Your heart goes out to the folk at Hill & Knowlton in the Middle East. For the second time in a few weeks they have to mourn the passing of one of their senior executives.
Following the sudden and tragic death of Dave Robinson in September, last week another H&K old hand passed on.
Terence Billing, who was with the company most of his professional life and worked on some of the biggest and most complicated communications issues of recent decades, lost a brave six-month battle with multiple and savage cancers. He died in Frankfurt on November 20 with his 18-year-old son Anthony at his bedside.
My condolences to all at H&K, and Terence's many friends around the world.
I first met him when I came to the UAE in 2006, having been introduced by Andrew Neil, the British journalist and TV presenter, then my boss.
Andrew and Terence shared quite a history, going back to the early days when Terence did some work for the US Embassy in London.
Much of Terence's past was mysterious, even shadowy. An early client was Opec in the heady days of Sheikh Yamani, the Saudi oil minister, during the era of rising oil prices.
Opec was not a popular organisation in the West, H&K's domicile and main global market, but Terence's philosophy was that everybody deserved a hearing, and it was his job to make sure they got one - for a fee, of course. His surname, surely, could not have been more appropriate for a PR executive.
He set up H&K in the Middle East in 1985, in Bahrain. But his outlook remained global, and he advised clients in the post-Soviet world, as well as in other hot spots such as Indonesia and South Africa. During the Iraq invasion of Kuwait, he advised the Kuwaiti government in exile through the organisation Citizens for a Free Kuwait.
He was never afraid to take on the most difficult PR cases. When the western media attacked the late Saudi businessman Khalid bin Mafouz for allegations of involvement in the financing of the 9/11 attacks, Terence found himself another worthy cause.
An evening out with him was always an entertainment and an education. He spoke knowledgeably about the region and about global politics, and enjoyed conversation over food and drinks about the issues of the day.
I always came away from those evenings thinking I'd learnt many invaluable things, but often couldn't remember what they were.
Terence liked all kinds of sport, especially football, and we watched several exciting games in his usual Dubai hotel, the Hilton Jumeirah.
Although not tall in stature (the opposite to "Big Dave"), he was fearless in another way too.
Watching a rugby game with him one evening, England versus France, some largely English viewers became boisterous and foul-mouthed.
Terence went over to the biggest of the fans, index finger raised despite the fact his head was level with the rugby fan's chest, and said fiercely: "Mind your language, there are ladies present." We didn't hear a peep out of the loudmouth for the rest of the game.
As a professional contact, I will miss him greatly, although much, much more as a friend.
