Well-known marketing and advertising mogul, Arnold Foote has died at age 87.
His family, in a press statement, said he passed away at home on Thursday.
In 1964 Foote began a revolution in the advertising business in Jamaica when he founded Advertising and Marketing (Jamaica) Ltd [AdMark] which has since grown into a powerhouse in its field, with regional and international affiliations.
In 1969 Foote was elected president of the Advertising Agencies Association of Jamaica, a post which he held on and off up until 2004. In between, he founded the Caribbean Association of Advertising Agencies in 1970.
The Jamaica College old boy also had a large impact on the fields of education and diplomacy. In 1974 he played a major role in the creation of what was for decades, the only regional institution to train journalists – the Caribbean Institute of Mass Communication which was later renamed the Caribbean School of Media and Communication.
Foote was selected to head Jamaica’s first trade mission to the European Common Market [now the European Union] in 1991, and in 1994 became the founding chairman of the Agri-Business Council of Jamaica.
In 1995 the advertising executive was named honorary consul general to Turkey. He was named president of the CARICOM Consular Association in 2005 and a year later was named president of the World Federation of Consuls [FICAC0. Foote was the first Jamaican to head FICAC.
He has received numerous awards in his various fields of endeavor over the decades and in 1997 was recognised by his country when he was conferred with the Order of Distinction, Commander Class. In 2010 he was conferred with the Order of Jamaica in recognition of his service to Jamaica and internationally in the fields of advertising, sports, and diplomacy.
Foote is survived by his wife Patricia (nee Mills) and his three children — Roma, Arnold Foote III, and Kimberly — six grandchildren Arnella, Alexisse, Danielle, Brittany, Katelyn, and Arnold.