Celebrating the life of Andy Brown

I have read all of these thoughts about Andy and was happy to read the memories. Andy was a client, colleague, boss, and friend to me over many years. He also was engaging as a person. When my oldest son had his first boy they wanted to name him Gunner. Andy was eustatic and immediately sent an Arsenal jersey shirt with the name Gunner on it. Suffice to say the "family" decided that Gunner was not the name to be given. However, "Brodie" wore that shirt proudly and it was passed down to my youngest grand child who wears it today. Andy and I chatted about this not that long ago as he was always interested in hearing family stories. I will miss those chats the most! On to the next stage of life my friend. tk

Andy - always AJ to me - and I first met at Altrincham Boys Grammar School in the mid-1970s. I loved him from that time and to the very last. He was my best friend at school and he remained a best friend through all of our adult lives. We created many memories together, including our incredible six week trip across the US by Greyhound Bus in 1981 - 10,000 miles travelled and 27 states visited! I will miss him immensely. I admired him for more than 50 years but no more so than in these last three, when he showed so much bravery, determination and drive to enjoy the time he had left by packing in more experiences in that time than most people do in an entire lifetime. His celebratory funeral yesterday was full of joyful memories and stories, despite the sadness of losing such a great man well before he should have left us. RIP ‘AJ”, I will love and remember you forever. Howard xx

Reading these comments, and others elsewhere, shows how much Andy was appreciated, loved and respected, and how much he gave to all of us. For my part, he and I were colleagues at BMRB/KMR/Kantar Media for 27 years. That these were productive, happy and successful times - for the business and for those of us who worked in it - had much to do with his sensitive and skilful leadership. But also his friendship. So many of us will have fond memories of fun times shared - for me, TGI client events, or coming up with nominations for ‘alternative awards’ at Readership Symposia and PDRF events come to mind. In recent years, days out watching cricket were a great pleasure. Andy was the best of us. Go well, my friend.

I first met Andy in 2011 after I joined TGI in Ealing when I started to receive several of his emails from haphazard typists unaware that he now had a namesake in the building. Initial confusion over, we worked together regularly to build many of his presentations and speeches – including one in French that proved a valiant effort, although one he swore he’d never do again. I was fortunate that those first few years of ad-hoc projects at TGI turned into a permanent placement leading comms in Andy’s transformation team. Whether during late-night re-writes of his presentations, early breakfast run throughs or long cab rides between offices, I felt deeply honoured to have the privilege of working with Andy up-close, learning more about the industry every day and shaping the way the business would evolve and grow. But what made that time so special was spending time with such a fantastic bloke. Our shared love of sport meant conversations quickly turned to football or cricket - regularly breaking away from meetings in the office to catch-up on the latest England run chase. As the World Cup takes centre stage once again, I particularly remember how excited we both were when England reached semi-finals in 2018 that we built an entire global townhall around the theme of Gareth Southgate’s approach to team building! In recent years it was always a joy to spend time with Andy who remained so courageously active throughout his illness. I fondly look back on an evening at the cricket in Canterbury and a pre-match pint at his favourite North London pub where I had to hide my West Ham colours (and I do remember he correctly called it that the Hammers would win that day – although alas I’ve missed being unable to dissect our relegation and England’s fortunes at the World Cup with him in recent weeks). I feel deeply fortunate to have had Andy as a friend and mentor and owe him a great deal. He cared deeply about the businesses he led and the people he served – and went above and beyond to put others before himself. He has been an inspiration to me and countless others and will be forever missed. Thank you, Andy.

A true gent and giant of the media industry. We didn’t know each other very well and met only a few times but I could tell immediately Andy was a decent chap. Which in the end is all that matters.

I was only lucky enough to meet you in person a couple of times but your passion for Attention was infectious and it's no suprise that delegates at Tools of the Trade highlighted you as one of their favourite talks every year. Rest in piece Andy, you'll be sorely missed

So sad to hear about Andy’s passing. He was an inspiring colleague, a wealth of knowledge, a fabulous humour provider, and a trusted and valued friend. He will be missed by so many and my thoughts are with Sharon and his family. RIP Andy x

Andy was a mentor and advisor to me and our business. An absolute behemoth in his field and an even kinder person.This news has knocked me for 6. He will be truly missed.

Such sad news. Andy played a pivotal role in my career. He was supportive, encouraging, kind, and honest - as well as good to have a drink and a laugh with. He was inclusive and relatable. When I told him I wanted to live and work in New York, he helped make it happen. For that I will always be very grateful - something I reiterated to him recently. I feel very fortunate to have worked at BMRB and Kantar with him. An all-round decent guy who was taken too soon. My thoughts are with his partner and family.

First, a quote from Dawn Mitchell, Life President of the Worldwide Readership Research Symposium (later the Print and Digital Research Forum): “I was saddened to hear of Andy’s passing. Andy was both unpretentious and extremely intelligent at the same time, and always such a pleasure to work with”. I worked with Andy for many years when he was a Sponsor and an active and valuable member of Programme Committee of the WRRS/PDRF. The hilarious prize-giving ceremonies masterminded and presented by Andy [and others] were a highlight of the Symposia and provided a great farewell after all the previous hard work. My memories of Andy also include the many TGI “summer seminars” which took place throughout the ‘90’s and ‘00’s in Le Touquet, Bruges, etc. Part of my job was to organise extra “sessions”. Funnily enough, Andy would always ensure that there was a golf activity included! He will be very much missed. My condolences to his family.

knew Andy well for almost 20 years. After Kantar bought into Comscore, we grew friendly (especially after the Comscore/Rentrak merger, when we would roll our eyes at each other over the dueling-CEOs shenanigans.) I have fond memories of hanging out together at PDRF conferences, ASI conferences, and especially I-COM conferences, including one lovely dinner, having octopus at a small place in Portugal. Across 30 years at Kantar, Andy was both accomplished in and knowledgeable about all aspects of media research and audience measurement. But more than anything else, he brought a reasonableness and pragmatism to every project. he was a great collaborator and partner. And a good friend. I was sitting at a luncheon with him, at a conference in New York a few years back, where he complained of not feeling well. If he knew at the time this was the cancer, he did not let on. Up until the end, whenever I needed to get the lay of the land on an international media research issue, or on the politics of measurement in some country I was unfamiliar with, Andy was always my first call, and he always knew what was going on. The last time we traded messages on WhatsApp he wrote to see how I was feeling, because he knew I had had ankle surgery. My wife and I spent some time with him and his partner in Venice at the 2024 ASI conference, and she remembers what a nice guy he was. Andy loved football (the British kind) and '80s rock. He was, above all, a right bloke. Our industry is poorer for his absence. I miss him already.

I only met with Andy on a couple of occasions but his kindness still left an impression on me. Rest in peace Andy, if more people were like you the world would be a better place.

Hard to summarise over 35 years as a colleague and friend. We first worked together at BMRB in the late 80s. Andy was a generous colleague, introducing me to his media clients and helping the business grow. He was ambitious but in a good way - keen to learn and to make the business a success. He was my direct line manager twice and was someone I could entirely trust to be honest and support my team. Most of all he was great fun. I have many funny memories of social occasions - crazy dancing, silly games and his renowned mimicry. And that coach trip back from Budapest! Rest in peace dear Andy, we’ll miss you enormously.

Such sad news. My deepest condolences to Andy's partner and family. I’ve known Andy for my whole career – we joined the media research world about the same time. Our paths first crossed when he was selling TGI and I was buying TGI. Over the years, as we both took on international roles, we continued to do business together – including in more recent days as he supported The Attention Council and CIMM. Much food and drink were consumed; cricket watched; and golf played. Most memorably was the Christmas ‘Brown Button’ golf tournament that Andy organised for over a decade and grew from four of us hacking around Sutton Green to nearly 30-researchers. Not sure I ever worked out the ‘Button’ rules as the worse you played the more chance it seemed you had of winning! Knowledgeable and well-connected, for over 40-years Andy was a valued and trusted member of the media research community. He will be missed. RIP, Andy.

Devastated to hear this news. Andy was a huge advocate of our work and we owe a lot of where we are today as a business to him. He was such a humble, gentle and thoughtful person, took me to multiple Arsenal games where we also enjoyed Sharon’s treats that she’d send. Thank you Andy for everything, your legacy lives on in so many people and places. Much love to the family ❤️

So sad to hear about Andy. A really nice and genuine guy. A great colleague and a huge figure in media research.

Very sad to hear of Andy's passing and my condolences to his family. I worked with Andy at Kantar for many years and appreciated his wit, candor, and generosity of insight into media research. Andy knew more about media research than pretty much everyone else I've worked with combined -- quite a legacy!

Andy and I worked as colleagues for twenty years and he was my boss for about half of that time. We went through a lot together. Good times, bad times, times when we argued, times when we laughed at the absurdities of corporate life, times when we won and when we lost. But throughout Andy was always human, engaged, constructive and positive. As others have said, in the arcane world of media research and audience measurement he was the most knowledgable and well-connected professional. Less well known is how creative he could be, devising strategies and methodological approaches. He claimed he wasn’t a researcher, but he frequently surprised and impressed us with how much he knew. And after all of it, when we both left Kantar, we emerged from the maelstrom as friends which means so much to me. Andy was one of the good guys. Smart, very funny, approachable, down to earth and real. He leaves a big hole in the media research industry and in our lives.

I first knew Andy as a client and later had the privilege of working with him as a colleague. He brought huge knowledge of our industry and truly embodied thought leadership, but what I will remember most was his generosity with his time, his kindness and his constant encouragement for all of us to aim higher. He will be greatly missed.

Goodbye my friend - an inspiration to us all to the end. From the heady days of early 1980s London adland to the global measurement & attention conference scene today, you have been a true legend in our industry. Kind, generous, informed, innovative, professional, and always a thoroughly decent man, it has been an honour to know you over all these years. We shared the early days of BARB, the growth of TNS, both our companies being bought by WPP, the ASI & i-com conferences, and most recently the challenges of the digital transformation - so many memories both business and social, and so many lives positively impacted by your kindness and generosity, even during your illness. Rest In Peace Andy.

Met Andy 20 years ago when he was on the Millward Brown Board. Incredibly smart guy and was a lot of fun to be with. His impersonations of the some of the senior leaders in Kantar always had everyone in stiches. Always helpful and thoughtful. The industry has lost a legend...

Very sad to hear about Andy's passing. I first met him when I worked at TGI just over 25 years ago. After moving to Canada and becoming a client of Kantar Media, we used to meet at the Kantar Summits in various posh locations across the globe. I remember the first Summit which was in New York, and I somehow ended up sitting next to him at the gala dinner. He was as he always was: interested in what I had to say, generous with his thoughts and advice, brimming with energy, smarts and wit. I wish I'd had the opportunity to spend more time with him. Much love to his family and friends.

I knew Andy for about 20 years, first as a competitor, then a colleague, then a boss. He was always kind, always happy to coach and share his knowledge, and always made it fun. As others have said, even once he became aware of his illness, he kept giving to the industry and, in his determination to make the most of his time that was left, showed us all how to live well. He demonstrated leadership even at this most difficult time. Sending deepest condolences to his family. He will always be with you, and us, in our hearts.

So sad to hear about Andy. I first met Andy as a graduate researcher at BMRB. I remember well sitting at a desk next to his at Saunders House and recalling his skilful client service and relationship building as he spoke often on the phone. I learnt a lot from observing Andy in my early career. He will be much missed for his contribution to media research. Rest in Peace