Our Chief Strategist

Kristen Wright is an award-winning American journalist and global strategic communications executive with more than 20 years of experience. She puts audience needs first. This is vital because trusted relationships are the No. 1 effective defense in a crisis ... and every organization will encounter a crisis of some magnitude.

Kristen has worked as a newspaper reporter, book and trade magazine editor, digital content creator, news anchor, marketing adviser, business and management consultant and professional speaker. Her reporting assignments include stints in the U.K., Germany, Spain, the Netherlands and France. In 2023, she was selected by IREX to present a crisis communications workshop for community leaders of 40+ countries and governments at a summit in Romania sponsored by the U.S. Department of State. Stateside, Kristen has interviewed CEOs of Fortune 100 companies, U.S. presidential candidates and global energy, electric power and tech execs. 

Before creating her company in 2021, Kristen served as editor in chief of the Petroleum Equipment Institute (PEI), a trade association with members in more than 80 countries. Her redesign of the PEI Journal and shift to audience-focused content earned the quarterly magazine an Association Trends TRENDY Award, placing the publication among the top three magazines of nonprofits and associations. Kristen also created and oversaw PEI's No. 1 e-newsletter and a daily convention publication. She pitched the association's first event sponsorship — plus overhauled content and marketing for the PEI Young Executives conference. Attendance exceeded the 2020 goal by 37% — and previous-year attendance by 45.7%.

Before PEI, Kristen covered electric power generation, transmission and distribution  —  "the grid" — at global B2B communications powerhouse PennWell Corp. There, she was second in command of content for DistribuTECH, the world's No. 1 annual smart grid show, and its magazines, e-newsletters and global energy news broadcast.

Kristen has a Bachelor of Arts in Journalism from The University of Oklahoma and an MBA in Strategic Communication. She is a tribal member of the Choctaw Nation of Oklahoma.