MEXICO. WePurple Co-Founder Alex Cook (right) has stepped down from his role with the travel retail integrated design and marketing agency and divested his ownership stake.
Cook has been a hugely influential figure in the travel retail agency world for more than 21 years, 16 of them with WePurple and its forerunners Purple and FILTR.
In a LinkedIn post, Cook said, “Life is defined by our choices, and this has been a very important one for me to make, driven by a desire to refocus my efforts and energy into the people closest to me (my children, family and friends).
“For too long have they been asked to share me with everything I put into work – and so, I am about write a new and very different chapter in my life.”
Cook thanked the many people he has worked with over his agency career and said he leaves WePurple “as the best integrated marketing, design and communications agency in travel retail and a significant independent agency on the global stage, with operations in seven countries and further strengthened by the recent BCorp accreditation”.
He added, “I wish my WePurple colleagues the very best in the future and look forward to seeing the group go from strength to strength. The client list and (more importantly) client relationships are outstanding, and this says everything you need to know about the agency.
“And the future for me? Well, I’m working on one last truly incredible campaign that will go live on July 1. I’m very excited about this and look forward to sharing more in the coming month.
“After that, who knows? This isn’t retirement, but I’m going to enjoy the time off with the family, try to do ‘nothing’ for the first time in my life and think very carefully about my choices going forward.”
Comment: Alex, what can I say? You have been a stellar partner (formally in the case of The Virtual Travel Retail Expos of 2020/2021 – how DID we pull that off, when no-one else dared?). You have been an outstanding personification of best practice among the agencies that inhabit the travel retail sector.
You have always been proactive in striving to understand not only your client’s needs but also those of your media partners. As I constantly say, all media titles are not created the same, and so I have always loved it when you called me to brainstorm ideas. And boy did we come up with some beauties.
And, most critically, you have been a constant (virtual) companion by my side during the horrendous personal circumstances my family has faced over recent times. You are one of the few people I have been able to open up to and I will be forever grateful. You may have been WePurple but due to such friendship I never felt marooned.
Go and smell the roses, as they say, notably those annoying red English ones that adorn your beloved English rugby team’s jumpers. Read a book (as I am) called Die with Zero by Bill Perkins, recommended to me by Roderick McOwan, ex-WH Smith North America. It will change your life. Take care dear Alex. ✈
