Conference Care owner Chris Peacock has died aged 57.
He
passed away peacefully surrounded by his family at 4.14am on Thursday 8 June,
according to a message posted by his family on Linkedin.
Peacock
himself broke the news of his illness on his Linkedin profile the day before,
revealing he had terminal stage 4 bowel cancer.
He
said: “I’m not posting for sympathy, I’ve already had time to accept this, I’m
at home until the end and have loved ones and support all around me.
“I also of course have 30 years of happy and fulfilling work
memories from an amazing industry, friends for life and many years of happy
marriage to Helen ❤️
“I
must thank the Conference Care team for being (yes I know I’m
biased!) the best in the business. Andrew Deakin will continue
to drive us forward and deserves your support please!
“From
humble beginnings we made a great company and a legacy to be proud of. You bet there’ll
be a wake!!
“I
will see you all on the other side.”
The
post received more than 45,000 reactions and more than 3,000 comments.
His family said: “We want to thank you all for the support shown to
Chris on his post yesterday, it means a lot to us as a family to know people
loved and appreciated him for being the wonderful man that he was.”
A
post on Conference Care’s Linkedin said: “He will be missed by everyone at
Conference Care. Respected and loved by all, with true passion for helping
others.
“I
am sure many of you will have fond memories and I hope they provide you
comfort; we will have the opportunity to reminisce soon! Our legacy will
continue!”
Andrew Deakin, one of the founding directors of
Conference Care, said: “Bye for now great man, big brother, soul mate, best friend,
and business partner. It’s been an honour and a privilege; I wouldn’t change it
for the world!"
Peacock
and Deakin founded Conference Care in 1995, growing the business into a venue
finding and event management company with more than 50 employees, headquartered
in Leicestershire. A carbon neutral and Living Wage employer, the agency has also
won the Gold Award for Best Intermediary Agency at the M&IT Awards for the
last five years.
Peacock
was a well-known face and voice in the UK events sector, serving as HBAA chair
in 2012 and as chair of industry charity Meeting Needs from 2021 until earlier
this year. Peacock’s long record of charity fundraising saw him raise tens
of thousands of pounds over the years for various charities including the RNLI,
Help4Harry and Muscular Dystrophy.
“Chris was a
great friend, mentor and colleague to so many and he will be greatly missed”,
said Meeting Needs secretariat Margaret Mann. “He embodied all of what it
means to be a part of our industry, was a beloved member of it and earned the
respect of all around him.”
