IDM founder Derek Holder passes away
Professor Derek Holder, co-founder and managing director of the Institute of Direct and Digital Marketing (IDM) has died.
A former Ford, British Airways and Reader’s Digest marketer and consultant and trainer to several major brands, Professor Holder developed the world’s first ever professional qualification in direct marketing, the Diploma in Direct Marketing, in 1981.
He launched forerunner to the IDM, the Direct Marketing Centre in 1986.
IDM’s deputy MD, Neil Morris, says: “Derek has made a lasting contribution to the development of the profession in the modern era, and has influenced the careers of many, many individual practitioners.
“Derek’s passion for marketing education, from undergraduate studies through to continuing professional development, was infectious. His encyclopaedic knowledge of marketing, his incisive business acumen and sense of humour will be sorely missed by all those in the profession.”
