Chas Moloney, marketing director of Ricoh UK&I, has died after a short illness aged 56. Charles Michael Moloney was born to an Irish family in Essex, leaving school at 16 to join BT as a telecoms apprentice.
At school he had shown talent as a footballer and played at a good amateur level until injuries led to an early retirement, but he retained a love of sport, supporting West Ham, and in rugby both Gloucester and Ireland.
He left BT after five years to join Canon UK as part of its marketing team at the point that digital printing was starting to make its mark. After 17 years he left Canon and in 2005 joined Ricoh with the brief of making an impact on the commercial printing industry which Ricoh was just starting to target. He delivered in spades, evangelising the power of digital printing and the need for printers to embrace marketing for their own businesses whenever possible.
Moloney was a frequent participant at the BAPC annual conference, once peppering his presentation about the need for printers to market their services by opening a packet of cat food and sampling it.
He took time to study for and acquire a post graduate Open University degree in management.
Moloney became increasingly important to Ricoh UK moving into broader marketing roles within the business. He was intimately involved with its sponsorship activities whether in golf, rugby or tennis, helping to identify rising stars to be associated with Ricoh. This culminated in 2018 when Georgia Hall won the British Women’s Open at Royal Lytham St Annes in the last year that Ricoh Worldwide was the main sponsor. Hall spoke of her support from Ricoh as her first – and to that point only – sponsor.
Ricoh CEO northern region Phil Keoghan says: “Having joined Ricoh over 17 years ago, Chas had such a positive and lasting impact on so many people throughout the business. He was a much loved and respected member of our Ricoh family.
“Chas will be remembered fondly, not only for his outstanding leadership, deep knowledge and passion for our business, but also for his incredible warmth, humour, and loyalty.”
He had the ability to talk to anyone, putting them instantly at their ease and for managing events so that everything ran smoothly at all times, thanks to his charm and personality. Outside of work, he made friends easily and was never afraid to get involved, helping to save at least one pub along the way.
His funeral took place on Friday 16 December in Slimbridge, Gloucester.
