News is emerging about the sudden death last week of Crux Auckland strategy director Peter Hodge, aged only 37.
Hodge was a former Southland Times reporter who reinvented himself as a digital consultant – a role he’s performed at Tangible, the Image Centre, and 3media, where he worked alongside the AdMedia magazine team (now M+AD ed David Gapes, designer Chris Grimstone, and Film Industry Data Book publisher/M+AD ad manager Kelly Lucas), all of whom remember him fondly.
He’s previously worked with Ben Slater and Rob Davis at the digital marketing agency Vanilla Brief (formerly Admission).
His funeral will be at 3pm tomorrow (Wednesday 2 August) at the Main Chapel, Morrison Funeral Home, 220 Universal Drive, Henderson, Auckland.
“Life can be a bastard sometimes,” writes Davis. “It seems so unfair that someone like Pete who looked after his physical wellbeing so much, could’ve died so young. I can’t get my mind around how someone can draw such a short straw.
“Pete was the pioneer with the arrows in his back. He was a man in a hurry, even without knowing that he had so little time.”
“I had only known Pete since March 2012 when he interviewed for a senior role at our advertising agency Admission. He came with big raps, and in the interview we quickly understood why.
“It said heaps about Pete that despite the fact he was never given a specific role within the agency, he quickly assumed the mantle of general manager. Pete didn’t need fancy titles. He just jumped in and did what needed to be done. And it was great the way the staff looked to him for guidance – not because they had to, because they wanted to.
“Pete was so good that he quickly became a director of the agency, and a partner. He was instrumental in our morphing to a specialist digital agency, giving up fumbling around trying to do all things for all clients. Changing our name to Vanilla Brief gave formal recognition to this.
Staff … cashflow … Nestle … staff … cashflow … Nestle …
“When I moved on, Pete took over the running of the agency. I caught up with him a few weeks ago. We talked about the usual stuff – staff, cashflow, Nestle, staff, cashflow, Nestle, staff, cashflow, Nestle …
“But we also talked about how he was taking on the world, pioneering all sorts of great digital dreams. It was hard work – Pete was the pioneer with the arrows in his back. He was a man in a hurry, even without knowing that he had so little time.
“Our thoughts go out to his parents, siblings, family and friends.”
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