Earl Cox: Provocateur, Champion, and Friend

This weekend, with the passing of Earl Cox, the marketing business lost a pioneer, and everyone at Brand Federation lost much more.

Equal parts provocateur, champion, and friend, we could always count on Earl for ideas that pushed past the expected, for support when times got tough, and for kudos whenever we reached a milestone.

He was our trusted advisor and mentor from the very founding of Brand Federation, and for some of us, for decades prior.

Earl was always ready for a strategy session, poised at the whiteboard, erasable marker in hand, ready to cut through the noise to make the most complex ideas simple and powerful. His ability to translate seemingly disconnected pieces of information into true insights was almost as legendary as his penchant for Venn diagrams and triangles.

But as talented as Earl was as a strategist, his true gift was his friendship. No matter what, we could always count on Earl for an after-work rendezvous at Buddy’s for a diet Coke and a discussion about life, family, and how lucky we’ve all been.

So very lucky. Thank you, Earl. We love you.

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