I am a journalist by instinct and training, an entrepreneur by necessity and a communicator by profession. I began my career in journalism at 21 and have spent more than four decades asking difficult questions, seeking truth and understanding how words can change outcomes.

In 1997, I founded Janine Lazarus Media Consultancy (JLMC) with no seed capital, building the business from the ground up.
Today, JLMC is a specialist consultancy working at the intersection of media, leadership and reputation. I advise and train executives, organisations and leadership teams in media engagement, crisis communication, executive communication and other high-stakes situations.

JLMC has trained more than 37,000 delegates through over 4,000 workshops, delivering 25 programmes across more than 40 countries.

For me, leadership is not about title or hierarchy. It is about having the courage to speak when speaking is difficult, to listen when listening matters, and to equip other people to find and use their own voices. Increasingly, my focus is also on transferring what I have learnt over four decades through mentorship and developing the next generation of communicators.

I have spent four decades turning journalistic experience into leadership, building a global consultancy, developing thousands of people and, increasingly, transferring that knowledge to the next generation.

My next chapter is about legacy through transfer. I want the knowledge accumulated over more than four decades to outlive me – through mentorship, coaching and developing people who will communicate and lead with courage, integrity and humanity.

For South Africa, I want the same principle applied on a much larger scale. We have extraordinary talent, but talent needs opportunity, skills, mentorship and leaders prepared to make room for those coming behind them. Our future cannot be built by guarding knowledge or pulling up the ladder. It will be built by sharing what we know, demanding accountability, encouraging difficult conversations and giving younger South Africans the confidence and skills to lead.
I want to remain part of that work.

I have continued to build and reinvent a business founded in 1997 while remaining directly involved in the work and the people it serves.

I have advised leaders through crises, trained people to communicate under pressure, coached executives and continued to take my expertise into organisations across sectors and borders.

But perhaps the most important evolution is my decision to transfer that experience more deliberately. I am developing a mentorship initiative through which emerging professionals can gain practical exposure to work that cannot simply be learnt from a textbook.

I also believe leadership extends beyond commercial work. I contribute pro bono expertise to NGOs and animal-welfare causes and support animal-welfare initiatives financially.

What I hope inspires others is not perfection. It is longevity, reinvention and the willingness to remain useful.

Recreational activities

Pilates, walking and fitness, reading and current affairs, theatre and live entertainment, and supporting animal-welfare initiatives.