John died peacefully in his sleep, at home, surrounded by his loving family. It is typical of the man that, even after John was diagnosed with terminal cancer, he set about finding ways to raise money for the Pancreatic Cancer Research Fund, so that others wouldn’t have to go through the same.

Writing songs was a lifetime passion of John’s and we are pleased to announce that Noel and Mark Blackman are bringing these to life for a charity album. We will keep you all updated on when this is released.

John’s Just Giving page has already raised approximately £3,000 towards research in this underfunded area of pancreatic cancer. The cause of this cancer is currently unknown and there are no obvious symptoms until it’s well established and creating secondary cancers. Research in this area is vital. Of the 8,000 people diagnosed each year, 3% survive for five years – a rate that is unchanged over the last 40 years, reflecting the relatively low level of investment in researching this particular cancer. As John said: “That can’t be acceptable”.

Tributes have been pouring in from many of you. Most comments centre around John’s vision, bravery and his inspirational character. John was overwhelmed and touched by the kind words of support and donations he received. Even when John had been diagnosed as terminally ill, he was fighting for others, to beat this deadly disease.

John was very proud of Catalyst and his wish to his team here is that we continue his good work in spreading knowledge and insight about business process improvement, six sigma, operational excellence, business transformation and change management.

In that spirit then, we hope you will find inspiration in the following articles, one of which was written by John shortly before he was diagnosed with cancer. If you would like to leave a message of condolence to John and his family, then please do so here.