David Rudd is a Vice President with The Axis Agency in the Chicago office. He currently specializes in corporate diversity, public affairs, and brand communications for clients including the United States Army, Chicago United, RushCard, KFC and Honeywell.

A respected public relations practitioner, David is an executive communications and media relations professional with 20 years’ achievement in the corporate and public sectors. He is a strategic communications counselor who has advised senior executives and officials on external and internal communication, including crisis communications. David is a media relations expert with proven ability to gain positive media coverage, particularly in support of new business initiatives. He has also managed multi-cultural marketing initiatives targeted at high-revenue consumers.

David directs visibility efforts for Chicago United, a business membership group that promotes greater diversity and inclusion in corporate ranks. He also directs public relations for the Prepaid Visa RushCard. His responsibilities for the Army include managing community outreach efforts in Michigan and guiding national outreach initiatives with African-American influencers.

Prior to joining the agency, he held communications leadership positions during a seven-year career at Motorola Inc., a global manufacturer of wireless communications products. There, he handled media relations for the office of the chief executive, he directed the external and internal communications team for a new mobile phone software business unit, and he launched the mobile phone business’ multi-cultural marketing program. David introduced new advertising and event marketing thereby increasing Hispanic and African American consumers’ consideration of Motorola’s brand and products.

While directing communication of Motorola’s mobile data services and software business, he attained higher national recognition of the group through proactive media and technology analyst relations, and an aggressive executive visibility program. As a manager in Motorola’s corporate communications office, he garnered favorable national and international media coverage of Motorola’s digital technology leadership, senior executives and employee policies.

Prior to joining Motorola in 1998, David was the press secretary for Illinois Senate Democratic Leader Emil Jones, Jr. In that position, he publicized the accomplishments of the Senator and the entire Senate Democratic caucus. David garnered positive coverage for the caucus’ efforts to win more education funding and greater opportunities for women- and minority-owned businesses.

David also served as communications director for the Chicago Public Schools. While there, he was the press secretary and he advised senior leaders of the school system during times of financial crisis. He also provided training and communications coaching to principals and other school system administrators.

In four years as a reporter for the Chicago Tribune, David covered the Chicago Public Schools beat, business and technology, and metropolitan stories.

He has spoken as a panelist on brand communication and communication-related careers. A graduate of Northwestern University’s Medill School of Journalism, David is active in Chicago’s public relations community as President of the Black Public Relations Society of Chicago and a member of the board of the Chicago chapter of the Public Relations Society of America. He is a Leadership Greater Chicago fellow, and a graduate of the Public Relations Executive Forum and the Advanced Management Program in Telecommunications.