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Highwire

Scholarly publishing platform and manuscript management

Vice President Business Development

Full-Time
$130k - $175k/yr
Expert
Kansas, USA+16 moreMore locations: Pennsylvania, USA | Oregon, USA | Iowa, USA | Connecticut, USA | Texas, USA | Florida, USA | New Hampshire, USA | South Carolina, USA | Georgia, USA | Tennessee, USA | Virginia, USA | Rhode Island, USA | Utah, USA | North Carolina, USA | Ohio, USA | Michigan, USA
RemoteMust reside in one of the listed states at the time of hire.
Sales & Account ManagementAccount Executive

About the job

Requirements
  • At least 10 years of experience in business development and client leadership with a communications, marketing, advertising, or public relations agency.
  • Proven success leading complex, multi-stakeholder pitches and winning new business.
  • Strong understanding of integrated, cross-channel agency offerings.
  • Ability to build systems and processes that scale growth.
  • Experience engaging senior-level procurement leaders and decision-makers.
  • Strong storytelling, pitching, and proposal development skills.
  • Solid understanding of agency economics and pipeline management.
  • Candidates must reside in the United States.
Responsibilities
  • Own the full new business lifecycle from qualification to close.
  • Manage a strong, qualified pipeline aligned to agency priorities.
  • Partner with marketing and leadership to drive inbound and outbound growth strategy.
  • Track pipeline health, forecasting, and performance metrics.
  • Build relationships with senior marketing and communications leaders.
  • Lead consultative conversations that uncover client needs and opportunities.
  • Partner with account teams to drive cross-sell and upsell growth within existing clients.
  • Lead requests for proposals, referrals, and strategic pitch processes.
  • Partner with account teams to develop compelling, insight-driven proposals and presentations.
  • Orchestrate cross-functional teams across strategy, creative, digital, and insights.
  • Prepare and coach teams to deliver high-stakes presentations with strong executive presence.
  • Create playbooks, templates, and frameworks to improve win rates and efficiency.
  • Improve forecasting, reporting, and pipeline visibility.
  • Use data to continuously refine business development performance.
  • Mentor and develop business development talent.
  • Align cross-functional teams around growth opportunities.
  • Share market insights that inform agency strategy and offerings.

About the company

HighWire provides a digital publishing platform and services for scholarly publishers to host journals and books, manage manuscript submission and peer review, and handle subscriptions. It offers an end-to-end, integrated workflow from author submission through editorial review to publication and monetization. By focusing on the scholarly publishing niche, HighWire differentiates itself with long-standing relationships and a full suite tailored to publishers’ needs rather than generic publishing tech. The goal is to streamline scholarly communication by delivering scalable technology-enabled tools that simplify content production, review workflows, and revenue management for publishers, societies, and university presses.

Company Size

51-200

Company Stage

Growth Equity (Venture Capital)

Total Funding

$1.2M

Headquarters

West Windsor Township, New Jersey

Founded

2008

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Simplify's Take

What believers are saying

  • June 30, 2026 AcroIntelligence gives Highwire a differentiated AI product selling point.
  • O'Dwyer’s 2026 rankings placed Highwire second, signaling strong market momentum and visibility.
  • June 15, 2026 CFO hire Kelly Losko supports scaling after the Bliss acquisition.

What critics are saying

  • AI-native competitors will commoditize media monitoring and pitch work by 2027, crushing retainers.
  • The Bliss integration can distract leaders and trigger client defections during 2026 account reviews.
  • Highwire depends on reputation-sensitive tech and healthcare clients; one crisis can rapidly destroy pipeline.

What makes Highwire unique

  • Highwire blends technology PR, sector specialization, and in-house AI tooling across campaigns.
  • The January 14, 2026 Bliss acquisition broadened Highwire into healthcare and financial services.
  • Highwire’s March 31, 2026 Health and June 30, 2026 AcroIntelligence launches deepen productized communications.

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Benefits

  • Health Insurance
  • Dental Insurance
  • Paid Parental Leave
  • Hybrid Work Options
  • 401(k) Company Match
  • Home Office Stipend
  • Wellness Program

Growth & Insights and Company News

Headcount

6 month growth

-9%

1 year growth

-9%

2 year growth

-9%
GlobeNewswire
May 13th, 2025
Highwire Appoints Powerhouse Michael O'Brien As Ceo

SAN FRANCISCO, May 13, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Highwire, a strategic marketing communications agency partnering with brands at the intersection of innovation and industry, today announced the appointment of Michael O’Brien as its new chief executive officer, to further accelerate the agency’s growth and lead Highwire’s journey into a new era of integrated services and impactful client programs. O’Brien brings over 30 years of experience driving growth and excellence for some of the world’s most iconic brands. He served as chief client officer for over 10 years of his 23-year career at Ketchum. There, he transformed client service by focusing on growth, reducing revenue attrition, and creating a more purposeful approach to client management. O’Brien was also responsible for global business development and strategic planning. He will succeed Carol Carrubba, who is currently serving as interim CEO

ForexTV
Mar 20th, 2025
Highwire Achieves Double-Digit Growth in 2024, Elevates Michael Byrnes to Chief Growth Officer

To sustain and accelerate this momentum, Highwire has promoted Michael Byrnes to Chief Growth Officer.

The Robot Report
Dec 28th, 2024
Bay Area Events Note The Convergence Of Ai And Robotics

The San Francisco Bay Area is a nexus of AI and robotics. Source: Adobe Stock. The San Francisco Bay Area is the nexus of the artificial intelligence revolution in the U.S., anchored by San Francisco, with the renaissance of robotics investment and innovation in Silicon Valley. AI is merging with and embodied by robotics here. For instance, Waymo’s driverless cars are a common sight in San Francisco. NVIDIA CEO Jensen Huang said the future of AI is physical AI, embodied by robotics including self-driving cars

GlobeNewswire
Dec 19th, 2024
Highwire Appoints Mike Steavenson As Executive Vice President Of Enterprise Technology Practice, Elevates Jason Mayde To Cto

SAN FRANCISCO, Dec. 19, 2024 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Highwire, a high-impact communications and marketing partner for global technology and healthcare companies, is proud to announce the appointment of Mike Steavenson as Executive Vice President of its Enterprise Technology Practice and the elevation of Jason Mayde to Chief Technology Officer (CTO). By expanding its technology leadership team, Highwire bolsters its commitment to harness the transformative power of AI in every aspect of its business and to offer clients unparalleled expertise in both B2B technology and AI. Highwire is committed to leveraging AI in a way that ensures quality, safeguards ethics, and complies with all applicable regulations. This approach harnesses the power of AI responsibly to drive innovation, efficiency, and impactful results for clients. “AI is transforming every industry, including communications and marketing, so investment in enterprise and technology talent distinguishes Highwire as we guide our clients in this new era,” said Highwire interim CEO Carol Carrubba

PRWeek
Jul 30th, 2024
Highwire PR hires Real Chemistry's Chuck Hemann

At the start of the year, Real Chemistry named group president and managing partner Kevin Johnson to oversee capabilities, including social media planning and activation; starpower, its pop culture and influencer agency; paid media; and omnichannel practices.