The IT service management (ITSM) world lost a luminary last Wednesday, with the death, after a long illness, of Malcolm Fry.
Fry began his IT career in the UK during the 1960s, and by the early 1980s was doing consulting and training worldwide. He was a member of the ITIL v3 Advisory Group, and a mentor for the Service Operations book.
His own books included A Step-by-Step Guide to Building a CMDB, Building an ITIL-Based Service Management Department, and ITIL Lite: a Road Map to Partial or Full ITIL Implementation.
Over the years, Fry received many industry accolades. In 2009, he was awarded the prestigious Ron Muns Lifetime Achievement Award for IT service and support, and in 2014 the IT Industry Legend Award. He was inducted into the HDI Hall of Fame in 2017, and received the Pink Elephant IT Service Management Hall of Fame President’s Distinction Award in 2022, an accolade reserved for individuals who are recognized for their essential role in the development of the IT service management industry.
In Canada, he worked with global corporate training, consulting, and conference service provider Pink Elephant for 25 years, until his illness, and was the first speaker at the company’s first conference in 1997.
“Fatima and I and the whole Pink Elephant family are forever grateful to Malcolm – and his lovely wife Myra – for all the support they have given us over the years, especially when we first started Pink in North America,” David Ratcliffe, president of Pink Elephant, wrote in a LinkedIn tribute. “We can honestly say, we would not be here today if it were not for Malcolm. He was one of the best friends we could ever have.”
