By Graeme Wood.

Robert arrived on the Manchester Scene in 1979 and was a founding member of Media Sales North. Later the name was changed to Media Sales Network – to reflect the nature of how the business was changing. The team grew and MSN represented magazines, newspapers, directories and radio.

He sold the business to The Unique Group. Robert enjoyed his association with Unique and he was, once again, successfully fronting a new venture within the Group.

Robert was a member of the MPA for many years, working tirelessly on the Committee and rising through the ranks to become Chairman – and more recently, President. He was also the Chairman of the MPA Educational Trust, a role he recognised as being most important for the development of the up and coming talent within the industry.

Robert enjoyed the company of many of the people within the industry and none more so than with his fellow members of the First Friday Club. A Club he enjoyed immensely. He served on the committee as Secretary for two years and then became Chairman – a role that gave him great satisfaction.

Even when Robert’s time on the First Friday committee had ended, he was still very much part of the team and was always available to give advise as and when required, some of which, I would have welcomed in my year as Chairman of the Club.

Robert certainly made his mark on the industry and he touched the lives of so many. The week after his tragic death was like no other I have witnessed within the Advertising Community. As the news spread - the blacker the cloud became - I informed one of our mates, Ken Gosling, of the tragic news and he cried as I told him  – this was typical of the sense of loss that we all felt.

It was testament to the great man that within a week or so, all those who were devastated by the news were laughing and telling funny stories which involved Robert.

I first met Robert twenty years ago at an industry party, by the end of the evening we were chatting and laughing as though we had known each other for years. That was a great thing about him; he was a likeable, easy personality with a wicked sense of humour. In fact, that was the first time I witnessed the famous glint in Robert’s eye as he cheekily teased one of the partygoers!

Throughout the years, the more I got to know Robert, the more I liked him. I was lucky enough to serve on the committee of the First Friday Club when he was Secretary and then Chairman and it was during one of these First Friday Club lunchtime committee meetings, which also involved Ken Gosling, Ken Buckley and others, that I discovered our shared passion for the odd drop of red wine! Some of these lunches were legendary and over the years Robert and I met regularly for lunch, which usually started off as a ‘quick pie and a pint’ and ended up as a five-course meal washed down with half a gallon of red wine - all great times I will never forget!

There are several words I would use to describe Robert:

Generous.  I used to question whether he was in fact a real Scot, as he was always the first to buy you a drink and if you were a guest at his table, your glass was never empty. He was generous with the time he gave to the industry and possibly even more importantly, he was generous and kind to people.

Fun. He enjoyed everything he did and brought with it a great sense of fun, which stayed with him at all times. Although Robert was a successful businessman and great communicator, his computer skills left a lot to be desired! Over time, however, he gained confidence with his one-finger typing and would often circulate any jokes he thought amusing, to his mates. Now and again he would get a little too confident and on one particular occasion, instead of sending the joke about the Bus Conductor and the Nun, he sent a confidential business plan to his group mailing list! On realising this, he very quickly rang round the recipients and asked us all to remove the document from our systems – which of course we did with a smile.

I also believe, Robert would have found great amusement in the fact that his funeral was on April the first!

Professional. Although Robert loved the social side of the advertising business, when it came to steering his company, which he did very successfully, or in his role as Chairman of both the MPA and the First Friday Club, he did this with great integrity and utter professionalism and was admired also by the younger generation to whom he gave great encouragement to progress within the industry.

Positive. It was no secret, that Robert suffered with MS, but his positive attitude in coping with the disease in every aspect of his life should be an inspiration to us all.

Although our loss is great, Robert packed a lot into his life and enjoyed it to the full, as far as the advertising industry is concerned, we owe him a great deal and have benefited massively from his presence.

I, like all of us, will miss Robert and I will be raising a glass of red wine to him on many future occasions.

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