 |
| Tim Bell |
Controversial British PR man Tim Bell, who made his name as Margaret Thatcher’s image-maker, died Aug 25. He was 77.
Leaving his post at Saatchi and Saatchi ad agency in 1979, Bell played a major role in Thatcher’s rise to power and handled communications for her during her prime minister stint and for the Conservative party.
Bell, who went on to form Bell Pottinger PR firm, handled controversial clients such as Saudi Arabia, Chilean dictator Augusto Pinochet and Alexander Lukashenko, the authoritarian ruler of Belarus.
He left the Bell Pottinger chairman role in 2016, a year before the firm imploded for its role in orchestrating a racist campaign in South Africa on behalf of the Gupta family.
Britain’s PR watchdog Public Relations and Communications Assn. expelled Bell Pottinger for its South African work.
The Financial Times reported that though Bell was very physically ill with vascular Parkinsonism, he was instrumental in getting Boris Johnson elected as UK leader of the Conservative party, which led to his installation as PM.
Hugh Braithwaite, founder of Braithwaite Communications in Philadelphia, died Feb. 28. He was 63.
Alfred Horowitz, who was a PR counselor, educator, businessman and philanthropist, died February 14 of natural causes. He was 93.
Ginger Reeder, the former VP-corporate communications at Neiman Marcus, died Jan. 9. She was 64.
José Antonio Llorente, founding partner and executive chairman of Spain’s LLYC, died from cancer on Jan. 1. He was
Bob Dorf, who founded his own firm and then ran Dorf & Stanton with Alex Stanton, died Dec. 2. He was 74.
Have a comment? Send it to 
No comments have been submitted for this story yet.