The announcement of the death today of Rob van Pooss was declared "a real loss" by UKRD's Chief Executive, William Rogers.

Rob, who had worked across the media industry for some 40 years in both television and radio, passed away at his home in Essex in the early hours of Tuesday morning. He had been battling cancer for some months.

"Almost everyone who met Rob, or RvP as he was known by most people, will have encountered one of those larger than life characters who lived, slept and breathed the job he did. His passion was extra-ordinary and his zest for life unequalled," said Rogers.

Van Pooss's career straddled the two great communication sectors of television and radio and throughout his near 40 years in the industry, he held every role from sales executive to Managing Director. More latterly he was National Sales Director for privately owned radio group UKRD, and presided over a huge increase of revenues to the group in spite of the decline in general revenue numbers over the last three to four years.

"RvP was a man of many many sides. Well read, articulate, witty and creative, he was able to grasp the most complex of issues and then convert them into simple and easily communicated messages. He was a quite exceptional salesman and has a record many others would be hard pressed to get close to," said William Rogers.

"Into his 60 years, RvP crammed more than one life. There are many of us who would have to have lived two or three times to achieve everything he did. Our thoughts are with Maggie, Toby and Nick and the rest of the family van Pooss."