Kristine Szarkowitz
Senior Communications Consultant
Bradenton,FL
Summary
Tenured professional with over 15 years of experience in the public and private sectors of consumer and enterprise technology (business and artificial intelligence, security, ecommerce, mobile, digital advertising, social media), biotechnology, pharmaceuticals, games and entertainment, and finance.
Expert in analyst and public relations, corporate and internal communications, crisis communications, executive training, and events management. Respected as a consummate communicator and relationship-builder with superior analytical and decision-making skills, strategic and creative planning & execution, and success in helping companies reach business goals. Meticulous in managing and carrying out special events by arranging for media presence, composing written documents, booking photographers, reserving event venues and preparing eye-catching graphics. Highly adept in authoring speeches, press releases, and marketing materials.
Overview
26
26
years of professional experience
Work History
Senior Communications Consultant
KMS Communications
04.2007 - Current
- Develop, execute, and manage high-impact, strategic communications programs.
- Proven success leveraging AR & PR to elevate corporate/brand awareness, lead gen, customer engagement, and product sales.
- Exceptional relationships with top industry analysts and Tier 1 business, technology, and trade media. (Analyst Firms include Gartner, Forrester, IDC, 451 Research, Nelson and Global Data. Media outlets include (but not limited), Associated Press, MarketWatch, United Press International, CNN, Fox News, CNBC, Good Morning America, USA Today, Wall Street Journal, IBD, Forbes, Fortune, TechCrunch, Recode, Inc., Yahoo Finance!, etc.
- Leverage market research, analytics, and data to proactively identify and capitalize on communications opportunities.
- Drive social media strategy to increase engagement and acquire new target audiences.
- Develop and execute end-to-end communications programs to drive sales and partner lead gen, product demand and company growth. Programs focus on analyst and public relations, executive leadership, tradeshow, and events.
- Rebranded and established client (Mercent) as predominant industry leader in ecommerce sector. Managed rebranding under budget ($750,000 vs $1.1M forecast). Drove company AR & PR, trade shows and events enabling 40%+ YOY average growth over 7-year period. Major programs included company rebrand (100% of brand assets); re-designed and deployed website, marketing materials, tradeshow presence, public image; AR and PR outreach (250+ earned coverage across Top Analyst Firms, Tier 1, business & industry media), developed and executed event programs that drove $3M in sales lead gen; over 50 executive speaking engagements with analysts and media; +45 analyst engagements/briefings.
- Successful track record securing creative AR engagement and media publicity with +30 top analysts, 100+ Tier 1 business, consumer, and trade media in support of client’s business and consumer awareness and lead gen goals.
- Train and counsel executives on communications strategy; managed messaging and positioning.
- Establish clients as industry leaders via media, and analyst engagement, speaking engagements at influential industry events and other strategically driven events. Average 60+ engagements over 12-month periods.
- Accomplished developing AR/PR/communications content (briefs, pitches, executive materials, bylines, quarterly updates, employee communications, earnings reports, product communications, case studies, web copy, awards submissions, partner communications and BOD packages) to drive AR/PR engagement.
- Proven ability generating investor interest through strategic communications; develop annual & quarterly reports, financial press releases; tracking and analyzing the institutional and retail trading of major blocks of stock; communicating and disseminating company investment story and financial information; planning and coordinating visits by security analysts and brokers.
VP, Enterprise Operations Communications
Washington Mutual
03.2004 - 03.2007
- Managed communications for EVP of Enterprise Operations; created and executed internal communications plan in support of executive leadership team goals.
- Counseled executive leaders on communications strategy, branding and messaging. Focus areas included leadership communications, issues management, executive and sales team tradeshows, events, and organizational change management. Communications met business targets.
- Communications project lead for Merger Acquisitions; Commercial Capital Bancorp acquisition and M&A project management cycles.
- Strategic lead for issues management/crisis communications. Developed and managed company’s first communications task force that aligned enterprise program roll-out for global outsourcing initiatives.\
- Content development lead for executive speeches, presentations, employee and executive communications (quarterly updates, emails, organizational changes, earnings reports), case studies, web copy, awards submissions, Q&As, and BOD packages.
Director, Communications
Action Engine
03.2003 - 03.2004
- Managed internal and external communications to drive corporate awareness and product sales.
- Developed company’s first global strategic communications plan; led product re-positioning to effectively address changing mobile wireless markets and customer requirements.
- Managed annual AR/PR engagement resulting in 12+ analyst coverage and +150 media hits.
- Managed event planning for Tier 1 international mobile communications conferences including 3GSM, ITU World Telecom, CTIA and Mobile Commerce World. Results included 68% spike in company/product awareness, (as measured by customer and audience feedback), three direct sales leads and two customer contracts.
- Developed crisis communications plan for BOD and served as lead spokesperson during CEO/founder management change. Managed messaging and situation risk, securing positive editorial coverage.
- Developed strategic content strategy to engage and capitalize on target audiences.
Director, Communications
AskMe Corporation
03.2002 - 03.2003
- Guided executive management, product, and professional services teams to achieve impactful analyst and media relations. Plus 100 earned analyst and media coverage that supported lead generation/27% revenue growth.
- Developed corporate and product communications strategy and plan from the ground-up.
- Responsible for media and analyst programs that increased brand and product awareness >300% (with average of 90% on-target messaging). Achieved >93% success with awards and speaking programs.
- Recognized by executive management for contributions that drove triple annual revenues in 12-month period.
Director, Public Relations
Wizards Of The Coast/Hasbro
03.1998 - 03.2003
- Led public relations for worldwide trading card game “Magic the Gathering” (MTG) and worldwide $1M tournament circuit.
- Managed crisis communications during Columbine High School Shooting & media associating MTG and company to shooters.
- PR lead through Hasbro acquisition of Wizards of the Coast.
Education
MBA - Public Relations & Communication Management
Syracuse University
Syracuse, NY 05.2001 -
Bachelor of Science - Mass Communications & Public Relations
University of Wisconsin, Stevens Point
Stevens Point, WI 05.2001 -
Skills
Media & Analyst Relations
Social Media Strategy
Crisis Management
Internal Communications
Content Development
Corporate Communications
Speech Writing
Strategic Planning
Executive Training
Event Planning & Execution
Marketing Communications
Thought Leadership
Employee Communications
Investor Relations
Strategic corporate guidance
PR strategy development
Work Availability
monday
tuesday
wednesday
thursday
friday
saturday
sunday
morning
afternoon
evening
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Timeline
Senior Communications Consultant
KMS Communications
04.2007 - Current
VP, Enterprise Operations Communications
Washington Mutual
03.2004 - 03.2007
Director, Communications
Action Engine
03.2003 - 03.2004
Director, Communications
AskMe Corporation
03.2002 - 03.2003
MBA - Public Relations & Communication Management
Syracuse University
05.2001 -
Bachelor of Science - Mass Communications & Public Relations
University of Wisconsin, Stevens Point
05.2001 -
Director, Public Relations
Wizards Of The Coast/Hasbro
03.1998 - 03.2003