Remembering the first Chief Executive of AGR


he was immensely proud to have been awarded the honour for services to graduate recruitment rather than his illustrious military career. That was a measure of the man and his love for the graduate recruitment sector.


Kate Orebi Gann Former Vice President of the board “In all my working life I have only had 3 bosses and they were all women! In the Army it was The Queen and in AGR it was Helen Perkins and Kate Orebi Gann.” So said Roly in his speech at his Golden Wedding Anniversary celebration. (He took for granted that Sonia, his wife was a 4th female boss of course). As an engineer he never thought that he would be working for women but, such was his joy in life and the unexpected, that he embraced it with his usual good sense and sense of humour.


Some of the best moments of my


life were spent with Roly: conference opening and closing addresses, launching the publications – and dancing with him in the evening disco.


Kate Orebi Gann


After a long and honourable career in the British Army, which among other things included spells in the USA and Australia attached to their armies, designing guided missile delivery systems, managing maintenance factories of civilians in Germany and, finally, recruiting graduates into officer training, Roly was persuaded to become the first


Secretary and then Chief Executive of the Association of Graduate Recruiters.


During the 8 years that I was involved as a committee member, Chairman and then Vice-President, Roly was a constant promoter and supporter of new thinking and initiatives. The AGR Briefing Papers, the research publications (Roles for Graduates in the 21st Century; Skills for Graduates in the 21st Century; Graduates’ Work: Organisational change and students’ attributes; Work Experience: Expanding opportunities for undergraduates; Should I Stay or Should I Go?) were all guided by Roly. His organisational skills


and project management were second to none and yet he was not dictatorial and made everyone feel as though he was contributing. His patience must have been severely tested at times!


Roly had time for, related to, and drew on the skills and experience of a multitude of individuals: the most senior captains of industry and vice-chancellors who we met at the Council for Industry and Higher Education; the Heads of Careers Services at AGCAS; the university campus staff who helped our conferences run smoothly; the AGR office staff in Cambridge; the committee members who constantly changed and needed guidance and encouragement and, of course, graduates and undergraduates. Calm under pressure (sometimes under fire) he was able to manage the expectations of exhibitors, speakers and conference delegates with diplomacy – and deal with members of the media as required, promoting the professional image of AGR in the 1990s.


Some of the best moments of my life were spent with Roly: conference opening and closing addresses, launching the publications – and dancing with him in the evening disco. He was definitely a good dancer! At his funeral in April, it was a pleasure to meet some of his friends who he met on the first day at Hertford Grammar School and hear them reminiscing about the man I knew in later life when he was a rugby-playing youth, stealing his friend’s girlfriend Sonia, marrying her and still remaining friends. He had not changed in over 70 years. He faced his final terminal illness with his usual strength and fortitude and died peacefully at home at Easter. My thoughts and prayers are with Sonia, Stuart and Philippa and their families as they face life without him.


Roly was my great friend and colleague whose wise counsel I trusted completely. We continued to meet regularly for happy lunches in London until last year. We all miss him greatly.


Simon Howard Supplier member of AGR I remember clearly the first time I met Roly. It was the 1980s and quite why I was venturing to Cambridge to meet the Secretary of the Standing Committee of the Employers of Graduates (SCOEG) is lost in time. I was certainly a little nervous and had wondered how to pronounce the great man’s surname. SCOEG shared offices at the time and in reception I asked for Roly Co’man (which I thought had a certain ex-Army officer ring to it). But from behind came the correction “Cock Man if you don’t mind!”. Of course I wasn’t the first to make the mistake nor, as he would gleefully point out, the last.


Roly was a charming man with a passion for young people’s development. At that first meeting he took pains to explain to me the finer points of graduate recruitment and delighted in reading a recent article in the Bulletin – in Latin!


Some may remember that prior to the days of the Celtic Manor, SCOEG conferences were held on campus and accommodation was in halls of residence – which meant toilet and shower facilities were always ‘down the corridor’.


Consequently a number of us would book a suitable hotel nearby and slink off later in the evening to the comfort of hot showers and soft toilet paper - in our own rooms. (Standing in a queue for the loo wearing nothing but a towel while striking up small talk with a client was too much to bear). Roly slightly disapproved of this behaviour but would turn a diplomatic blind eye.


However, in 1997 having confirmed a number of places for the Conference at UMIST, I received a handwritten note from Roly: “Simon, I’ve taken the liberty of booking your accommodation this year. UMIST has en-suites, so there’s no now no excuse not to attend the WHOLE conference.”


www.agr.org.uk | Graduate Recruiter 11


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