David Cracknell is a media and reputation management expert and former journalist in the United Kingdom. Formerly Political Editor of The Sunday Times, he is currently head of his own public relations firm, Big Tent Communications. The PR Week Powerbook of the most influential PRs describes him as "ambitious, pragmatic" [1]
Cracknell attend Forest School in London and later went on to Pembroke College, Oxford and the University of Southampton. Prior to launching his own consultancy in 2008, he covered politics for newspapers for over 15 years, including stints at the Sunday Telegraph, Press Association and finally being political editor at The Sunday Times. He also helped found Sunday Business with Jeff Randall in 1998.
Following his departure from The Sunday Times, he was a Managing Director at PR firm FD, formerly Financial Dynamics, as well as being Chairman of its public affairs division, where he advised Northern Rock on its recovery plan following the bank being taken into public ownership. He left in August 2008 to found his own communications firm, Big Tent Communications, of which he is Managing Director. He is also a Director of The Enterprise Forum[2] .
He was listed in the PR Week Powerbook in 2008, a "collection of the most powerful people in PR".
In 2007 Cracknell played piano on a single by Gabrielle and Paul Weller called "Why".[3]