Craig Badings

My name is Craig Badings and I have spent the past 21 years consulting to small and large brands about their public relations challenges. It has only been over the last four years that I have developed a deep interest and fascination with the topic, thought leadership.

Why? Because not only have I witnessed its power but I also believe anyone can do it if they have a point of view to share or expertise which, if correctly packaged and presented, can add tremendous value to the person or company’s audience and in turn to the company/person sharing their point of view.

I am currently a director at a leading Sydney-based corporate and financial PR consultancy, Cannings Corporate Communications, a member of the ASX-listed, STW Group Ltd, Australia’s largest communications services group. However, this is a long way from where I started - as an English teacher in a Johannesburg school, Sandown High.

As much as I loved being in the classroom and on the sportsfield engaging with young, exciting minds, after two year of teaching, I decided to enter the world of public relations.

I started my PR career with South Africa’s largest PR company, TWS Communications. My very first account was Durex where I was involved in some early thought leadership work with the then country expert on HIV Aids Prof Ruben Sher.

I was soon transfered to my home town, Cape Town to head up the TWS office and shortly thereafter became a main board director of the merged Simeka TWS Communications entity. After almost a decade with the company it was time for a new challenge and after a brief stint in private education I launched my own PR agency, Rainmaker Public Relations.

After two years, Rainmaker was bought out by London-based PR multinational, Citigate. I headed up the PR division of Citigate South Africa and one year before emigrating to Australia, was appointed managing director of Citigate’s Cape Town PR, advertising and design agencies.

In 2003, I moved to Australia with my family and after a brief stint with Gavin Anderson, started my second business, this time as an product importer and distributor before joining one of the Ogilvy Public Relations brands, Savage & Partners.

In 2009 Savage&Partners merged with sister company Cannings which is where I now work consulting to a range of brands about their communication and thought leadership strategies.