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Craig Leeson

Key Opinion Ambassador

Craig is the fourth generation in his family to work in the media business. He began his career in newspapers before moving to radio and television. He earned multiple journalism and presenting awards while corresponding with ABC Television in Australia before moving to Hong Kong to present and report on the Handover and other Asian affairs for global and regional broadcasters such as Asia Television, CNN, and BBC. In the late 90s, he covered the fall of Suharto and Indonesia’s independent elections as well as the impending East Timor War.

He has a New York Festival Award for Best International Documentary and an Asian TV award for a documentary on the Maoist rebels of Nepal and was one of the first television presenters to investigate the economic sanctions imposed on Burma and to interview democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi under house arrest.

In early 2002 he moved to the National Geographic Channel and created and produced the Channel’s first in-house series for Asia, called Geowatch Asia. Craig then took an executive challenge and accepted a role as Media Strategist at executive level for Richard Li (PCCW), helping to restructure Network Of the World (NOW broadband) in London and working on Asia’s three biggest joint venture projects with Telstra Australia.

He returned to broadcasting with his own new production company, Ocean Vista Films Ltd, and produced some of Asia’s most iconic documentaries, including Marco Polo: The Forbidden Mystery Revealed (NGC), voted the 13th best documentary of all time on National Geographic Channel Asia. Craig has since produced and directed hundreds of tv commercials, corporate films, and documentaries for broadcasters, including his feature film directorial debut on the Plastic Oceans film project looking at the problem of plastic pollution devastating the world’s marine environment. Craig is also the creator and chairman of the I Shot Hong Kong film festival and plays in a published rock band. He is addicted to macadamia nuts and is recently awarded Tasmania’s Australian Of The Year for 2022