John Clendening

John J. Clendening is a founding principal of Clients First Marketing & Communications™, a full-service marketing and communications consultancy. He is also co-host of the "On the Offense" podcast and an assistant professor of practice for advertising and brand strategy in the Mayborn School of Journalism at the University of North Texas.

John has served in increasingly senior global corporate marketing and communications leadership roles for five Global 50 (Siemens) and current or former Fortune 500 (Unisys, EDS, Honeywell and Avery Dennison) companies. He has also served as head of marketing and communications for Texas Capital, a full-service financial services firm, and has led global corporate marketing and communications for a private equity-owned software business. Prior to his client-side career, he worked for public relations agencies including Hill & Knowlton. He began his career as an award-winning journalist.

Through these roles John has led the development of communications and marketing strategies and the execution of these strategies through functions and capabilities including brand, messaging, public relations, web and online content, advertising, creative services, solution marketing, demand generation, content development, case studies, search, social media, events, community relations and internal communications. He has led communications efforts for mergers and acquisitions across multiple industries and countries, and he has deep experience in financial communications and crisis management. He is an empathetic leader who blends a results-oriented approach with a collaborative style.

John is a current or past member of the CMO Council; the National Advisory Board for the Elon University School of Communications; the Arthur W. Page Society, the premier peer group for global communications leaders; and the Dallas Roundtable, a peer group for DFW-based marketing and communications leaders.

John is a graduate of the University of Southern California, where he earned a Bachelor of Arts in print journalism and a Master of Business Administration and for which he served on the Alumni Association Board of Governors. He is the author of three books: Julia’s Angels: Chasing One Last Chance at Justice Nearly 50 Years Later (iUniverse, 2025), Simple Glory: The Search for the Soul of an American Town (iUniverse, 2018) and Love Letters to Sports: Moments in Time and the Ties That Bind (iUniverse, 2011).