Tributes pour in for Mobile Phone Xchange MD, who was also one of the first dealers in the market
Mobile industry veteran Geoff Walters has died aged 68.
Walters (pictured) was one of the first dealers in the mobile market in the early 1980s, running a BT dealership called Latchborder based in London’s Regents Street.
With his sons, Marc and Paul, he later formed CMC Communications, which was acquired 11 years ago by Avenir Telecom.
He recently sold his recycling company, Mobile Phone Xchange (MPX), to Brightstar.
His MPX co-director Ken McGeorge said: “He was one of a small number of people whose views I would always seek. He had a dry wit which he exercised at every opportunity. He was also a devoted family man, and I share their grief.”
Brightstar founder Marcelo Claure added: “We are devastated by the loss of Geoff. While I did not know him very long, I was always incredibly impressed by him, most particularly by his generosity, boundless appetite for life and love for his family. His passing is a great loss for all of us in the wireless community.”
Avenir managing director Andy Tow said: “He was an entrepreneurial gentleman who will be sadly missed.”
Former Avenir MD Tanny Jeffrey added: “I learnt from Geoff that you don’t need to shout or be aggressive to be a great boss.
“I remember him as a kind, genuine and gentle man who conducted business with integrity and was always full of new ideas. He was a proper person.”
Mobile News editorial director Ian White said: “Geoff was a rare individual who had a complete inability to mislead or tell fibs. He had a great sense of humour and an appreciation of much of the nonsense of the mobile channel.
“I shall miss our conversations, which invariably concluded with much chuckling about the lunacy of some of the larger organisations we both had to deal with.”
