Brand maestro Wally Olins passes away aged 83
Wally Olins, the branding and corporate identity expert who masterminded the public face of corporate giants such as BT, Volkswagen and Renault has passed away at the age of 83.
Olins was best known in the UK for rebranding British Telecom as BT as well as playing a key role in the launch of Orange earning him wider recognition and the respect of his peers.
Remaining active in the field until the last Olins recently published Brand New, which gave his perspectives on the future of branding.
Rufus Olins, one of Olins’ four children and chief executive of Newsworks said: "The great thing was he wanted to finish his book. It was a short illness, and he was active until the last. His attitude was, 'let's get on with it'. He was travelling abroad up until two months ago. He said he was not going to retire, and he never did."
Olins is survived by his wife and four children and a small family service will be held in his memory in London this summer.