Communicator Spotlight: Sue Bishop of Synchrony
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Photo illustration: Axios Visuals. Photo: Courtesy of Synchrony
As chief corporate affairs officer at Synchrony, Sue Bishop is responsible for protecting and enhancing the company's reputation.
Why it matters: Bishop is the first to hold the chief corporate affairs role at the consumer financial services company, which spun out from GE in 2015.
Catch up quick: Bishop started her career as a trade reporter before taking on public relations roles at Textron, John Hancock Funds, Tiller LLC and U.S. Trust.
- She then spent more than a decade at GE, where she served as head of communications for GE Capital and as director of employee communications for GE worldwide.
- Bishop joined Synchrony in 2017 as senior vice president of communications and brand. She was promoted to chief corporate affairs officer in 2023.
State of play: Bishop reports to Synchrony CEO Brian Doubles and oversees the team responsible for corporate communications, events, employee communication and engagement, reputation management, public affairs, and advocacy.
What she's saying: Synchrony has 100 million consumers and partners with more than 400,000 retailers, spanning from Amazon and Walmart, to the local jewelry shop or bike store around the corner, she told Axios.
- "People know us, but they don't really know what we do," Bishop said. "We want consumers to understand the breadth of our product offerings and the value that we can provide, but we also want those opinion elites — especially legislators and consumer advocates — to understand how we play in the credit space."
Zoom in: In response, Synchrony has partnered with the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency to launch "Project REACh," which aims to demystify credit and educate families on building credit responsibly.
- "We really serve Middle America, and the message that we're driving is how vitally important credit is to live in this country, and a lot of people have sometimes shied away from it," she said.
What to watch: One of her team's priorities in 2026 is integrated storytelling on behalf of the company, she tells Axios.
- "I'll be honest, I don't have people with paid experience on my team, but we need to be the ones to do it," she says. "It's not like we can turn to the marketing or brand team and have them do it. They market credit cards for acquisition. We really are both the corporate marketing, corporate brand and corporate affairs team all wrapped into one."
Best advice: The grass is always greener where you water it.
Editor's note: This story has been corrected to reflect Synchrony has more than 400,000 partners (not 40,000).
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