John F. Budd, Jr.

                                 Iconoclast – Seer –Curmudgeon- Elder Statesman

               Founder/chairman of a 7-year old boutique think-tank, the Omega Group, John Budd’s been called, “the nearest we have in New England to a PR guru" Hartford Courant) exaggeration, he says; Jack Bergen, Siemen’s senior vp corporate affairs  says he’s PR’s Socrates (JB reminds us that Socrates was forced to take poison by his friends—and enemies ).he comes to the advice business after  57 years of trial, errors and success , two thirds agency practice; one third corporate starting as the youngest, rawest,

lowest paid staff writer at the then prestigious Carl Byoir & Assoc. exiting 30 years later as vice chairman. Sixteen professional awards suggest he learned something ,field savvy being gained in long-term annual assignments for such clients as Honeywell, Hallmark,

Burlington Northern, RCA/NBC, Republic Aviation etc. He’s worked for—and with—13 CEO/Chairmen. A prolific writer—8 years and 50 columns under rubric “Plain Talk”-and presently  7 years and 52  Observation  newsletters. Mixed in are 9 non-fiction books covering  topics from CEO  credibility ,non-profit leadership to media relations and personal growth. As a member of the national board of advisors to the Nat’l Assoc. of Corporate Directors—and as a director of the NACD New  York chapter-he writes frequently—White Papers and Op-Eds—on corporate governance issues.

           His métier is two-fold: one, discovering isolated events that, if coalesced with other unremarkable happenings, constiutute potential trouble for chief executives/directors and two, foreseeing the broad perceptions of corporate policy and actions.

         He is a pronounced foe of conventional wisdom and  enemy of the status quo.