London – The beneficiary of this year’s Gottelier Award, given during the 2014 PLASA Awards ceremony, was founder and managing director of Clay Paky, Pasquale ‘Paky’ Quadri. The Award, which recognises members of the industry who have made significant and sustained contributions to the advancement of event, entertainment or installation technology, was given posthumously as very sadly Paky passed away on September 6th.
Following his death and as a testament to the huge respect ‘Paky’ had garnered over the years, the remaining Gottelier Award nominees, Richard Belliveau, David Cunningham and Dr Christian Heil, unanimously agreed to withdraw from the running.
Coming from humble origins the young entrepreneur Pasquale Quadri grew up in an extremely creative environment. The son of a magician he was raised in a small provincial Italian town. ‘Paky’ established Clay Paky in 1976 and in just under 40 years his contribution to cutting-edge and superior quality lighting has been immense.
Clay Paky’s Chief Commercial Officer, Pio Nahum, graciously accepted the award on behalf of his very close friend and colleague and said this: “Receiving the Gottelier award on behalf of Paky fills me with pride and gratitude. Paky was a charismatic leader we all knew we count on. Under his guidance we achieved significant goals and, above all, we gained the respect and trust of many customers and partners throughout the world. The expressions of admiration and sympathy that we have received following Paky’s passing have been considerable and I would like to thank everyone who has shared their condolences and thoughts.”