Karina Byrne has more than 25 years of experience in CEO and C-suite strategic counsel, issues management, crisis communications, litigation and enforcement actions, restructuring communications, media relations, internal communications and employee engagement. Over the course of her career, Karina has advised senior leadership teams in global financial services, pharmaceutical, technology and industrial companies on all aspects of both change-the-business and run-the-business communications.
Prior to joining Teneo, Karina was Head of Corporate Communications for the global Investment Bank, Americas Asset Management business and the Americas region for Credit Suisse AG, leading global teams on all issues management, media relations, internal communications and C-suite communications. Additionally, Karina served as a member of the board of directors of the Credit Suisse Americas Foundation and co-head of the firm’s Americas Women’s Network. Previously, Karina spent a decade at UBS AG, where she was head of media relations and external communications for the Wealth Management Americas division and the Asset Management Americas business. Karina also headed media relations and internal communications for Barclays’ American entities.
Before going in-house, Karina worked at Thomson Financial Investor Relations, specializing in strategic external counsel and media training for more than 50 technology, biotechnology, healthcare and retail companies in the process of going public. She also worked at communications agencies in California and North Carolina, developing and executing public relations campaigns for government, corporate and non-profit clients.
Karina began her career as a reporter, columnist and editor with the Parliament Hill bureau of Thomson News Service, where she also served as a member of the Parliamentary Press Gallery and a Director of the National Press Club of Canada. She has also been a metro reporter for the Winnipeg Free Press and the Winston-Salem Journal.
Karina holds a Masters in Journalism and Mass Communications from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and a Bachelors in English from Memorial University of Newfoundland. Active in organizations championing the rights of women, and Asian-American women in particular, Karina is a member of CHIEF, Asian Americans Advancing Justice and the National Federation of Filipino-American Associations.
