Decision Marketing at 15: In tribute to industry legends

Like every sector, the data-driven marketing industry has its leaders and its followers, and, over the years, the business has had more than its fair share of both.

However, few professionals make their mark quite as much as the figures we have lost. Some burnt the candle at both ends; others blazed through it with a blow torch, but each one touched the hearts and minds of everyone they worked with.

In the latest instalment of our series marking Decision Marketing‘s 15th anniversary, we give you “The Legends” we have loved and lost.

First up is Professor Derek Holder, one of the most influential people in the industry and the man who inspired generations of direct marketers, passed away in his sleep in February 2012, with top names from the industry – including Terry Hunt, Drayton Bird, John Watson and Charles Ping – paying tribute to a “true visionary”.

Derek had started his career at BOAC in 1970 as a management trainee, then worked at Ford, McGraw-Hill, and Reader’s Digest before joining academia by becoming first senior, then principal, lecturer at Kingston Poly Business School during the Eighties.

In 1987, he founded the Institute of Direct Marketing, creating the IDM Diploma in Direct Marketing – a qualification which is still viewed as a ‘must-have’ for anyone in the industry, whether client, agency or supplier side. Derek’s vision helped the IDM to become internationally recognised as the leading professional body for the development of direct, data and digital marketing.

At the time, John Watson said: “Derek was not only a first class academic brain but had a genuine understanding of direct marketing, real creativity, and, above all, the rare ability to work with the politics of an industry that has still not quite reconciled itself to the existence of an independent IDM. Derek devoted his life to the industry and I hope the industry can find a suitable way to mark his passing.”

Just a month later, George Smith, a UK direct marketing industry pioneer, also died. In a career that spanned over 40 years, George devised many of the techniques now taken for granted and was acknowledged as a world expert on fundraising in particular.

He started his working life in publishing before forming Smith Bundy in 1973, with former colleague Jeremy Bundy and Carol Trickey. He was chief executive for 20 years at the agency which was the stamping ground of many of the industry’s finest, including Terry Hunt, Jonathan Spooner, Chris Barraclough, Wanda Goldwag, and Mel Edwards (formerly Cruickshank).

The same month, data and CRM expert Shelagh Regester pass away after a three-year illness. Having started her career at McCarthy Cosby Paul in 1984, Shelagh became a founding member, managing director and part owner of Information for Marketing (now Harte Hanks) in 1987. She went on to hold senior roles at Arc Worldwide and CACI before setting up a consultancy business, Insight Success.

At the time, Nigel Grimes said: “First and foremost Shelagh was a good friend whom I was lucky enough to know for nearly 20 years and we had many fun times together. The industry will sadly miss Shelagh’s intelligence, positive approach, humour and her support.”

2016 saw Jeremy Shaw, one of the industry’s most respected chiefs, leave us. Having started his marketing career in the charity sector, working for Oxfam, Jeremy’s first agency role was at Smith Bundy & Partners. He joined  in 1984 and stayed for 13 years, eventually becoming chairman but left for Carlson Marketing (now defunct); a year later he joined 141 – the Bates-owned agency – and steered the company through a tempestuous merger.

He went on to launch Kitcatt Nohr Alexander Shaw in 2002, with Paul Kitcatt, Marc Nohr and Vonnie Alexander. The business grew to be one of the most successful agencies of the time, eventually being bought by Publicis in March 2011.

At the time of his passing, Marc Nohr paid tribute to his former business partner: “Jeremy was a gent, a rock and a man with a keen intellect. He was deeply committed to mentoring and educating young talent, a person of absolute integrity, a gifted businessman and a good friend to the charity sector.”

The same year, former Arc Worldwide and EHS Brann chief Mike Spicer lost his battle with motor neurone disease, aged just 51.

Mike started his career at IMP in 1989 as an account executive, when John Farrell was managing director. He was one of the “4 Amigos”, together with John Quarrey, Ian Priest and Ian Millner, who all went on to create other great agencies that changed the landscape for marketing services agencies.

He went on to become managing director of IMP’s successor Arc in 1993, but left after a restructure to first join Media Square, then EHS Brann (now Havas CX Helia), followed by Pulse Group and B Street.

Over the years, Mike also played a key role in developing the Marketing Agencies Association, and was chairman of the MAA between 2009 and 2011.

David Harris, who worked with Mike at IMP, said: “It wasn’t so long ago when we thought we were immortal. We worked every hour under the sun. We did all nighters. We drank more than the gods of Jutland. We celebrated every win like a World Cup victory. We felt every loss like the end of the world.

“Now we are feeling the loss of one of us. A great team leader. Sharp, funny, confident and clever, Mike was someone who always had time for everyone. The last time I saw him in the summer he was speaking about his kids, bursting with pride at their successes. I hope they’re equally proud of their dad. It was privilege to work alongside him and we’ll miss him.”

In June 2018, Tod Norman, a recognised authority on business strategy and direct marketing, also passed away.

Tod grew up in the States but dropped out of university before moving to the UK in the early Eighties. He worked in planning for a number of agencies before joining Barraclough Hall Woolston Gray (now Rapp) as planning director, and was a major force in the agency’s meteoric rise from start-up to one of the biggest DM businesses in the country.

In 1999, he moved to WWAV Rapp Collins (also now Rapp) as brand planning director at consultancy offshoot Zalpha, before rejoining his old boss John Watson at WPN.

At the time of his death, Rapp global chief executive Marco Scognamiglio, said: “Tod was always a ball of energy in the office with never ending thoughts and ideas on what clients should do to be more successful. His real strength was insight, he just had that ability to see the insight about an audience that no-one else would see, which became the magic to produce great work.

“Moreover, he was just fun to be with and one of the good, decent people in our industry who will be missed by many.”

Jonathan Spooner added: “Tod was a brilliant, cantankerous, charming and supremely articulate man who ‘got’ creative people and was the direct inspiration for some of the best advertising campaigns I have worked on or seen.”

In 2019, former DMA chair, Opt-4 co-founder and data protection expert Rosemary Smith died. Having started her career in directory publishing, she joined the Periodical Publishers Association in 1984 to analyse the UK’s first Data Protection Act and explain its impact to members.

By 1989, Rosemary had joined one of the UK’s leading list brokers, Mardev and within three years had become managing director. After Mardev came a short spell running the contact centre and fulfilment businesses for Acxiom, before she launched The Prospect Shop for Bonnier.

In 2003, Rosemary set up her own company, RSA Direct, and, within a year, a separate data protection business Opt-4, together with former DMA board director and National Geographic client Jenny Moseley, who said: “Rosemary was my best friend. Supplier, colleague, mentor and all-round fun person. I admired her so much and consider her to be one of the cleverest people I have ever known.

“We got into all sorts of scrapes together; climbing over a swimming pool wall at a Jersey conference, eating Raclette in Montreux, giggling over the oompah band in Lederhosen… Her wit at such times was legendary.”

The same year also saw the passing of Lloyd James, one of the sector’s most colourful and flamboyant characters. Having started his career in recruitment in 1974 working for Reed Executive, he then joined Commercial Names & Numbers, a B2B data provider in the early Eighties.

He moved on to SR Communications in 1986 and was appointed to the board of directors, reporting into John Burbidge who was a great mentor to Lloyd. It was here that he first met Lynn Stevens and they both quit in 1990 to set up the Lloyd James Group.

The company went on to be one of the biggest independent list and data businesses in the UK for over 20 years.

Stevens said: “I worked with Lloyd for 30 years. He was an amazing manager and mentor, he could instinctively recognise the qualities in people and then encouraged them, inspiring and motivating them to play to their strengths.

“He played a huge part in launching many highly successful careers and built an amazingly loyal team at Lloyd James over the years, all of whom are still in touch – we call ourselves the ‘LJ Family’. Nothing illustrates that more than the fact that some of his team were with him when he passed away.”

Judith Donovan CBE added: “We agency owners, being ‘creatives’, thought we were a cut above the wonks and geeks in the business, particularly the list brokers who seemed to us to have very boring jobs?

“But not our Lloyd! He was outré, he was over the top, he was larger than life, he was enormous fun; if Lloyd was in the room you knew it was going to be an hilarious, outrageous experience. Yet underneath, he was a real thinker outside the box and also very kind; another light lost from our very special world.”

2019 was also the year that the industry lost Jo Howard-Brown, who worked at Royal Mail’s Direct Mail Sales Bureau and then launched a market research firm with Jeanette Hull, called the HBH Partnership. The company offered direct marketing consultancy and ran the Direct Mail Information Service, which provided official statistics on the UK direct mail market and undertook all Royal Mail’s consumer research.

However, Jo quit the industry nearly a decade before to move into property investment.

Chris Ward, who worked with Jo at the DMSB, said: “Jo was nothing less than a titan of the industry. I had the absolute pleasure of working with her. When the direct marketing industry was making strides to be taken seriously by ad and media agencies Jo was a force to be reckoned with, and they loved her for it.

“No bullshit, straight talking, more knowledgeable and smarter than most in our industry, she carved a path that has helped many of us make a great living. And of course let’s not forget the fun we had along the way. Jo was a party girl way before the label was made. Jo, you were loved by many and leave a massive hole that just can’t be filled.”

In 2023, former DDM, Barraclough Hall and Proximity chief Elly Woolston passed away following spirited battle with cancer.

Having started her career client-side at Barclaycard in the 1980s, Elly was lured by DDM Advertising in 1987 to run its British Airways account, among others, and during the following four years she helped to build the BA Executive Club into one of most successful CRM programmes in Europe.

In 1991, she joined forces with fellow DDM executives Chris Barraclough, Simon Hall and Duncan Gray as a founding partner of Barraclough Hall Woolston Gray. BHWG went on to become one of the most successful DM agencies of the Nineties, being bought by Omnicom in the latter part of the decade and rebranded Proximity London.

Elly spent the next 17 years with the business as deputy chairman, before leaving in 2008. Over the following decade, she took on senior roles at a number of agencies, including at DMS and Indicia, and then became an independent marketing, multimedia business consultant in 2016.

Former business partner Duncan Gray remained close to Elly for more than three decades. He said: “I last spoke to her a few days before she passed away and she mostly asked how I was!

“Ellen, Elly, superstar marketing lady, horse lover and rider, chicken keeper, bon viveur, leopard print lady, wine appreciator, beautiful home creator, celebrator of everything creative, world traveller, amazing business partner, fun instigator, mischief maker… A truly unique lady. An inspiration in so many ways and a true and caring friend for 35 years.”

The same year saw the passing of FCB Global chief Nigel Jones, the former junior chess champion, “mix-tape” lover and one of the most respected figures in the business. He was 62.

Jones started his career at BMP DDB in 1984, after studying maths at Oxford University. It was here where he rubbed shoulders with the likes of Stuart Archibald and Arthur Parshotam, ultimately becoming head of account planning.

After 14 years, he quit to join forces with Simon Antenen, Steve Barton and Ed Mason to form Jones Mason Barton Antenen, which subsequently merged with Claydon Heeley. Jones and Ed Mason were joint chief executives, although Mason left soon after.

The agency, whose staff viewed themselves as the “Sex Pistols of the agency world”, was the stomping ground of many of the industry’s “faces”, including Xavier Rees, Richard Madden, Jonathan Harman, Mike Cullis, Chris Martin, and Steve Grout. After years of success, it went through a number of management changes before being merged and then, much like the punk band, it disappeared.

Jones left the company to join FCB in November 2005, where he eventually became president when it was merged with Draft a year later, before switching to Publicis to be UK group chairman and chief executive. He quit in 2013 to return to DraftFCB in a global strategy role.

Former Claydon Heeley colleague Jonathan Harman, who went on to be Royal Mail Group managing director of media, said: “It’s widely understood that Nigel was hugely intelligent, passionate, empathetic and inspiring. He’d use all these attributes and more as he transformed client businesses, careers, agencies and global networks. And, of course, he won far more than his share of awards and accolades for this throughout his career. He was an irreplaceable one-off and I’ll miss him terribly.”

In 2024, Mike Dodds, the highly respected former agency chief who led both Ogilvy and Proximity in pan-European and global roles, passed away after suffering a heart attack.

Mike spent his entire career agency-side, eventually joining Ogilvy in the early 1990s and rising up the ranks to become chief executive of OgilvyOne. By 2008, he had switched to Proximity London as CEO before being promoted to MD of Europe, global president and then global CEO.

However, in January 2021, he left the agency industry to set up his own consultancy, InsideOut For Growth, offering growth consulting, advisory and mentoring services to businesses large and small. Mike also took on a number of advisory roles, at Tug, Kinetic Foundation and The Salocin Group, which includes Edit Agency and media business Join The Dots.

Salocin Group chief executive Nick Dixon said: “Mike was an incredible guy and a great leader who brought people along with him to achieve great things. We will all miss him.”

Former agency chief Ben Stephens said he was “gutted” to hear the news. “Kindhearted, clear sighted and passionate about that thing we call agencyland. From early Limbo days to late summer golfing at Bramley you taught me more than you will ever know Mike. Too soon.”

Meanwhile, Oliver UK chief strategy officer Nick Myers, who worked with Mike at Proximity, commented: “Mike was a brilliant leader, a consummate client partner, and a true gent. He was highly respected and trusted by colleagues and clients. Working with Mike made you better at whatever it was you did; he was that kind of guy.”