REMEMBERING LEIGH RICHARDS
It is just over a year since my friend and colleague Leigh Richards passed on to a better place. Leigh was my chief co-consultant and collaborator in Marland Sykes.
Leigh was one of the kindest men I have ever met. A man of utmost honour and integrity, with a warm heart and a gentle spirit, he was generous to a fault, loyal, funny, always quick to right a wrong and he never lacked for courage when it mattered most.
He was also a successful PR who maintained a lifelong passion for his industry. Recognised as one of the UK’s leading B2B and technology PRs, Leigh had over 30 years’ experience of brand transformation in both the UK and overseas. Leigh masterminded transformational campaigns, built awareness and credibility across large service organisations, and introduced ground-breaking new technologies. His guidance drove campaigns for a wide range of companies from start-ups heading for trade sales through to major players including HP, Xerox, Microsoft, Liverpool University, General Signal, Global Switch and NASDAQ listed organisations. He was a pioneer of the digital comms revolution – proving that comms and social media are inextricably linked as part of any integrated marketing campaign.
Leigh was a Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Public Relations and a Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts. He was also a founder member and former Court Assistant of the City of London Company of Communicators.
There is much ugliness in business these days and too many people believe that in order to get ahead you have to crush people, humiliate them, try to undermine them with lies. Yet when the hurly-burly’s done, when the battle’s lost and won, it is the simple things that we remember:
· Kindness
· Empathy
· A willingness to listen
· Loyalty to your family, your friends, your cause
· Integrity
Leigh proved that it is possible to be successful whilst never letting go of the values and virtues that truly matter.
https://ciprcrisiscommsnetwork.com/2022/03/15/in-memory-of-leigh/