Joanne Garneau is the Founder of the MBT Group, Inc., a leading technology development, and business optimization company offering a unique insight into the debt industry. She is the CEO of the Corporation’s latest offering – LEO™. Her business expertise and relationships bring tools, experts and technology to the small and midsize company that allows them to build intelligent digital communication resulting in increased sales and improved client retention.
Considered by her peers as a thought leader in the debt industry, Joanne was the Founder and Chief Executive Officer of Nationwide Support Services, an industry leading financial services firm specializing in debt settlement, personal finance education and budget management providing the best outcome for struggling consumers. Headquartered in Irvine, CA, Nationwide serviced clients in most of the United States and employed over 300 workers. Aside from her professional pursuits Joanne is a committed consumer advocate, philanthropist and activist.
Joanne’s successful entrepreneurial career spans four decades and multiple industries including the medical industry, the pharmaceutical technology industry, the debt industry and now the digital marketing sector with a special focus on the debt industry. Her expertise is derived from a 10-year corporate career as Regional Vice President of Sales for the largest pharmacy automation company in the U.S. She pioneered the utilization of computer technology for pharmacy applications as early as 1976 and advocated for computerized prescription filling when many state pharmacy boards banned computerized prescription filling, believing that such technology would lead to consumer harm.
In 2002, Joanne entered into the debt industry seeing the opportunity to turn her passion for consumer advocacy into a profitable social enterprise. Her vision of the industry evolved, spawning multiple innovative consumer empowerment tools including the Financial Strength Builder™, The Financial Strengths Score™, The Frugality Game™ -an online “edutainment” platform teaching financial literacy to Americans using animation with creative training and tools. She also developed The GOOD Project™ (Get Out Of Debt), a financial wellness mentor and coaching program companies may offer as a benefit to their employees.
Joanne is also a leader in financial literacy charities. In 2010, she founded the Frugality Nation Foundation, a non-profit foundation dedicated to rebuilding financial strength in the American household by educating and empowering Americans with basic financial knowledge. She passionately believes empowering consumers through education is the best way to grow and sustain the US economy.