Global Newsmaker: Christina Schneider

HP's new international comms director tells us why her move to London is a pivotal moment for the tech giant.

HP's Christina Schneider
HP's Christina Schneider

Christina Schneider recently relocated to London from California to become HP's first international director of external comms. She tells PRWeek Global why the company is trying to better understand markets outside the US.

You moved from California to the UK winter. How have you found the transition?

Still in progress. It's been good. London is a great place to live, and the opportunity to run global corporate comms for HP was something I was excited about. The challenge is running corporate campaigns that are consistent globally but relevant to local markets. It's definitely different from the HQ dynamic but it presents a lot of challenges that we have to work towards.

From an HP perspective, how big a deal is your move?

I think it's a recognition that 70 per cent of our revenue comes from outside the US. There's tremendous value from having a presence outside of HQ to introduce a comms strategy with a truly global perspective. I've already learned a lot about major markets just by not being at HQ.

Why did HP pitch so much PR business last year, and will this continue this year?

I can't speak for all of HP, but I can say that we are focused on building a world-class comms team. Bringing in the right talent internally and through our agency partners is always something we are looking to do.

What is the biggest challenge facing your team this year?

From an international perspective, it is driving corporate campaigns that are consistent globally but also relevant for local markets. Getting just the operational side working on that is a challenge. And driving results.

What is one medium you cannot live without?

I'm a big fan of the daily newspaper. I can't live without the New York Times and right now I'm spending a lot of time learning about the UK press which I find quite interesting. But there's nothing like looking through a newspaper at the start of every day.

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