A Bank CCO Who Mixes Internal Communication and Measurement

[Editor’s Note: Laura Burke, the CCO of Santander US, wears many hats. The veteran PR pro oversees executive and corporate communication, crisis and issues management, internal and external communication as well as PR, events and social media strategy. In addition, Burke is a member of the Santander US leadership team. She reports to CMO Jennifer Mathissen. The former Prudential Financial head of communication also held senior posts at Edelman and Hill & Knowlton.

Burke tells us an MBA cemented her love of financial services and influenced her view of measurement. It also convinced her she enjoyed communicating about the financial sector. During this interview, we asked about Burke’s priorities, keeping the human touch in messaging, measuring reputation and crisis communication. Her remarks were lightly edited.]

PRNEWS: What are two goals you have as CCO?

Laura Burke, CCO, Santander US

Laura Burke: My goal always is to bring business value through communication. I say that because we’re now officially one Santander US business, with four different business lines.