woman I have ever known and even in her death she continues to change my life for the better. She inspired not only my family but the entire community by always giving way more that she ever took."

So, what if there was a man who gave freely to his artists and his community and sought little in return? What if he believed that in the end, true artistry, integrity and passion always prevail over gimmicks and commercialism? These are the questions that might have gone unanswered for some time. Today, we've found the answer: Jim Garrard.