Hey, I’m Paxton!

I’m a strategic communications leader who helps companies clarify their story, amplify their impact, and show up strategically in moments that matter.

About Me

I’m a strategic communications leader who specializes in transforming complex ideas into narratives that resonate. As a Senior Corporate Communications Manager at Udemy, I develop and drive PR programs that build our brand, amplify the company’s AI-powered vision, elevate executives as thought leaders, and turn insight-rich data into headlines that shape market conversations.

Praised for my sharp instincts and collaborative style, I blend creativity with executional rigor, anticipating risks, spotting opportunities early, and partnering across product, brand, and content teams to deliver integrated storytelling moments. I thrive in fast-paced environments and bring a thoughtful, energizing presence to every project I join.

I graduated magna cum laude from the University of Delaware. Outside of work, I can usually be found with a glass of red wine in hand, listening to Taylor Swift, and convincing friends to let me edit their LinkedIn profiles.

My Expertise

Thought Leadership

Through content strategy, social amplification, and data-informed storytelling, I turn complex ideas into narratives that shape conversation and credibility.

Product Storytelling

I identify the “why” behind every product launch and translate it into compelling, relevant stories that resonate with press, customers, and the market.

Media Strategy

By rooting my media strategies in cultural relevance and awareness, I help teams get ahead of the curve, land high-impact coverage, and shape narratives instead of reacting to them.

Brand Awareness

I excel in putting the pieces of the “marketing puzzle” together, connecting the dots across campaigns, channels, and moments to build cohesive brand narratives that cut through. By aligning messaging and execution, I help teams increase both visibility and long-term brand equity.

Cross-Functional Collaboration

The intersection of communications, marketing, product, and leadership is where I work best. Through clear alignment and strong partnerships, I help teams execute smarter and deliver stronger work.

Executive Visibility

I partner closely with executives to clarify their point of view and build authentic visibility across marketing channels. From media and speaking to social and thought leadership, I help leaders show up with clarity, confidence, and credibility.

Portfolio

Brand Awareness: Redefining Udemy’s Flagship Podcast

The Situation

Udemy’s flagship podcast, Leading Up, was historically positioned for enterprise executives focused on leadership development. At the same time, a growing segment of our consumer audience was actively seeking guidance on staying competitive in a job market reshaped by AI.

Recognizing this shift, the Thought Leadership team saw an opportunity to evolve the Leading Up brand, moving beyond an enterprise-first lens to center on the learners at the heart of Udemy’s platform and the career transitions they were navigating in real time.

The Approach

I led the cross-functional refresh of Leading Up, overseeing a full brand and content evolution to align the podcast with this new audience focus.

My role included:

Partnering with the creative team to redefine the podcast’s visual identity and landing page experience
Collaborating with organic and paid social teams to develop platform-specific content that resonated across both B2C and B2B audience
Managing a third-party agency to produce, record, and source guests aligned with our audience and goals
Working with lifecycle marketing to introduce the refreshed podcast through targeted campaigns that attracted new listeners while re-engaging existing audiences

The result was Leading Up: The Work Shift, a reimagined podcast experience designed to meet learners where they are and address the realities of modern work.

The Results

The first season of the refreshed Leading Up: The Work Shift is still in progress (listen now!), but early performance shows we hit the mark on audience resonance and channel alignment.

10.6k

Downloads/episode in first 7 days (2x the industry benchmark)

75k

Organic Social content impressions in the new season’s first 30 days

54%

Average consumption rate, on par with industry standards (50-60%)

Top-performing content

Udemy Business Paid Social’s top awareness asset in Q4 2025, excluding user-generated content

7.9k

Weekly unique listeners (4x Leading Up’s final season of the previous brand)

~2% CTR

For lifecycle marketing campaigns across B2B and B2C

Executive Visibility: Building Strategic Social Presence for a New CEO

The Situation

In March 2025, Udemy appointed a new Chief Executive Officer. As a relatively unknown leader within the L&D community and the new head of a publicly traded company, I saw a clear opportunity to proactively build his executive profile.

The objective: establish Hugo Sarrazin as a credible, visible thought leader on AI-powered learning and the future of workforce upskilling, with LinkedIn as the primary platform for reaching customers, prospects, and industry leaders.

The Approach

I led the development and execution of Hugo’s executive social strategy, defining his unique point of view and building a consistent, authentic presence designed to drive relevance and trust.

My role included:

Partnering directly with Hugo to shape his POV, identifying where he could add meaningful perspective to industry conversations, and leaning into his passion points
Writing and conceptualizing the majority of his LinkedIn content, including long-form posts, multimedia, and timely commentary, while coordinating with cross-functional partners to ensure consistency in messaging and tone
Developing a data-informed content strategy rooted in audience insights, timely news moments, and transparent leadership storytelling to strengthen authenticity
Collaborating with the Creative team to produce executive video content tied to major company moments, including quarterly earnings
Working with the Paid Social team to identify high-performing posts and amplify them through B2B-focused Thought Leadership Ads
Activating Udemy employee advocacy by equipping teams with pre-drafted posts to extend reach across social networks

The Results

Within the first year, Hugo’s executive platform delivered exceptional growth and engagement year over year.

+32%

Increase in average post impressions

+25% Organic ER

Increase in organic social post engagement rate

+85%

Increase in total followers

~4.5% Paid ER

Average paid social post engagement rate (above LinkedIn’s 4% ER benchmark)

Thought Leadership: Driving Proprietary AI Research

The Situation

Media interest in Udemy’s take on AI and the future of work was accelerating, with reporters seeking proprietary, data-backed insights to move the conversation forward. At the same time, competing priorities limited access to internal analytics, requiring the Thought Leadership team to find an alternative path to credible, newsworthy data.

To solve this gap, the team commissioned original research through a third-party, YouGov, titled “Ready or Not: The Emerging Gap Between Awareness and Action in ‌AI Transformation.” This report was designed to deliver differentiated insights on the gaps between employees’ and employers’ perceptions of AI readiness. The goal: reinforce Udemy’s credibility, and create a sustained media moment in November and beyond.

The Approach

I led the integrated communications and marketing launch of the research, building a coordinated, multi-channel strategy to maximize media coverage and top-of-funnel awareness.

My role included:

Developing and executing the media strategy across four priority markets, partnering closely with agency teams to ensure consistent, high-impact outreach
Preparing spokespeople through briefing materials and media training to clearly articulate key findings and narratives from the report
Partnering with paid and organic social, SEO, and creative teams to develop aligned content that surfaced core insights across channels
Overseeing and drafting core communications assets, including the press release, blog post, executive LinkedIn content, email copy, and community-facing posts

The Results

This work positioned Udemy as a credible, data-backed voice in the AI and future-of-work conversation while creating a scalable model for insight-led communications.