PALO ALTO, CA: HP Inc. has hired Apple alum Stella Low as head of corporate affairs and chief communications officer, succeeding the outgoing Karen Kahn.
Kahn is set to leave HP at the end of the month; Low is planning to join the company this summer and will be based in Palo Alto, California. Low will report to HP CEO Enrique Lores, an HP spokesperson said.
“[Kahn] is focusing on her next chapter and what’s most important in her life,” the spokesperson said. “She spends a lot of time volunteering and mentoring, and she plans to pursue this passion.”
Kahn declined an interview request, but said in a statement that “communications must always have a seat at the leadership table and I have been fortunate to work with an incredible leadership team and orgnanization that values the power of reputation and storytelling.”
Since joining HP in 2015, Kahn was responsible for rebuilding HP’s communications and brand team and reintroducing HP Inc. after Hewlett Packard Enterprise split with the company. HP Inc. contains the former Hewlett-Packard’s printer and PC business while HPE includes data and software-as-a-service platforms.
“[Kahn] has championed the company’s narrative and helped to position HP as one of the most trusted brands in technology,” an HP spokesperson said. The spokesperson said Kahn has championed digital equity and was responsible for accelerating HP’s diversity, equity and inclusion and sustainable impact programs and helping HP to establish 2030 goals in those areas.
Kahn was a PRWeek Hall of Fame honoree in 2021.
Low was previously Apple’s PR lead. She started in that position at Apple in May 2021, after the role was vacant for nearly two years after Steve Dowling left the company. Phil Schiller, SVP of worldwide marketing, led communications in the interim.
In January, Apple replaced Low by promoting longtime spokesperson Kristin Huguet to VP of worldwide communications, the company’s top communications role. Apple said in a statement Low left the company to spend more time with her family.
Low previously worked at Cisco as SVP and chief communications officer and was SVP of global communications at Dell, a position she held since Dell acquired her prior employer, EMC, in 2016. She had been EMC’s VP of global communications since 2013. Low also worked at Unisys.
Low made PRWeek’s Power List last year.
At the end of February, HP’s global head of brand activation, Vanessa Yanez, left the company. This week, she joined the Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco as VP of PR. Last year, HP Inc. hired Erica Van Ross as head of CEO communications and Jason Kravitz as head of corporate reputation.
This story was updated with comment from Kahn.
