List industry veteran Chris Page died Monday at the Tandet Center for Continuing Care in Stamford, CT. He was 63.
The cause of death was complications from open-heart surgery, a family friend said yesterday. Page had been recovering from an operation performed several weeks ago.
Page was employed by Direct Media Inc. in Greenwich, CT as senior account executive in list management. He joined the firm in 1985 as a manager in the international list division and earned a reputation as a hard charging salesman over the 15 years he spent with the company.
He left the firm in 1998 to head the international list management division at List Services Corp. in Bethel, CT. He left List Services in 2001, and returned to Direct Media last month.
His peers called him a great—and assertive--list manager.
"He was very responsive to clients and knew his lists inside and out," said May Katz, executive vice president of Direct Media. "It's certainly a great loss to international [direct marketers] and to Direct Media."
His hard-edged style often smoothed over as business associates got to know him. For example, to make sure he got his point across, he often delivered memos in bold black ink in capital letters.
"I hated that, but by the same token I'd read it," said Florence Leighton, senior vice president at Direct Media. "He was a quick study and a very good salesman. I'll miss him."
Pat Sabatino, senior account executive in charge of international list management at Direct Media worked with Page for most of the 14 years he has been with the firm. He reported to Page for five of those years as they worked together in international list management. Sabatino knew Page personally as well as professionally.
"He's certainly the most colorful character I've had the great luck of having as a friend in this business," Sabatino said.
On a personal level, his love of classical and jazz music sent him in search of concerts to attend wherever he happened to be--London, Paris, or New York. And through his passion for the challenge and mastery of crossword puzzles, he began to create his own puzzles, many syndicated in newspapers worldwide.
Born in 1939 in England, Page graduated from St. Edwards School in Oxford England. He went on to graduate first in his class from the Britannia Royal Naval College in Dartmouth. Following his retirement from the Navy, he worked as a commodities trader trading sugar and raw chocolate for a firm in Brazil. He came to the United States in 1970 and continued to work in the commodities trading business for Merrill Lynch in New York.
Page had lived in Stamford, CT and is survived by his wife Jean and two sons Rupert and Julian.
A memorial service will be held Sunday April 28, at 2 p.m. at the Harborview Club House in South Norwalk, CT.
