Gordon Sage : Reflections on a friend

My name is Downie Brown and Gordon, at various times over nearly 40 years, was my Colleague, my Boss, my Friend and, latterly, my Driver.

In the mid-seventies, Gordon moved from RTZ to Pillar and, I think, began the happiest and most satisfying 20 years of his career, the last seven as CEO.

Pillar was a small industrial group which RTZ acquired in 1970. While the original objective of that acquisition was never fulfilled, the happy result was that, as long as Pillar performed to plan, as it almost always did, it was largely left to its own devices.

Its Engineering division was Gordon’s obvious first destination. It was run by Major General Desmond Smith, a Canadian nearing retirement, whose leadership style was somewhat patrician, relying heavily on charm and encouragement. When he succeeded the general, Gordon was not yet 30.

As you can imagine, this change at the top was a form of culture shock to the managing directors of the 20 or so subsidiaries, who, until then, had seldom been challenged. Now they were subject to the scrutiny of someone much younger, who was interested in not only the technical aspects of the business, its key success factors, its people and their welfare, but who also keenly analysed its financial performance …… and, what’s more, remembered everything.

It was to Gordon’s great credit that he learned from his mentors and perpetuated the merits of Pillar’s successful operating philosophy, rather than experimenting with something new. Simultaneously, he maintained strong informal lines of communication with Rio Tinto, through his friends, the late Bob Adams and Bob, now Sir Robert, Wilson.

What were the talents that accounted for his success? As my friend and former colleague at Pillar, Tony Davidson, whom I’d like to thank for contributing to this reflection, put it –
“We worked for Gordon but we were part of his team, and he made us feel as if we were all working with him. We knew he was cleverer than us but we also believed that we had something special to contribute. We believed that because he made sure we felt like that”.

Unusual as it is today, going to work was a pleasure for us, rather than a chore. We could work hard, have fun and still produce results. That was an environment that Gordon embraced and fostered. He was engaging, caring, considerate, warm but no push-over, had great people skills and a sense of humour. He had to have. More than once, this CEO of a group employing 20,000 people in 80 subsidiaries spread across the UK, Europe and North America, making profits in excess of £100 million would get a direct call (Gordon could never leave an unanswered phone ringing) from the distressed wife of an RTZ non-executive director, complaining that the alarm in her armour-plated car, provided by one of Pillar’s subsidiaries, was going off every time she went over a speed bump ….and would he please do something about it quickly!

He was a good communicator, eloquent and tactful,… he once had to explain to the chairman of RTZ why the sales director of Everest Double-Glazing, a very successful Pillar business, earned more than the chairman himself did. He was also, in a strange way quite cautious, yet would back risky projects if, after analysis, he was satisfied that the promoters could deliver.

For the past fifteen years, once a quarter when available, Gordon joined seven of his former Pillar colleagues for a POGs (Pillar Old Geezers) lunch, alternately in London or nearer Cheltenham. This is how he became my driver, as he would happily chauffer me to any out of town venue. It also deepened our friendship and, frankly, broadened my education. As a captive audience, though, I did learn quite quickly not enquire too deeply about his health issues.

He always had something interesting to say and, while seldom dogmatic, held an opinion on everything; - generally, but not always, based on fact, even if it sounded that way. Lest anyone here is worrying, he was always discreet when relating some snippet received from a well-placed source.

Although most POGs knew that he had been responsible for developing our careers, he joined us as an equal. Some, with cares for his safety, even took him to task on his Russian adventure but he didn’t listen. Personally, I think that Gordon, who researched most important matters thoroughly, had done his homework and was never likely to be in danger. He was as interested in what we had to say as we were in his views and the names he liked to drop… Imperial College contemporaries Brian May, of Queen and Piers Corbyn, Jeremy’s brother, oligarchs and sportsmen, politicians and spooks.

In his conversations with us, one thing stood out – his love for and his pride in his family and their achievements, Joe and Nick in equal measure and now with their own families and, of course, the lovely Ruth, even if her commitment and devotion to tennis and bridge bemused him.

Like everyone present, I’m sure, my former colleagues and I were shocked and saddened when we heard of Gordon’s death last week. The last time we had met was just over a month before, when he was in great spirits and seemed in better shape physically than he had been for several years. On March 22nd, we lost a great boss, colleague and friend and he will be sorely missed.