A tribute to Vanessa Cotton

Vanessa Cotton and I first met at a drinks party hosted by Martin Lewis at his house when she was running The Event Organisation Company with her husband, Mike. I have been indebted to him ever since. Soon after, Vanessa became a client and quickly a friend. We continued to work together when she moved to ExCeL London and our friendship grew.

When she told me, along with a few other close friends and colleagues, of her illness, she swore us to absolute secrecy. Vanessa never wanted to be defined by anything other than her abilities. For those of us that knew her, it was so typically Vanessa.

I last saw Vanessa and Mike about five weeks ago, when we joined them for dinner at their house in Devon. Despite the fact that her illness was clearly taking its toll, Vanessa was, as always, the perfect hostess; elegant, considerate, charming and entertaining. She had just redesigned their garden and was looking forward to spending more time there during the summer, before deciding on her next career move. Sadly, neither was meant to be.

Many people have written over the last few days that the industry has lost a shining light. A leader. Someone who was both formidable and professional. A visionary.

Whilst all of these are undoubtedly true, for me, I just feel that I have lost a very dear friend, who I loved very much and will miss even more.

Robert Wright