Meet the UK Native Heading Up a Democratic Digital Powerhouse

When Jonathan Barnes moved to the United States a little more than a decade ago, he came with a keen interest in American politics and a desire to prove himself in “the biggest political arena” in the world.

“I wanted to challenge myself in the biggest pond possible,” Barnes told C&E in an interview. Growing up in the United Kingdom, he said that he learned at a young age how influential the U.S. is in shaping political cultures around the world. 

“This is where the testing happens for the whole industry,” he said. 

Now, Barnes is taking over as CEO of Authentic, the Democratic digital and paid media agency that has counted heavyweights like former President Joe Biden and former Vice President Kamala Harris among its clients. In that role, Barnes said, he’s hoping to write a “new chapter” for the firm at a particularly tumultuous moment for Democrats and progressives.

An ‘Inflection Point’ for Democrats

Harris’ loss in 2024 has created an “inflection point” for Democrats, Barnes said, adding that there’s now an opportunity for Authentic to “be self critical and self-examining about the work we’ve contributed over the last two years and more importantly what that means going forward.”

In other words, he explained, it’s his job to ensure that Authentic is keeping pace in a rapidly evolving political and digital environment.

“As a company, like many in the space, we’ve been in that startup mindset and role for a few years,” said Barnes, who first joined Authentic in 2018 and most recently served as the firm’s chief experience officer. “I think we can now say we’re established in the space and we’ve earned a seat at the table. We’re just kind of growing up as a company, so we’re asking ourselves: are there opportunities to reexamine some of our processes?”

“We’ve got to make sure we’re adjusting to meet the needs of the industry,” he added. “It feels like, after the election, we’re taking a deep breath and kind of restarting and refreshing a little bit. That’s how I see myself stepping into this role.”

Among Barnes’ priorities as CEO is building on its use of artificial intelligence. He’s already thinking about how AI can be used to automate “repetitive and monotonous” tasks, he said. There are also questions about the rapid proliferation of AI-generated content: when should firms use AI and how frequently? 

Barnes said he wants to take a collaborative approach to the challenge.

“There’s a lot of growth potential there,” he said. “There’s a lot of internal opportunities with AI and it’s something that’s really important to work hand-in-hand with staff on – to hear how they think it can help and how it can get buy-in.”

Barnes recalled what it was like stepping into the digital advertising landscape roughly a decade ago when he found himself working with Sen. Bernie Sanders’, I-Vt., 2016 presidential campaign. By the time 2024 came around, he said, things had changed completely. 

“It’s 2025 now,” he said. “So what’s it going to look like in 2032?”

“I’m keen on growing and improving,” he continued. “We want to imbue that in the culture. It’s a space where you have to be adaptable in order to succeed, whether it’s the tech changing or the environment changing or the personnel changing.”