LEONARD VICKERS

VICKERS--Leonard. Leonard Vickers, age 79, a leading figure in New York marketing circles for three decades, died of cancer on June 29 at his home in Stamford, CT. He was born on January 29, 1942 in Bolton, England. His father Harry was a self-employed roof slater, and his mother Phoebe a housewife. He had two older sisters, Audrey and Dorothy. After primary school, Len was granted a scholarship to the esteemed Bolton School, which he attended for eight years and finished as School Captain. Len was then awarded a scholarship to Downing College, Cambridge, where he studied Modern Languages (French and German), and played a great deal of soccer. He felt his time at the Bolton School had been very formative, and had brought out his innate strengths. Education remained important to him and he would point out that Education's latin root is Educare - which means to "bring out", not to "put in". He was always interested in leadership and what it could accomplish, and was inspired by Winston Churchill throughout his life. Upon graduation he was offered a position in the relatively new field of marketing by Unilever, which he managed to defer for two years. During this time he worked as a tour guide in Europe, and travelled around the U.S., including working in the Civil Rights movement on voter registration in the South. He returned to England to work as a product manager for BirdsEye Foods before moving to New York in 1968 to work in marketing, joining SSC&B, and BBDO advertising agencies. In 1978 he was brought on by Jack Welch to join his client GE to help reposition the company, and was responsible for the "We Bring Good Things to Life" campaign. Later, Len was hired by Xerox as the Senior Vice President of Marketing, and was responsible for the "Xerox - The Document Company" campaign. Subsequently he formed his own consulting company, Vickers & Associates, operating in the US and Europe. While Len took his work seriously, he never took himself seriously, and he had a true interest and respect for all people he came into contact with. Len was a genuinely funny and clever man and would delight those he knew, and even those he didn't, with his stories of which he had many. One of his favorites was how he penned a pre-fight poem for Mohammed Ali towards his opponent, Joe Bugner, which Ali recited on the Johnny Carson show. An avid recreational runner, Len was especially proud of the fact that he ran in, and completed, the 1979 New York City Marathon. Len is survived by his wife of 39 years Gunilla and their daughter Phoebe. He is also survived by his three children from his first marriage to Betsy Vickers - Tess (Doug), Susan and Ned and five grandchildren: Emma, Ben, Aidan, Cece and Jasper. In retirement Len and Gunilla lived mainly in Connecticut, but also traveled to homes in Sweden and Kenya. On the subject of life, Len would often repeat the words of Noel Coward when he was asked, "What's it all about?" "Jolly good company... filthy stories and all that... but most of all, love."