It’s with sadness and gratitude that the Argyle team marks the passing of Ray Argyle, who founded our firm in 1979.
A gifted journalist and writer with a love of history and keen grasp of public policy, Ray became a highly respected corporate communications advisor to Canadian and global brands, and a mentor to a generation of public relations professionals. After selling the firm in 2002 and retiring as CEO in 2003, Ray applied his entrepreneurial zeal to his writing – producing ten books and countless articles in the last two decades.
Before I succeeded him, Ray and I worked together for a short time, but his influence on me will last a lifetime. At our fortieth anniversary celebration in 2019, he gave a toast expressing his pride and joy in Argyle’s growth into one of North America’s largest and most acclaimed communications advisory firms. One giant reason is Ray’s gigantic legacy to us: a moral and ethical compass, an entrepreneurial vision, and a culture of collaboration and kindness. Even after his life’s work is over, his legacy endures.
In his final week, Ray sent a message to his daughter Roanne, my 20-year colleague and a fellow senior leader of the firm. “The way I look at it,” he wrote, “a year or two added to an active 92-year life doesn’t really make that much difference. I’m a winner. A guy who started out with nothing and ended up with everything.”
For more details about Ray Argyle’s amazing life, please visit the Globe and Mail obituary here.