10-01 2021 15:33
wrote:
It’s very sad to have to be writing this, it’s way too early. My thoughts are with Kate, Chloe and JJ and the rest of Kevan’s family and friends. He always spoke lovingly and proudly of his family, what you all were doing and what your plans were as a family. I remember he had pictures on his desk, when we were allowed that kind of thing.
I worked closely with Kevan for 18 years; he recruited me to the Drinks Team in NFO after I’d met him as a client and thought he was someone I wanted to work with. Then we worked together through TNS and then Kantar, up to his retirement. We worked on so many projects together, with so many clients, we really knew how each other thought and operated. Kevan had so many plans, so many ideas for developments into new areas and they almost always came off. The spontaneous jokes in his presentations, which were always scripted in his speaker notes, were maybe less reliable… I joked that he would put ‘wait for laughter to die down’ in those notes too, but that wasn’t really needed.
We had fun, too, along the way. The old NFO/TNS Drinks Seminars spring to mind; Kevan worked extremely hard to make sure they were interesting to be involved in and there was always something fun and different to do once the work was finished. The sight of Kevan somewhat reluctantly herding ducks in the Oxfordshire countryside springs to mind. And of course we used the photo of a young Kevan with his guitar and his perm in virtually every presentation - nothing wrong with a cheap laugh and he always took it in good spirit! Memorable also, when he confided in me some years back that he was trying to grow his hair like David Bowie - that was a nugget that had to be shared, although some were confused by this and thought he still had a long way to go to achieve the Ziggy Stardust look. And it was Kevan who introduced me to the delights of chilli, chips and cheese at the Ace Café when we worked at Wembley Point. We visited there often (within reason), even meeting up there after he retired. I will go again and remember.
I won’t pretend it was a smooth ride all the time at work; we clashed every now and then, we had different opinions about a lot of things and we certainly had different perspectives on some parts of life and work: Kevan the optimist, me the pessimist (realist?); Kevan the strategist, me the pragmatist; Kevan the vague nod in the direction of spelling and grammar, me the proof-reading! But it must have worked, right? And a lot of that was down to Kevan.
Kevan always looked out for me and supported me when I needed it, not least when I came back from being off sick a few years. He understood. And he cared. And one of the last things he did before, and after, retiring was to make sure my role in a new team was confirmed.
We talked a lot over the years about all kinds of things, many long conversations while on the long (separate) journeys home up the M1 after work - not in the mornings as much; as others have commented Kevan was on the road a bit earlier than me most of the time! Music was always a good subject and he even came round to appreciating Springsteen after many years of aversion. That led to lots of enthusiastic conversations over the last 2-3 years. It was good to open up new doors for someone who had heard so much music and seen so many bands live, of which I was always envious. I’m sure I could have persuaded him to see Springsteen on his next tour. Maybe!
I’ll miss you Kevan, thanks for everything.
10-01 2021 15:33
wrote:
It’s very sad to have to be writing this, it’s way too early. My thoughts are with Kate, Chloe and JJ and the rest of Kevan’s family and friends. He always spoke lovingly and proudly of his family, what you all were doing and what your plans were as a family. I remember he had pictures on his desk, when we were allowed that kind of thing.
I worked closely with Kevan for 18 years; he recruited me to the Drinks Team in NFO after I’d met him as a client and thought he was someone I wanted to work with. Then we worked together through TNS and then Kantar, up to his retirement. We worked on so many projects together, with so many clients, we really knew how each other thought and operated. Kevan had so many plans, so many ideas for developments into new areas and they almost always came off. The spontaneous jokes in his presentations, which were always scripted in his speaker notes, were maybe less reliable… I joked that he would put ‘wait for laughter to die down’ in those notes too, but that wasn’t really needed.
We had fun, too, along the way. The old NFO/TNS Drinks Seminars spring to mind; Kevan worked extremely hard to make sure they were interesting to be involved in and there was always something fun and different to do once the work was finished. The sight of Kevan somewhat reluctantly herding ducks in the Oxfordshire countryside springs to mind. And of course we used the photo of a young Kevan with his guitar and his perm in virtually every presentation - nothing wrong with a cheap laugh and he always took it in good spirit! Memorable also, when he confided in me some years back that he was trying to grow his hair like David Bowie - that was a nugget that had to be shared, although some were confused by this and thought he still had a long way to go to achieve the Ziggy Stardust look. And it was Kevan who introduced me to the delights of chilli, chips and cheese at the Ace Café when we worked at Wembley Point. We visited there often (within reason), even meeting up there after he retired. I will go again and remember.
I won’t pretend it was a smooth ride all the time at work; we clashed every now and then, we had different opinions about a lot of things and we certainly had different perspectives on some parts of life and work: Kevan the optimist, me the pessimist (realist?); Kevan the strategist, me the pragmatist; Kevan the vague nod in the direction of spelling and grammar, me the proof-reading! But it must have worked, right? And a lot of that was down to Kevan.
Kevan always looked out for me and supported me when I needed it, not least when I came back from being off sick a few years. He understood. And he cared. And one of the last things he did before, and after, retiring was to make sure my role in a new team was confirmed.
We talked a lot over the years about all kinds of things, many long conversations while on the long (separate) journeys home up the M1 after work - not in the mornings as much; as others have commented Kevan was on the road a bit earlier than me most of the time! Music was always a good subject and he even came round to appreciating Springsteen after many years of aversion. That led to lots of enthusiastic conversations over the last 2-3 years. It was good to open up new doors for someone who had heard so much music and seen so many bands live, of which I was always envious. I’m sure I could have persuaded him to see Springsteen on his next tour. Maybe!
I’ll miss you Kevan, thanks for everything.
