Blue Line Strategic Communications Expands to Silicon Valley 2-9-2011
Washington, DC – Blue Line Strategic Communications, Inc., a full service communications consulting firm, is proud to announce it has hired Kerry Symonds to drive business development and enhance client services. Symonds comes to Blue Line after more than 13 years at the Hewlett Packard Company.
“Kerry is a key strategic hire for Blue Line as we grow our technology practice, from biotech to clean tech to high-tech,” said Blue Line president Michael Meehan. “From her political roots in her early career to her digital and marketing communications experience at HP, Kerry is a perfect fit for our growing client work.”
“Kerry brings to Blue Line a wealth of practical business, technology, marketing, political and communications experience,” added Blue Line CEO David Di Martino. “She will greatly enhance our business outreach and client services and will add exceptional experience and leadership to our growing firm.”
"I am thrilled to join Blue Line's talented team of strategic advisors," Symonds said. "Blue Line offers uniquely valuable client services that many firms in and around Silicon Valley can benefit from. I look forward to applying my high tech and corporate experience to help Blue Line continue to grow."
Symonds will be based in Redwood City, California and will focus her business development efforts on the clean tech and high tech sectors.
During her tenure at HP, Kerry held positions in business development, demand generation, corporate affairs, marketing communications and program management.
Most recently, Kerry has worked in HP's online store, HP Direct, building, launching and running interactive marketing programs designed to increase web traffic and drive sales while continuously improving ROI. In this role, Kerry was responsible for scaling HP's online display advertising presence, using traditional and new models to purchase media and track campaign performance. Kerry also managed HP's comparison shopping program, growing HP's web traffic and sales with partners like Google, Bing and PriceGrabber. She has managed strategic partnerships with key vendors throughout her career.
Prior to her tenure at HP Direct, Kerry spent four years in HP Corporate Affairs where she led the product grant strategy for all U.S.-based philanthropy and a variety of business units, ensuring that HP’s leading product solutions were available to recipient schools and non-profit organizations. She was responsible for cross-functional operations planning across marketing, sales and supply chain organizations.
Prior to HP, Kerry worked for four years in Washington DC in a variety of communications and spokesperson positions for organizations such as the White House Conference on Small Business, the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee, The Clinton/Gore Campaign and the Presidential Inaugural Committee.
Kerry holds an undergraduate degree from Bates College and an MBA from Cornell University's Johnson Graduate School of Management. While at Cornell, Kerry served as captain for her women's intramural ice hockey team, The Frozen Assets.
