May 20, 2025
May 20, 2025
- Grows YoY Enterprise Group revenue by 55% in Q1 2025, surpassing $15M annualized run-rate bolstered by demand for human-centered AI storytelling services
- Erin Smith joins Mission North as EVP to lead agency’s Enterprise Group of practices spanning AI, cybersecurity, infrastructure, future of work, and retail and revenue technology
- Kerry Baker returns to Mission North as EVP, spearheading talent initiatives and managing strategic cybersecurity and infrastructure partnerships
Mission North is excited to announce record growth and momentum within its Enterprise Group, including two new executive appointments and the launch of a proprietary method for human-centric AI storytelling.
Enterprise Growth Driven By Agency’s Human-Centric AI Storytelling Method
Mission North’s Enterprise Group serves B2B technology leaders shaping the future of work, AI, infrastructure, cybersecurity, and commerce. During the first quarter of 2025, the group grew 55% YoY and surpassed an annual run-rate of $15M, bolstered by the agency’s human-centered AI storytelling approach for new and existing clients including Abnormal AI, Axon, Mozilla, Rubrik, Snowflake and Webflow.
“We partnered with Mission North because of their deep industry experience in AI and public safety, and reputation-forward approach to corporate storytelling,” said Alex Engel, VP of Corporate Communications at Axon. “Our mission is to protect life. As the operating environment for Axon continues to evolve in complexity and urgency, we trust Mission North’s team to support our communications strategy now and in the future.”
To help AI companies build trust and earn awareness in the new media, content and policy landscape, Mission North regularly fields research to understand how companies communicate about AI shapes audience opinion of their brands. Its recent survey of IT and business decision-makers found:
- 81% say their trust in the people leading AI companies heavily influences their trust in those brands
- 75% say earned media and owned content featuring real people increases their trust in AI companies
“AI is a human story, not a technology story,” said Bill Bourdon, co-CEO at Mission North. “Yet the popular AI narrative features LLMs and agents as the central characters. Our momentum in enterprise and AI reflects our deep knowledge of the AI landscape, and our human-centered approach to storytelling. Winning in this new landscape requires transparency, authenticity, and stories that put your human characters first.”
Two New EVPs Join Enterprise Group to Accelerate Growth and Innovation
To meet the needs of its enterprise technology clients with innovative products and exceptional service, Mission North appointed two new executive vice presidents: Erin Smith will lead Mission North’s Enterprise Technology Group, while Kerry Baker returns to Mission North to oversee client partnerships within its Future Stack practice serving the data, cloud and AI infrastructure market. Mission North’s EVP Meghan Gardner, who previously led the Enterprise Group, now leads growth agency-wide.
Smith brings unparalleled experience as both an agency leader and leading global technology communication teams in-house. From Salesforce and Cisco to SAP and Lenovo, Erin has helped some of the most iconic B2B technology brands in the world engage with media, analyst, investor and employee audiences. Erin joins Mission North from Zeno Group, where she recently led integrated programs and teams in the technology practice. She will report to Mission North’s co-CEO, Bill Bourdon.
Baker previously spent nearly a decade at Mission North in increasingly senior roles overseeing Infrastructure and Trust clients like Armis, Google, HackerOne, Harness, Nutanix, Pure Storage, and Tenable. She returns to Mission North from New Relic, where she led brand and corporate marketing as vice president of marketing communications. She will report to Mission North’s chief client officer, Shannon Hutto.
“We’re here to set a new standard, and every time we raise the bar, we challenge ourselves to raise it higher,” said Mission North EVP and Head of Growth, Meghan Gardner. “With the addition of leaders like Erin and Kerry, and the innovation we’ve sparked across the agency, we’re meeting our clients where they need to be met – our strong performance this year is just the beginning."
