Pierpont Communications: Houston Integrated PR & Marketing Firm Profile

Part of EPR's Best PR Firms in Texas 2026 · Best PR Firms in Houston 2026 · Texas Travel & Tourism PR · PR Firms Directory

Pierpont Communications is an independent integrated marketing and PR firm founded in 1987 by Philip (Phil) Morabito after he left a Madison Avenue PR firm in New York to launch the agency in Houston, Texas. Pierpont operates from six offices: Houston (headquarters), Dallas, Austin, San Antonio, Denver, and Phoenix. The firm serves clients in energy, healthcare, finance, technology, retail, real estate, consumer, and nonprofit categories, including Walmart, NRG, CITGO, CyrusOne, Shell, Baylor College of Medicine, Port Houston, Group 1 Automotive, Schumacher Electric, and Wan Bridge Group. Phil Morabito serves as CEO, with Clint Woods as COO and Brian Banks as CFO. The firm has been listed in the Inc. 500 (2001) and Inc. 5000 (2007, 2008, 2009), and Phil Morabito was named "Most Admired CEO" by the Houston Business Journal in 2018.

Overview: What Pierpont Communications Does

Pierpont Communications is an independent integrated marketing and PR firm built on a six-office regional footprint across Texas, the Mountain West, and the Southwest. Founded in 1987 by Philip Morabito in Houston, the firm serves regional, national, and global clients across energy, healthcare, finance, technology, retail, real estate, consumer, and nonprofit categories. Pierpont's positioning emphasizes integrated services delivered together — earned media, strategic marketing, content, digital strategy, and public affairs under a single team — rather than as separate disciplines.

Why It Matters

Pierpont has built a six-office network anchored in Texas — the second most populous state in the country, home to 55+ Fortune 500 headquarters, the world's largest energy industry concentration, the nation's largest medical center (Texas Medical Center in Houston), and the fastest-growing major metro economies. Most national PR holding companies serve Texas clients from coastal headquarters; Pierpont serves them from inside the market.

The Texas Advantage

Energy. Houston is the corporate capital of the global energy industry. ExxonMobil, ConocoPhillips, Halliburton, Schlumberger, BP America, Shell USA, NRG, CITGO, and dozens of other majors and independents are headquartered in or have major operations in Houston. Pierpont has built energy practice depth across upstream, midstream, downstream, renewables, and energy transition communications.

Healthcare and life sciences. Houston's Texas Medical Center is the largest medical complex in the world by employment and acreage. Baylor College of Medicine, MD Anderson Cancer Center, Memorial Hermann, Houston Methodist, and Texas Children's Hospital are all headquartered there.

Corporate headquarters. Texas hosts more than 55 Fortune 500 headquarters across Dallas-Fort Worth (ExxonMobil, AT&T, American Airlines, Energy Transfer, Texas Instruments, Charles Schwab, McKesson, Comerica), Houston (ConocoPhillips, Phillips 66, Sysco, Waste Management), and Austin (Tesla, Oracle, Dell).

Infrastructure, real estate, and consumer growth. Texas leads the country in population growth, residential construction, and infrastructure investment.

History and Ownership

Philip Morabito founded Pierpont Communications in 1987 in Houston, Texas, after leaving Robert Marston & Associates — a Madison Avenue PR firm in New York. He hired his first employee in 1992. Over the following three and a half decades, Morabito built Pierpont from a single-office Houston operation into a six-office regional firm with a national client base. Pierpont has remained independent throughout its history.

Key Milestones

1987: Philip Morabito founded Pierpont Communications in Houston.

1999: Greater Houston Partnership Roundtable named Morabito Entrepreneur of the Year for small businesses.

2001: Inc. 500 listed Pierpont.

2006: Ernst & Young named Morabito Entrepreneur of the Year in the services category.

2007-2009: Inc. 5000 listed Pierpont three consecutive years.

2018: Phil Morabito named "Most Admired CEO" by the Houston Business Journal.

2022-2024: Expanded regional footprint with Denver and Phoenix offices.

Services

Pierpont Communications delivers integrated services across public relations, strategic marketing, content development, digital strategy, media training, crisis communications, brand management, public affairs, corporate citizenship, online advertising, SEO, social media, AIO/GEO (AI-driven search and discovery), influencer marketing, and creative development.

Clients and Accounts

Pierpont's client roster includes Walmart, NRG, CITGO, CyrusOne, Shell, Baylor College of Medicine, Port Houston, Daikin, Group 1 Automotive, Acclaim Energy, Schumacher Electric, Tech Titans, Wan Bridge Group, Zinus, Pioneer, Big Commerce, Integra, Kisco, and G&A Partners. Historic clients have included Uber, Capital One, Verizon, Sabre, Sara Lee, Imperial Sugar, Encore Live, BP, Halliburton, Sempra Energy, Battelle, NASA, and Aramark.

Leadership

Philip (Phil) Morabito is Founder and CEO. Clint Woods serves as COO. Brian Banks serves as CFO. Chris Ferris, PhD is Senior Vice President of Digital Strategy (also teaches at Rice Business). Dan Mahoney is Vice President and General Manager of the Denver office. Phil Morabito is an Adjunct Professor at the University of Houston's Bauer School of Business.

Awards and Recognition

Phil Morabito named "Most Admired CEO" by the Houston Business Journal (2018); Ernst & Young Entrepreneur of the Year, services category (2006). The firm has been Inc. 500-listed (2001), Inc. 5000-listed three consecutive years (2007, 2008, 2009), named to the Houston 100 five times, and was a PRWeek MidSize Agency of the Year finalist in 2002 and 2013.

Related Texas Profiles

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• Zilker Media — Austin open-book PR (Paige Velasquez Budde)
• 71Three — Houston digital (Sid Berry)
• EWR Digital — Houston digital marketing (Matt Bertram)
• The Vokol Group — Texas lifestyle & entertainment (Dana Cobb)

Hubs

Best PR Firms in Texas 2026 · Best PR Firms in Houston 2026 · PR Firms Directory

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