[By Sudarshana Banerjee]

Henry Gomez will join the company as executive vice president and chief communications officer, says tech giant Hewlett Packard (HP). He also will become a member of HP’s executive council, reporting to Meg Whitman, HP president and chief executive officer.

Mr. Gomez was on the leadership team of the company’s current CEO’s 2010 campaign for governor of California, and has been involved in government and political affairs throughout his career, says HP. Mr. Gomez also worked with Ms. Whitman at eBay.

Mr. Gomez will be responsible for HP’s media and industry analyst relations, executive communications, employee communications, government affairs, and global social innovation and environmental sustainability.

Mr. Gomez, 48, spent most of the last decade working at eBay, where he served in a variety of roles including senior vice president, Corporate Affairs at eBay,  President at Skype, and Chief Marketing Officer at Skype. He quit eBay to lauch his own communications firm HSG Communications in New York in September 2008.

Meg Whitman (President and CEO, HP): People around the world care deeply about HP, and I believe we have an important obligation to clearly explain where we’re headed and why. Henry will work closely with the entire leadership team to make certain customers, partners, employees, and shareholders fully understand our vision and strategy.

HP stakeholders are more than willing to understand the company’s strategy, but the company probably does need to have a coherent strategy first.