Kimry Blackwelder is a global Brand Communication Strategy and Brand Partnerships executive known for building iconic, durable consumer brands.
Her work helps big thinking brands connect to the right conversations and partnerships to power growth and communicate to win continuous cultural relevance.
During 12 years at private-equity-owned Cole Haan (Apax Partners) and at Nike, she led global Brand Communication Strategy and Brand Partnerships. Her work directed and expanded key functional areas (Brand Communications, PR + Media Relations, Brand Partnerships, Events + Experiential) for the Cole Haan brand as it grew from $500M+ to almost $1B in revenue and expanded into new global markets.
Kimry also led the communications roll out for 75+ high-visibility brand partnerships and co-branded lifestyle collections ranging from Maria Sharapova, to Rodarte and Slack that powered revenue and customer growth. Under her leadership, her team made Cole Haan, products, partnerships and collaborations a part of a bigger cultural conversation.
She also designed and transformed brand communication capabilities and processes, and advanced into both internal corporate communications responsibilities after Nike sold the brand to Apax Partners in 2013, and to external / investor relations communications where she played a meaningful role in a planned 2019 Cole Haan IPO and S-1 filing.
Currently, she advises emerging and larger brands on brand communications and brand partnership strategy through the marketplaces like, Operator by Publicist, and her own brand communications consultancy.
Her early career was in lifestyle media and PR, where she developed an overstuffed Rolodex and a zest for working with creative people and mission driven companies to move mountains and realize exciting, audacious goals.