Kristen Palchak

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Brand & Marketing Strategy Executive  ·  PRWeek 40 Under 40, 2024  ·  MBA, UCLA Anderson

Making complex
ideas impossible
to ignore.

Brand and marketing strategy executive with 18+ years of experience helping ambitious companies translate complexity into relevance, momentum, and growth. My work spans Microsoft, Xbox, LinkedIn, Sony, Nissan, and high-growth brand challenges, with deep experience in brand positioning, narrative development, integrated campaigns, AI and innovation storytelling, PR/communications, and cross-functional team leadership.

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★ PRWeek 40 Under 40, 2024 AI & Future-of-Work Strategist Cannes Lions Shortlist Silver Anvil Winner San Francisco, CA ✦ Open to opportunities
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Career focus

Looking for senior in-house roles in technology, AI, or high-growth companies where brand, narrative, integrated marketing, and communications can shape business momentum.

Ideal roles

Head of Brand Marketing · VP Marketing · Head of Brand · Senior Director Brand Strategy · Integrated Marketing Lead · Head of Marketing & PR/Communications

Best-fit environments

Companies with complex stories to make human · AI · Enterprise tech · Consumer tech · High-growth companies navigating trust, category definition, or perception shifts

What I bring

Brand positioning · Narrative architecture · Integrated campaigns · PR/communications strategy · AI and innovation storytelling · Team leadership · Global stakeholder alignment

Kristen Palchak

Kristen Palchak

Brand & Marketing Strategy Executive
San Francisco, CA  ·  Open to opportunities

About me

Strategy that
builds trust
& drives growth.

I'm a brand and marketing strategy executive known for building high-performing teams, leading through complexity, and turning ambitious business priorities, including AI, future-of-work, and technology innovation, into stories, platforms, and programs that drive relevance, growth, and trust.

My career spans global tech giants, iconic entertainment brands, and high-growth startups, from Microsoft and Xbox to Sony Pictures and 20th Century Fox, with leadership across North America and Asia. Most recently I led the brand and narrative strategy behind Edelman's $19M California brand campaign for the Governor's Office of Business and Economic Development.

I'm a builder. I built Edelman Thailand from a single consultant to a full-service office in under a year, and a team of 18+ strategists, community leaders, and content creators at Assembly from scratch. I believe in hiring rockstars, building for the future, and creating environments where collaboration, curiosity, and a little fun are non-negotiable.

I hold an MBA from UCLA Anderson and a BA from UC Berkeley.

Recognition

PRWeek 40 Under 40, 2024
Microsoft Work Trends Index, Cannes Creative Data Lion Shortlist, 2021
Petco Nutrition Campaign, Silver Anvil Winner; SABRE Shortlist
Fox Home Entertainment, Edelman Standards Effectiveness Gold, Social Silver
Jeopardy.com Redesign, Bronze Addy; Silver Creativity; Silver W3; Silver Davey
Cisco NYT.com Takeover, Cannes Lions Shortlist; IAB MIXX Silver; Webby Honoree

PRWeek 40 Under 40, 2024

"Defining the future of work in the age of AI is a daunting task. Nonetheless, it's one Kristen Palchak has carved into her remit."

Read the full profile

Proof at a glance

Scale, impact, and recognition.

18+
Years in brand & marketing strategy
15+
Global markets shaped across Microsoft and Nissan
18+
Strategists built and led at Assembly
$19M
California GO-Biz brand campaign win
80M+
Impressions, Work Trend Index launch
77M+
Impressions, Invest America Super Bowl

Selected work

Campaigns & platforms.

Work Trend
Index

Microsoft · Cannes 2021

Cannes case film · 2021
AI & Future-of-Work

Microsoft / Edelman

Building Microsoft's Future-of-Work Thought Leadership Platform

Challenge

Microsoft needed a credible global platform to define the future of work as business leaders navigated massive workplace change.

What I led

Built global strategy, message architecture, and stakeholder alignment across markets, turning workplace research and data into an ownable Microsoft narrative that predicted the Great Resignation.

80M+ impressions at launch

Cannes Creative Data Lion Shortlist, 2021

Fast Company Top 10 Most Innovative recognition

Work Trend Index became an annual anchor for Microsoft's future-of-work and AI narrative

▶ Cannes Case Film

The Real
California Story

GO-Biz · $19M · 2026

2026 · Just launched
Just Launched

California Governor's Office of Business and Economic Development / Edelman

Repositioning California's Business Narrative

Challenge

California had a perception problem, not a performance problem. The state needed a stronger national business narrative to counter misinformation and reinforce its economic leadership.

What I led

Led the brand and narrative strategy behind Edelman's winning $19M campaign approach, built around the gap between California's economic reality and public perception.

Strategy helped win a $19M engagement

One of the largest California communications campaigns in recent history

Campaign spans paid media, digital content, video, earned, influencer, and stakeholder strategy

📰 PRWeek Coverage

Invest
America

Dell Foundation · Super Bowl 2026

WSJ full-page ad · 2026
Integrated Campaign

Michael & Susan Dell Foundation / Edelman

Turning a Philanthropic Initiative into a National Platform Launch

Challenge

Invest America needed to move from policy concept to a national platform with emotional relevance and launch-stage momentum.

What I led

Led integrated strategy across the campaign, defined the kid-centered approach, and built the surround-sound activation plan across web, social, paid, earned, and executive channels, including a full-page WSJ ad signed by Michael Dell.

77M+ impressions · 36M+ video views

58K+ website clicks · 2.8K+ email sign-ups

▶ Watch the Spot 📄 WSJ Ad 🏆 EDO Rankings

Hardwear

Microsoft · Xbox · 2022

Brand campaign · 2022
Brand Strategy

Microsoft / Edelman

Expanding Microsoft's Cultural Relevance Beyond Tech

Challenge

Microsoft needed to expand cultural relevance with younger and more diverse audiences without forcing a traditional product-first message.

What I led

Led strategy for Hardwear, a culturally grounded brand initiative created with an emerging fashion designer, connecting Microsoft to creativity, community, and culture through influencer partnerships, targeted content, and community programming.

+68% growth in Gen Z followers

+53% growth in women followers

↗ Read the Story

Sparking
a Chain Reaction

Nissan APAC · 2020

PR Awards entry · 2020
Regional Strategy

Nissan Asia & Oceania / Edelman Thailand

Building a Market for Electric Mobility Across APAC

Challenge

Nissan needed to shift consumer attitudes around electric vehicles across markets where EV adoption, infrastructure, and consumer readiness varied widely.

What I led

Built Edelman Thailand from the ground up while leading Nissan's integrated social and communications strategy across Asia & Oceania, including an EV campaign across 9 markets and executive positioning for senior APAC leadership.

Grew Edelman Thailand revenue 50% within 6 months of launch

PR Awards 2020 nominee: Best PR-Led Integrated Communications and Best Regional PR

Built an office, a client relationship, and a regional strategy simultaneously

📋 Team Charter

Earlier recognition & digital brand work

Always
Be Entertaining

2018
Digital & Paid Social

20th Century Fox Home Entertainment

Always-On Social & Paid Engine

Built a full-funnel content engine turning a fragmented catalog of 250+ titles into a single audience-first machine that made social a direct revenue driver.

2× engagement · 35× clicks · 18% revenue lift

📊 ABE Framework

Turning Our
Backs

Petco · Silver Anvil · 2018

Earned Media

Petco / Edelman

Pet Food Quality & Differentiation Campaign

Repositioned Petco around health and quality, creating category separation ahead of a major competitive shift. Broke through a crowded news cycle to land top-tier national coverage.

1,000+ placements · 1.25B impressions · Silver Anvil

▶ Case Study

Jeopardy!

Sony Pictures · 4 Awards · 2016

Digital Transformation

Jeopardy! / Sony Pictures Entertainment

Jeopardy.com Redesign & Digital Strategy

Proved a 60-year-old legacy brand could compete for digital-native audiences. Rebuilt Jeopardy.com and doubled the show's social footprint across every platform.

+159% visitors · +174% time on site · 4 awards

▶ Case Study

Welcome to the
Human Network

Cisco / Ogilvy · c. 2010

Integrated Campaign

Cisco / Ogilvy

Welcome to the Human Network, NYT.com Takeover

Established Cisco as a culturally relevant tech brand at the moment B2B companies were discovering what digital storytelling could do.

20% lift in brand persuasiveness · Cannes Lions Shortlist

▶ Watch Video

Leadership style

How I lead.

I build the strategy before the story.

I start by diagnosing the business, audience, and perception problem, then build positioning, narrative, and activation systems that can scale. The story comes after the strategy is sound.

I make complexity usable.

I've helped translate AI, future-of-work, enterprise technology, economic development, and cultural shifts into clear stories people can understand, believe in, and act on. Complexity is the brief, not the excuse.

I lead through curiosity and collaboration.

I ask the questions that get teams aligned, bring creative and strategic partners into the process early, and create the conditions for smart people to do their best work together.

I build teams people want to be on.

I've built and scaled teams, offices, and operating models, including Edelman Thailand and a team of 18+ strategists, community leaders, and content creators at Assembly. I hire rockstars and get out of their way.

Executive strengths

Where I'm
strongest.

A rare blend of executive-level strategy, hands-on craft, and the leadership instinct to build brands that actually move markets.

Brand & Business Strategy

Brand positioningCategory narrative Audience strategyMarket perception Growth strategyCompetitive differentiation

Integrated Marketing & GTM

Campaign strategyLaunch planning Paid/earned/shared/owned ecosystems Content strategySocial strategy Influencer strategyExecutive platforms

PR, Communications & Trust

Communications strategyExecutive communications Thought leadershipEarned media strategy ReputationMessage architecture Stakeholder alignment

Technology & Innovation Storytelling

AI storytellingFuture-of-work Product narrativesEnterprise technology Complex category educationTrust-building

Leadership & Operating Model

Team buildingCross-functional leadership Global stakeholder alignment Agency/in-house partnership Executive counselCreative collaboration

Current POV

What I'm thinking
about now.

How AI changes brand trust, not just productivity

Why "agentic" is not a messaging strategy

How companies can differentiate in crowded AI markets

How brand leaders can help people understand and adopt complex technology

Let's talk

Open to new
opportunities.

I'm always interested in conversations about brand strategy, executive leadership roles, and bold creative challenges.

✉
Email
kopalchak@gmail.com
in
LinkedIn
linkedin.com/in/kristenpalchak
↓
Resume
View / download resume