Fractional Chief Communications Officer for
Companies at Critical Inflection Points
Executive communications leadership for organizations navigating growth, scrutiny, and risk, when the story needs to hold across investors, employees and the market. I work with CEOs and executive leadership teams who need senior communications leadership at the table now without rushing a full-time C-suite decision.
experience that Scales
Your Executive Communications Partner
Jen Davis, MBA
When organizations scale quickly, visibility increases faster than communications infrastructure. Brand narratives fragment, risk compounds, and leadership teams feel the pressure from investors, employees, regulators and the market.
I founded SummitEdge Communications to solve a recurring gap: companies entering critical growth phases often need communications leadership, but aren’t always ready to make a permanent executive hire.
I’ve spent more than two decades operating inside complex, highly visible organizations where brand equity, reputation and leadership credibility directly impacted business outcomes. I’ve served as a Chief Communications Officer reporting to CEOs, advised executive teams through growth, transformation and change and built communications teams from scratch and designed to scale.
My experience spans the highly regulated food industry and consumer-facing environments, where brand trust, reputation, and leadership credibility directly impacted business outcomes.
Photo credit: @stephgrantstudios www.stephgrantstudios.com
Who I Work With
I partner with venture capital and private equity-backed companies, as well as mid-sized organizations, at critical moments of scale, when visibility increases, stakes rise and gaps in communications leadership becomes a business risk.
My work is best suited for:
- VC/PE-backed companies preparing for growth, integration or exit
- Mid-sized organizations scaling quickly without a clearly defined or aligned narrative
- CEOs who need senior communications leadership now, but want to validate fit and impact before making a permanent hire
In many cases, my role serves as a deliberate test drive, helping organizations move forward with clarity and confidence.
Where I focus
Engagements are typically anchored in one of three areas, depending on where the business is experiencing the most pressure:
Reputation Risk Audit
Identify where narrative, stakeholder expectations, and business reality are misaligned, before it becomes a reputational or operational issue.
This includes an assessment of external perception, internal alignment, and emerging risk signals, with clear guidance on where and when to act.
Growth Narrative Clarity Sprint
As companies scale, the story often lags behind the business.
I work with leadership teams to articulate a clear, credible narrative that aligns strategy, operations, and external positioning, so the company can scale with consistency and confidence.
Enterprise Narrative Integration
Most organizations sound like multiple companies depending on who’s speaking.
I align executive teams, brands, and functions around a unified corporate narrative that holds up across investors, employees, employees, and the market.
How To Work With Me
Phase 1: Executive Communications Assessment & Alignment
I begin by embedding with leadership to understand the business, the risks, and how communications is functioning internally and externally.
This phase quickly surfaces:
- Where the narrative lacks clarity or alignment
- Where brand and reputational risk is emerging as the business scales or changes
- Where communications is enabling progress and where it is unintentionally creating friction
Outcome: A clear, shared understanding of what needs to change, what to prioritize, and how communications must evolve to support the business.
Phase 2: Embedded Fractional CCO Leadership
I step in as an active member of the leadership team, providing hands-on executive communications leadership where it matters most.
In this phase, I work with you to:
- Clarify and operationalize the company narrative
- Build credibility while actively protecting reputation
- Identify and mitigate risk before it escalates
- Align leadership, teams, stakeholders as the business scales or transitions
Outcome: Communications becomes a strategic asset- aligned, proactive, and fully integrated into how the business operates.
Phase 3: Decision Point — Fractional or Permanent
As priorities sharpen, we assess what the organization truly needs from communications leadership long term.
At this stage, you can confidently decide whether to:
- Continue with fractional executive leadership, or
- Transition to a permanent Chief Communications Officer
Outcome: A clear path forward without rushed hires, misaligned roles, or unnecessary risk.
About SummitEdge Communications
For more than two decades, I have worked alongside CEOs and executive teams inside complex, challenging periods of intense stakeholder, investor, media, and employee scrutiny.
Through that work, I saw a recurring gap: organizations need the strategic thinking of a Chief Communications Officer at the table, but want to validate impact, fit and value before making a long-term executive commitment.
I founded SummitEdge Communications to address that need.
As a former CCO reporting directly to the CEO, I understand how critical it is for communications to be fully aligned with business strategy and translating complexity into clear, credible narratives that build trust and momentum. My Fractional CCO “Test Drive” model provides immediate leadership during transformation while allowing organizations to assess long-term fit in real time.
Schedule a Conversation
Whether you are building your brand and reputation, navigating transformation, preparing for increased scrutiny, or taking the next step in building a communications capability, I provide the leadership to help you move forward with confidence. Reach out to begin a strategic conversation.
Contact Information
jendavis@summitedgecommunications.com
Business Hours
Monday through Friday
9 AM to 5 PM ET