Topic:
What a Difference a Year Makes
Panel discussion with: Gina Breukelman BOEING, Kim Vu BANK OF AMERICA, Kim Solem T-MOBILE
Bio:
Karen is the Director of Employee Engagement for Microsoft Philanthropy, part of Microsoft’s Corporate,
External, and Legal Affairs department (CELA). She leads the team responsible for Microsoft’s Employee
Giving, Volunteering and ‘Hack for Good’ programs. In addition, she is a member of the Corporate
Employee Experience Culture Team.
Prior to her current role, Karen lead integrated public relations to hundreds of millions of customers in more
than 108 subsidiaries through the company’s corporate citizenship and public policy and regulatory affairs
communications. She was also responsible for policy PR for Microsoft in Washington State, overseeing the
company’s branding, advertising and public relations.
Karen began her career with Microsoft in 1997 as a consultant in the UK. She joined Microsoft a year later
to lead its Corporate Public Relations function, where she expanded her portfolio to lead Corporate Social
Responsibility, Analyst Relations, NGO Relations, Sponsorship and Corporate Hospitality and Image and
Reputation Management.
The 24×7 Press Centre Karen created for Microsoft was cited as a UK best practice; in three years she
more than doubled media favorability and for four years, Microsoft UK’s PR was voted No 1 in the UK by IT
media. A stakeholder management concept she introduced was rolled out across Europe Middle East and
Africa (EMEA) and then worldwide. She has won numerous awards in the UK and in the US for strategic
communications excellence.