Kickstand Nearly Doubles Operating Margin and Books $1.3M in New Business in Kristina Kennedy's First Six Months as CEO

Six-Months Into New Leadership, Austin-based tech PR agency signs five new retainer clients, and takes Platinum at the Pinnacle Awards, as it has its most-awarded year yet.

AUSTIN, Texas, Nov. 11, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- Kickstand Holdings, a global marketing agency, today announced it named Kristina Kennedy as CEO and shared early results of her tenure. Kennedy officially stepped into the CEO role in May 2026. Under her leadership, the agency launched a new strategy, narrowing the focus of its public relations services to five industries, and beginning to sell its digital services directly. Within 100 days, that shift produced more than $3 million in net-new pipeline, resulting in $1.3 million in closed new business, including five retainer clients across AI, fintech, martech, and supply chain.

Kennedy is focused on driving top-line growth, while improving the agency's overall economics. Under her leadership, Kickstand's operating margin rose from 7.3% to 14.3% in the fiscal year ended Sept. 30, 2026, and net operating income rose 65% during the same period. The agency now projects continued improvement into 2027. 

Kickstand's growth has been spurred by its leadership in connecting PR success to brand discovery in AI Search. Tech buyers and investors now do much of their early research in AI search tools, which makes it pivotal for growth-stage companies to show up in LLM answers. Kickstand's data-first approach helps brands earn media coverage in lockstep with thought leadership and owned content to produce results that outperform the competition. Kickstand teams have secured nearly 1,400 pieces of earned coverage for clients so far in 2026.

"We are the only PR firm founded out of MIT. Years later, the DNA  built through that is still core to who we are and how we operate," said Kennedy. "Everything we do is powered by data. We operate pragmatically and efficiently, pushing towards results, and have an endless passion for technology and the people building it. Clients are choosing us because our partnership delivers better results, faster, with a team that's always a step ahead." 

Beyond helping clients show up in AI search, Kickstand has put AI to work inside the agency. New, built in-house tools replaced the agency's HR software and several operational processes, cutting $27,000 a year in spend, and automations in the digital services practice lowered annual delivery costs by just over 6%. Additionally, an internal summer AI challenge produced three winning projects, all built by Kickstand staff. Signal Scout, now live, detects buying signals and drafts outreach to speed up the agency's new-business efforts. A second tool, The Reactor, now in pilot, connects years of executive commentary, interviews, and live calls into connected, real-time commentary for reactive response opportunities. And the third moves the whole team onto a shared workspace with common training and playbooks.

The agency's success is being well-recognized in the industry. It is experiencing its most-awarded year to date, with wins for product launches, live events, original research, cybersecurity PR, and executive leadership. So far this year, its work has been recognized by:

• Platinum, Product PR Launch – Pinnacle Awards
• Gold, Live or Hybrid Event – Hermes Creative Awards
• 2027 PRNEWS Agency Elite Top 120
• Finalist, Best Use of Original Research – Content Marketing Awards
• Kristina Kennedy, Finalist, Best Female Entrepreneur – Stevie Awards for Women in Business
• Finalist, Best Cyber PR Agency – Cybersecurity Marketing Society Marquee Awards 

Kickstand will be a sponsor at Cyber Marketing Con in Austin, November 15-18, where Marquee Award winners will be named. Heading into 2027, the agency is focused on continuing its organic, verticalized growth strategy for its PR services, expanding its digital services, and exploring acquisitions. 

About Kickstand
Kickstand is a tech-PR agency offering a data-first approach to PR and services including media and analyst relations, research, content, crisis communications, and influencer marketing. Kickstand helps build well-defended market leaders in some of today's most innovative industries, including mobility, robotics, AI, cybersecurity, fintech, supply chain and logistics, sales and marketing tech, and eCommerce. Learn more at meetkickstand.com. 

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SOURCE Kickstand