Stephanie Carpenter

Stephanie Carpenter believes that a company’s culture – good or bad – is contagious. That’s why she works so hard to discover and share why people are passionate about what they do.

At New Balance, she did this by showcasing a mentoring program that brought in students to design their own shoes, clothing and marketing campaigns. The short internal documentary she produced proved so popular that it reshaped the way employees saw their colleagues’ work, as well as the way company leaders approached their own internal videos.

“I love internal communication because it helps people understand how their different roles fit together, how they make a difference, and how the business really works,” she said.

Stephanie joined the ROI Communication team with more than a decade of communication experience in multiple industries. She got her start at Ralph Lauren, working to streamline communication channels and deepen employee engagement. “Not everyone is sitting in front of computers, so we had to find creative ways – such as internal events, fashion shows and other programs – to engage people,” she said.

Shifting to the financial industry, Stephanie joined the communication team at Citi as Vice President for Consumer Communications. In this role, she developed communication strategy, helped drive consistent messaging, managed employee intranet content, and partnered on a wide range of live and virtual events.

Later, at New Balance, she spent five years focused on the athletic company’s internal communication. In addition to her internal video work, she led redesign and development of the company’s intranet, strengthened leadership communication and engagement, and supported marketing, product and business strategy.

Early in the COVID-19 pandemic, Stephanie stepped into contract roles as a senior internal communication coordinator at Medtronic and Homesite Insurance, helping these companies navigate some of the most challenging times in the history of modern business, with thousands of employees suddenly shifting to remote work. As a new mother herself, she could empathize with the stresses associated with that – a perspective that helped guide her work.

“Effective internal communication always comes from the employee perspective. So whatever industry I am working in, I always take a 360-degree approach to understand the different ways people work and operate, how they get information, what they’re feeling and what they care about,” she said.

A Massachusetts native, Stephanie earned a BA from Fairfield University in Political Science and Marketing. When she’s not advising ROI’s clients, she enjoys taking care of her two young children, baking, running, and reading thrillers.