John Flannagan AM, co-founder of Advertising Partners Australia and former chairman of Foodbank Australia has passed away.
Flannagan’s daughter, Wendy, said he “could not have spent a more fulfilled life”.
“His perpetual work ethic led him to achieve great things in his career and in the end he gave back to society in a lasting way by forming Foodbank Australia. Amalgamating four separate states into one central operation for food negotiations, warehousing and distribution to the needy, earning him an Order of Australia,” she said.
John Flannagan was born in Brighton, VIC in 1933 and spent most of his working career in the advertising industry. He was an account executive with Emmett Australia in Victoria, an account executive with Public Relations Associates and in 1954 he became manager of Fortune Australia in Adelaide. He then set sail to the UK where he joined the London Press Exchange as an account director at just 22 years old.
John went on to join the International Division of LPE in London and then moved to Africa to become director and general manager of LPE International in Zimbabwe. In 1965, John moved to its Singapore operations.
John became president of the Association of Accredited Advertising Agencies in Singapore and was responsible for implementing the country’s first Family Planning Programme and the Keep Singapore Clean Programme which continues to this day.
John returned to Australia in 1968 moving to Sydney with his family and his boat Benito. Benito had been built in Singapore and John always maintained that this boat had saved his life many times in tricky seas. John had a great passion for fishing and the sea. He fished in many competitions and on charters for big game fish, and held the NSW record for the largest Blue Marlin caught in NSW in 1993. The lure was retrieved and framed in memory.
In 1978, John launched his own advertising agency with his then business partner Heather Leembruggen, Advertising Partners Australia. The agency went on to become one of the top 10 Australian owned advertising agencies operating in Sydney, for over 34 years. When John decided to retire from the industry he then went on to become chairman of Foodbank Australia for a further eight years.
He was a fellow member of the Advertising Institute of Australia, a member of the Institute of Practitioners of Advertising UK, the British Institute of Management UK, the International Advertising Association USA and the Institute of Directors of Australia.
John’s achievements in life were something to be proud of and his contribution back to society in the end, was deservedly rewarded. He leaves behind a passion for the sea; a drive to succeed in whatever one does; a man who was a great master of ceremonies; a much loved partner to Patricia Parker, and a legacy as a teacher and mentor to his loving daughters Nicole, Lorraine and Wendy.
John will be privately cremated and his ashes scattered at sea.
