Heather Vaughn

• Internal communications & change management advisory: Advise organizations navigating transformation, reorganization, and leadership transitions, developing communication strategies, leader toolkits, governance models, and measurement approaches.
• AI-powered communications tools: Built and launched two independent AI tools: Cascade, which helps managers, communications leaders, and CHROs strengthen messages, prioritize work with defensible criteria, and measure trust impact; and Signal Suite, which helps interpret employee-listening and engagement-survey results.

Promoted three times in under five years, from Communications Manager to Vice President. Led the enterprise internal communications function from 2021 for a global, roughly three-quarters remote workforce of about 8,000 through M&A, reorganization, and a reduction in force. Led a team of up to seven and owned a $1M IC budget.

Employer brand moved to Marketing in a December 2025 restructuring. Continued leading global internal communications and advising senior leaders.

• Listening, governance & measurement: Led employee listening and engagement strategy to surface trust and communication gaps and influence leadership decisions. Built communications governance and metrics for alignment, adoption, and leadership effectiveness that improved prioritization and created capacity for strategic work.
• AI-enabled communications: Built AI-enabled workflows for content generation, research, sentiment analysis, and audience segmentation, increasing team output and message precision without added headcount.

• Trust restoration after a reduction in force: Rebuilt CEO visibility through more frequent town halls and all-hands meetings, CEO storytelling, and employee recognition, tracking recovery through pulse analytics.
• C-suite advisory: Advised C-suite executives and led internal and executive communications through business transformation and workforce change.
• Leadership enablement: Built manager and leader enablement programs, including cascades, toolkits, talking points, and all-hands materials, so leaders could deliver clear, consistent change communications.
• Employer brand: Led employer brand and employee experience communications, connecting internal culture to Viasat's external employer reputation.

• Global M&A integration: Led communications for Viasat's largest-ever acquisition, Inmarsat, from pre-close through integration, with zero communications-related legal escalations. Navigated works council and legal requirements across countries while sustaining engagement and leadership trust.
• Intranet consolidation: Led the consolidation of three legacy intranets into one global employee platform, shaped by employee feedback, and supported culture and workforce integration.
• Leadership & integration communications: Developed leadership and manager communications that helped employees understand business changes and what they meant for their teams. Led communications for reorganizations, workforce changes, and HR and workplace policies.
• Editorial calendar & cascade: Built and managed the enterprise editorial calendar and communication cascade, including a quarterly senior leadership forum that aligned top leaders on business priorities before enterprise-wide deployment.

• Supported employee communications for Xbox's Gaming for Everyone initiative, advancing inclusive culture for employees, industry partners, and game developers. Launched a new inclusive design website and managed the enterprise newsletter, SharePoint, and internal social channels.
• Supported Microsoft Healthcare Industry team communications, including monthly newsletters and external blog content.

Led communications strategy for major transformation initiatives at a large mission-driven health system. Delivered crisis communications during a large-scale nursing strike, managing labor-sensitive, legally complex messaging under significant time pressure while protecting organizational trust. Also led DEI and workforce development communications.

Built enterprise-scale communications infrastructure and governance for a 66,000-person workforce spanning retail, call centers, and field operations.

• Designed and launched a cross-organizational communications partner program connecting central and embedded communicators, creating shared governance, message consistency, and strategic visibility. Grew participation from 70% to 85% in three months.

• External communications: Supervised 5+ media relations and PR client accounts across healthcare and technology. Led development of the agency's strategic three-year business plan, including vision, objectives, metrics, risk assessment, and implementation timeline.

• Internal & executive communications: Developed and executed internal communications strategy across a 10,000+ employee community health system. Owned executive communications, crisis response, and strategic planning as a trusted advisor to senior health system leaders.

• Executive video & multimedia: Writer and editor for five concurrent employee and physician newsletters. Directed and produced COO videocasts and other executive-level video content for a large regional faith-based health system.

Led external communications for enterprise technology and healthcare clients, including a multi-year engagement on Microsoft's global communications team.

• Internal & executive communications: Served as lead editor of the Microsoft News Agenda, the weekly newsletter distributed to all global Microsoft employees. Supported top-level executive communications across the account.
• Media & analyst relations, crisis communications: Served on the crisis communications team handling issues management for Microsoft accounts, and supported media and analyst relations engagements that required aligning internal messaging with external-facing positioning.