Farewell to a Quiet Leader

The global outsourcing industry lost a truly special compatriot this week. David Coward, a colleague at TPI, passed away suddenly.

Memorial tributes are often smarmy and trite, and I know that David wouldn’t care very much for any fawning over his contributions as a human being. Simply, he didn’t think of himself as being very special. He wasn’t wrong about much, but on this point he was simply mistaken.

It’s ironic how special he was to so many others. I can’t speak much for David’s family and friends, except to say that he adored his two children and greatly valued his personal relationships. He always made the time – which is a challenge in our business – to focus on the life side of the work-life balance.

I know that he often struggled with the demands on his time, and sought assurance that it was OK to have a personal life outside of our workplace. He set a great example of having priorities, and living them.

While I could go on about all of the great client work David led, and the many industry players he encountered, all that really tells us is how many lives he touched.

David was an expert in his field, but he was the most unpretentious individual you’d ever meet. Humility was his middle name.

So …

•  Whether you’re in the ITO or HRO side of our industry …

•  Whether you’re part of ACS, EDS, IBM, Accenture, Hewitt, Fidelity, Convergys, or other service provider colleagues …
  

•  Whether you’re a client such as General Motors, Cardinal Health, Dana, JPMorganChase, Metromedia Restaurant Group, Wyeth, GMAC, Delphi, Towers Perrin, Aetna, or countless others …  

•  Whether you’re part of the TPI family, an alumni or competitor …

… if you ever met David, you’ll remember the experience forever.

The sun will rise tomorrow, but one thing is for certain – we will miss our gentle giant with the Texas twang. Rest in peace, J. David Coward. You are already missed.

Comments

[Mike Slavin]

David was great man who led with his heart. Some of us were fortunate to meet David early in our careers (31 years ago). When I was a wet-behind-the-ears newbie at EDS in 1977, he told me that the difference between and idiot and a guru was one implementation. He will be missed by the TPI family and the sourcing community in general.

[Diana Oakley]

I had the pleasure of meeting David just over 2 years ago. He was wonderful to work with and he became my friend. A kind man with a good heart, good humor, integrity, honest, and as was stated, he never forgot the human side in our busy and stressful worklife, even though he had a great work ethic and was really good at what he did. I will miss him very much.

[Dennis McGuire]

David was a special person to both Marty and I. We often talked with Dave about the challanges of growing while at the same time maintaining the best of our culture and values. One of the reasons we sought his opinion is that we felt that he really did represent the best of our values and we knew that he treasured our culture.

I always sought his input on people issues. Marty loved talking to David about the Royal family.

As Peter noted, he cherished his daughter and son.

David was special for not only what he did, but siomply for who he was. David will be greatly missed.