Garland Harwood is the co-founder of Confidant and leads the creative and strategic communications firm’s New York office and PR team. He has been a catalyst for the agency’s rapid growth, industry recognition and client roster of celebrated brands. Garland has built Confidant’s team of big agency defectors to give clients the strategic rigor of a large agency with the agility of a boutique – rooted in insights, strategically aligned to business goals and deeply ingrained in culture. With more than two decades leading PR and integrated marketing campaigns for brands like Amazon, Samsung, Shake Shack, BarkBox, Sonos, Microsoft, MadeGood and Getty Images, his expertise, which spans large global launches, strategic media relations programs, “brand love” consumer campaigns, high stakes corporate reputation initiatives and executive thought leadership platforms, led him to hire a team that can deliver a range of services to clients, countering the single-specialty model used by many agencies.

Under Garland’s leadership, Confidant was short-listed for PRWeek’s Outstanding Boutique Agency and PRovoke’s Boutique Agency of the Year within five years of its founding. Confidant has also been celebrated for its workplace culture, being named to Inc. Magazine's Best Workplaces in 2021 and 2023 and PRovoke's 2021, 2022 and 2023 Top 5 Best Micro Boutique Agencies to Work For. Garland has been individually recognized by PRWeek's "40 Under 40" list and the “15-to-Watch” list from PR News.

Previously, Garland was senior vice president at Weber Shandwick, where he was the agency's global lead for Amazon, an account he won and grew for more than seven years and now counsels at Confidant. He also worked with Samsung, overseeing major events and announcements, including the company’s historic 3D TV and smart TV launches and entrance into the premium audio dock market. In addition, Garland developed impactful awareness-driving campaigns for Sonos, Getty Images and ZocDoc. Before joining Weber, Garland was at Maloney & Fox, where he spent four years working with Microsoft’s MSN and consumer teams. He started his career in grassroots political operations.

Garland is on the Board of Visitors for The University of Alabama's College of Communication and Information Sciences with whom he founded The Confidant Scholarship to foster more diversity in the field of public relations.

A native of Richmond, VA, Garland lives in New Jersey with his wife and two children.