The Signal Behind Signals&

Led by Experience. Driven By Clarity.

Signals& was founded by Jessica Kessel, a brand and communications executive who has spent her career helping organizations find clarity in moments of change. From Fortune 50 retail to high-growth companies, from post-bankruptcy rebuilds to reputational risk response, she has seen firsthand what happens when communication is treated as strategy, not just support.

Early in her career, Jessica honed her skills inside agency environments, partnering with nonprofits, higher education, and mission-driven organizations. That work sharpened her instincts for storytelling, adaptability, and impact, and it remains part of how she approaches communications today: clarity that serves both scale and purpose.

Jessica created the Signals Framework™ not as another model, but as a mindset shift:

Brand is a leadership function.
Trust is a business strategy.
Clarity is a competitive advantage.

At Signals&, she brings this philosophy into practice, working with you to surface what matters most, cut through noise, and move forward with confidence.

Clarity Across Career and Community

Experience in the Field

Over two decades, Jessica has helped leaders and organizations spot signals in the noise and build clarity when it matters most. She has created modern brand and communications functions from the ground up inside large, complex organizations and alongside brands navigating growth and disruption. Her work has included:

Leading enterprise brand strategy and communications as VP of Corporate Brand Affairs & Communications at a $5B+ company navigating transformation and reputational pressure, finding the signal that could rebuild trust.
Building an in-house account services team at a Fortune 50 home improvement retailer, connecting marketing, merchandising, and creative into a single voice, turning scattered signals into alignment.
Early career agency experience shaping campaigns across industries from education to retail, sharpening her instincts for storytelling, adaptability, and spotting the signals of cultural and consumer shifts.
Advisory work through Signals&, partnering with executives, founders, and mission-driven organizations to align strategy, voice, and trust, helping them move forward with confidence in their signal.

Beyond the Work

Jessica is also a writer, speaker, and volunteer, active in her community through nonprofit and animal rescue work. Whether guiding a Fortune 50 leadership team or helping a local organization find its story, her approach is the same: spot the signal, cut the noise, and build clarity that earns trust.

Because signals don’t only show up in boardrooms or crisis meetings, they’re present in community projects, in moments of quiet leadership, and in the stories people choose to carry forward. For Jessica, every setting is a chance to listen closely, find what matters most, and help turn it into meaningful action.

That same philosophy anchors her forthcoming book, Signals, Not Noise, which explores how leaders can build clarity, trust, and strategy in an age of constant disruption.

Experience & Partnerships

Built On Real World Leadership

Hello, I'm Jessica.

I help founders, teams, and leaders find the words and structure to show up with clarity, confidence, and heart in their brand, their story, and the moments that matter most. Whether you’re building something new, leading through change, or rebuilding trust, I help you move forward with clarity, big ideas, and purposeful messaging.

I operate at the intersection of strategy, storytelling, and brand, combining analytical rigor with creative execution. The goal: to make clarity a competitive advantage that can be seen, felt, and measured.

I believe clarity builds connection, and communications done well becomes the engine of trust. It’s what helps your people understand your purpose and your customers believe in what you stand for.

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Fractional Leadership, the Signals& Way

Not every company needs a full-time Chief Communications Officer. But in moments of risk, transformation, or growth, every company needs the clarity one provides. That’s why I created Signals& Fractional Leadership services → executive depth, on demand.

Fractional Leadership

In every story, a signal whispers beneath the noise, waiting to be heard.

Signals, Not Noise

Signals& Brand. Comms. Strategy. LLC