TrailRunner Team - TrailRunner International

Lexi Schuchert

Lexi is a Director at TrailRunner, where she works with a diverse group of clients on corporate communications and reputation, media relations, crisis management, influencer engagement, and consumer public relations. Lexi has led projects focusing on executive positioning and building corporate narratives for clients at all stages of growth and has supported companies through successful public listings and international growth strategies, particularly in the US and China. Lexi’s experience covers a broad range of industries and sectors including technology, sports, retail, manufacturing, and more.

Prior to joining TrailRunner, Lexi worked in New York as a Senior Analyst in media relations at PepsiCo, Inc., a global food and beverage leader with a diverse product portfolio that includes iconic brands such as Pepsi-Cola, Frito-Lay, Gatorade, Tropicana, and Quaker. She began her career at PepsiCo on the executive communications team.

Lexi earned a Bachelor’s Degree from the University of Iowa, where she studied English, journalism, and mass communications. She is a Board Member of Dallas Cotillion Club, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization for women in Dallas devoted to strengthening the community through active volunteerism. Lexi speaks Spanish, and she enjoys creative writing and being active outdoors with her dog.

Sarah Grubbs

Sarah Grubbs is the Chief Growth Officer of TrailRunner International, where she oversees the firm’s global growth strategy while leading strategic client relationships.

Previously, Sarah served as a Managing Director and Head of TrailRunner International’s Nashville office, after founding the Nashville office in 2021 to focus on the firm’s growth throughout the U.S. Heartland. She joined TrailRunner International in 2018 in the New York office.

She advises clients on corporate positioning, international strategy and expansion, crisis preparedness and response, reputation and change management, and high-stakes situations such as IPOs, M&A transactions, regulatory issues, and executive leadership changes. Sarah works with a wide range of clients, including large international conglomerates, Fortune 500 companies, newly public companies, and startups.

Before joining TrailRunner International, Sarah was on the Public Affairs and Crisis team at global communications firm Burson. While there, Sarah led award-winning reputation management and communications campaigns for a variety of situations, including financial investigations, litigation, regulatory action, data breaches, and activist campaigns.

Sarah began her career as a news writer for NBC San Diego, covering national and local stories. Before that, Sarah was a member of the NBC San Diego investigative reporting team.

Sarah graduated summa cum laude from the University of San Diego with a major in business administration and marketing and a minor in communications studies. She lives in Nashville, TN.

Zack Kozlak

Zack Kozlak serves as TrailRunner International’s Head of the United States, based in New York. As Head of the U.S., Zack has responsibility for all U.S. offices and the firm’s U.S. client portfolio. Zack has been with TrailRunner International since its inception in 2016, serving many roles across the firm, including most recently as Managing Director and Head of Client Success.

Zack specializes in advising global companies on financial communications, corporate reputation, crisis and issues management, executive thought leadership, and landmark events like complex M&A transactions and other sensitive shareholder engagements. Throughout his time at TrailRunner International, Zack has supported numerous clients through liquidity events and public offerings, including a direct listing.

Prior to joining TrailRunner International, Zack worked in the New York office of Burson, serving a broad set of Fortune 50 clients on corporate and financial communications, crisis and issues management, public affairs, and brand protection. While at Burson his teams won several industry awards for their work in crisis response and issues management.

Prior to joining Burson, Zack worked for the Boston Red Sox on several key initiatives, and he earned special recognition by the Red Sox front office for his exceptional service. Before that, Zack worked in Washington, D.C. for U.S. Senator Amy Klobuchar (D-MN) and interned in Washington for the Retail Industry Leaders Association (RILA).

Zack graduated magna cum laude from the Boston College School of Arts & Sciences Honors Program with a Bachelor of Arts in international studies. Zack is an outdoor sports enthusiast and an Accredited Interscholastic Coach. He enjoys cheering for his Minnesota teams, and he has a passion for volunteerism and serving others.

Kaylie Tighe

Kaylie Tighe is an Associate for TrailRunner International in New York, where she serves clients across a broad range of industries. Kaylie began her career at TrailRunner International as an intern before being named an Analyst in 2022.

Kaylie graduated from the University of Florida with a Bachelor of Science in public relations. While at the University of Florida, she served as an orientation leader and a recruitment counselor for sororities. Kaylie is from Long Island, New York and enjoys walks with her dog, Penny, spending time with friends, and listening to music.

Pat Shortridge

Pat Shortridge is Global Head of Corporate and Public Affairs for TrailRunner International. In his role, he works with a variety of clients to integrate and align communications with government affairs, legal, business operations, and public affairs to achieve company and leadership priorities in an increasingly complex, polarized, and high-stakes environment. Previously, Pat served as a Managing Director and Head of the Dallas/Fort Worth office, the firm’s headquarters, since 2020.

Pat draws on more than 30 years of communications experience to advise clients on matters of corporate reputation, crisis communications, media relations, litigation support, public affairs, financial communications, and corporate and executive positioning. In addition, Pat has extensive experience designing and implementing successful communications plans for corporate restructurings, regulatory actions, corporate branding efforts, and influencer, public policy, and issue campaigns.

Prior to joining TrailRunner International, Pat spent 10 years as President of PCS Consulting, where he worked with a diverse range of clients on reputational strategy, media relations, and branding as well as overseeing multimillion dollar political and advocacy campaigns. Before PCS, Pat held a variety of senior leadership and communications roles during a long career on Capitol Hill. He has served as a senior advisor to US political leaders and as a Program Director at George Washington University’s Graduate School of Political Management.

Pat graduated from Macalester College with a Bachelor of Arts in history and philosophy and enjoys spending time with his wife, Christianna, and their three children and has been known to spend time on the golf course.

Jamie Zaninovich

Jamie Zaninovich, a Managing Director in the San Francisco Bay Area, draws on nearly 30 years of global sports industry leadership experience to advise clients on matters related to operations and governance, marketing, sponsorships, media rights, crisis management, sustainability and social responsibility, and international business development.

Prior to TrailRunner International, Jamie served as the Deputy Commissioner and Chief Operating Officer at the Pac-12 Conference. Before that, he was the Commissioner of the West Coast Conference and a senior athletic administrator at both Princeton University and Stanford University.

Jamie has negotiated and managed long-term media rights agreements with every major U.S. broadcast outlet and partnered with professional sports leagues, professional sports teams, and governmental agencies to organize and host large-scale sporting events including NCAA March Madness, the Rose Bowl, and the College Football Playoff. He also has led collegiate sports conference expansion and international business development in global markets and served on the NCAA Men’s Basketball Committee. A recognized leader in Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion in sports, he developed the Pac-12/Southwest Athletic Conference Legacy Series in partnership with the Equal Justice Initiative. He also designed and implemented the first collegiate conference sustainability program in the U.S. while at the Pac-12.

Jamie was named to Sports Business Journal’s “Forty Under 40” list. He regularly lectures on sports business at the Stanford Graduate School of Business and the Haas School of Business at UC Berkeley, and he sits on multiple boards, including the Green Sports Alliance, the San Jose Sports Authority, and the Positive Coaching Alliance National Advisory Board.

A native of Eugene, Oregon, Jamie is a graduate of Stanford and the Stanford University Graduate School of Business and resides in Millbrae, California with his wife Karen and their two sons, Max and Lucas.

Jim Hughes

A founding member of the firm who helped launch TrailRunner International as its first Managing Director in 2016, Jim leads TrailRunner’s Executive Committee as Chief Executive Officer responsible for all global operations. He draws on nearly 30 years of experience in journalism and corporate communications to advise clients on financial communications, corporate positioning, crisis communications, and special situations such as restructurings, M&A transactions, IPOs, and executive leadership changes. He has developed and implemented winning communications plans for public policy matters, regulatory actions and investigations, cyberattacks and data breaches, class action lawsuits, and labor and employment issues.

Before TrailRunner, Jim served as SVP and Head of Media Relations for Citizens Financial Group. Earlier in his career, he worked for Comcast and for CVS Health in roles focused on corporate communications, crisis communications, public policy communications, reputation management, and consumer and B2B public relations. A former political, legal affairs and breaking news reporter for The Denver Post, Jim was a member of the reporting team that won the Pulitzer Prize for breaking news in 2000 and covered the 2003 U.S. invasion of Iraq as an embedded reporter.

Jim has been awarded degrees from Union College (BA, English) and from the University of Colorado (MA, Journalism). He completed additional graduate coursework in literature at Middlebury College’s Bread Loaf School of English. Jim lives in Olympic Valley, Calif., with his wife and their two teenaged children.

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