I was so sorry to come across the news of the passing of Michael Lafferty. Whilst MD of Woodhead-Faulkner Publishers Ltd in Cambridge, I was delighted when Michael agreed to write for us a 425 page book entitled ‘Accounting in Europe’. I had noticed his articles in the FT on the subject and thought these could form the basis of a much needed book. It became a bestseller and was reprinted several times. Michael was just 24 at the time and we published the book in June 1975. I still have a copy. The book required an enormous amount of research in each of the 9 members of the EEC that existed at the time. Fortunately, National Westminster Bank helped to cover some of the costs involved in carrying out the research. A foreword by Professor Gerhard Mueller at the University of Washington gave the book a warm welcome as an authoritative work which should be read by practitioners and academics alike. Michael also provided a long Preface acknowledging the help he received from the many people he visited in the course of his resesrch, and stating firmly that many of the views expressed were his alone. He loved…

My heartfelt condolences to Michael’s family and friends. I have known Michael for 15 years. A gentleman, intelligent, provocative. Someone who never sat on the fence – he had a view. I learnt a great deal from Michael and he was always extremely helpful – sharing his contacts around the world. I will miss our conversations and hearing about the latest movements in the banks and industry that I was associated with. How he got the level of detail as an outsider I will never know! You left your mark Michael and will be missed. RIP.    …

Condolences to Michael’s family, especially Catherine,  Isabella and his grandchildren. Remembering W12 and Tenerife days fondly. Much love,  Imogen….

Michael had a profound effect on my career, more so than anyone else, and consequently on the trajectory of my life. He gave me a my big break while I was working for him at Lafferty Group. I learnt so much from him. He was a friend. I’m very sorry to learn of his passing, and sad that I didn’t get to speak to him as much as I could have in recent years. Truly an amazing individual….

Working with Michael on Lafferty events in the early 2000s was a huge learning experience, as well as a lot of fun! Michael’s last minute/on the spot changes were legendary but his judgement was spot on and rather than be slave to an agenda, Michael wanted to stay in the energy of a debate and this made Lafferty conferences unique. He inspired a work ethic and loyalty I’ve not seen since. We wanted to do well, because getting a well done from Michael meant so much. I didn’t have a clue about how to connect financial services copy to the customer when I joined. Michael took the time to help a rookie join the dots. I’ve never forgotten that lesson and have tried to pay it forward. …

I have a lot to be grateful to Michael Lafferty for, through an invitation from Adrienne Gleeson to become Lafferty Publications’ correspondent in Canada in 1985. I met Michael in London and I remember I found him very amusing. He had a vision, guts and built a great business in a highly specialist area. I wrote for Retail Banking International and the company’s accounting publication (Accounting International?) from 1985 to 1987, which led to a job in the Royal Bank of Canada. I receive a pension today from RBC, hence my enduring gratitude to Michael Lafferty and Retail Banking International. Back then, I found it funny that someone who is mostly right-brain found herself writing about banks, banking and bean counters. It was sound experience that improved my writing a lot. I think back to the technology in those days and see that, to make the publications work in an international context, all staff had somehow to transcend the severe limitations of the infant technology of the time. I laugh when I think of having to send my articles to London from Montreal somehow via a telex link through my computer, having written the articles using a tiny wee…

I was very sorry to hear the news about Michael’s passing and my thoughts go out to his family and close friends. The last time I met Michael in person was some years ago for lunch in San Francisco. It was a typical Michael experience, a bottle of fine old-world wine, red meat and a roving conversation on the state of the U.S. economy, banking and payments. I first joined Lafferty Publications around 1991. I had never held a desk job, but Michael was famous for giving young people a lot of responsibility, far beyond what their experience merited. It is not an exaggeration to say the five years working at Lafferty Publications shaped the rest of my career. Michael was demanding and at times mercurial. However, if he felt you had what it took to make a good reporter and editor, he would support you to the hilt. It has taken me many years to appreciate how rare a trait that is in managers. He sent many of us across the world to report on banking trends in Bangkok, Singapore, Santiago and beyond. It was a heady time for a bunch of 20-something cub reporters in the early…

Michael was a force for getting ideas into the finance industry, and in passing was pivotal in my own finance services career. I first met him when he addressed a meeting of IBRO in London in early Autumn 1982 shortly after he had left FT. When I was seen by most as an ignorant young mother who upbraided a speaker for lack of understanding of what was happening in finance, he in contrast challenged me to expand my doctoral research from merely local to global. He promised to publish if I wrote a book on how technology would change finance over the next 20 years. Later in 1982, visiting his Hammersmith base, I observed a crowd of about 8, silent but for the professional hammering of ancient typewriters, the clicking of ticker tape, the ringing of phones and the excited whispered discussion between Michael and Larry Gurwin. Then followed the rapid creation of a new vital column-inch to lead the latest issue of ‘Retail Banker International’. In London in Spring 1983, he invited me to a dinner of the world’s top bankers at the Dorchester Hotel and gave me 5 minutes warning to lead what became a heated debate…

I joined Michael Lafferty Publications, his first company, in 1982 when I was a young financial journalist and still have vivid memories of that time. Michael was one of the most charismatic and dynamic people I have ever known. I am grateful that he hired me and that he generously introduced me to a publisher and allowed me to take a leave of absence to write a book about a banking scandal which was a turning point in my career. He later sent me on a reporting trip to Paris where I met my future wife. We lost touch with each other for many years but after I returned to London in 2015, I reconnected with Michael and we renewed our friendship. My condolences to Michael’s family and to his many friends….

Dear Michael   So many hours of conversation we had in the last 20 years of association! Incredibly knowledgeable, sprightly and always forcing me to think and ponder over some subject. I first met Michael when I was in Amex Middle East and got Lafferty to do a research for my company. We hit it off straightaway and continued our association throughout my career. A man of considerable integrity and with no bias or prejudice of any kind, he was always insightful.   Om Shanti (peace be upon your soul) …

I had the privilege of working with Michael Lafferty over the last 8 years. As the Founder and Chairman of Lafferty Group and Retail Banking Institute, Michael demonstrated unwavering dedication to financial education. His resilience, tenacity, and innovative approach to work were truly inspiring. Beyond the professional realm, Michael will be missed. I deeply appreciate the invaluable insights and guidance he provided. His legacy as a visionary leader will be remembered. My sincere condolences to his family. Rest in peace, Michael….

So sorry to hear of sad news of Michael’s passing. I worked for seven years for Michael and always admired his drive and passion – it seems hard to believe that someone with such energy for life should no longer be with us. As a boss, Michael could sometimes be tough, but I always found he would listen to you and willing to change his mind if you made a strong argument, which I really appreciated. He was down to earth, but also very charming and personable – he made such a positive impression on so many people. My condolences to his family and rest in peace Micheal….

I’m so sad to hear of Michael’s passing today. I’ve known Michael for more than 36 years when he first employed me in Australia to work for the London based Lafferty Publications Group, running their Financial Services Conferences and Exhibitions in Asia Pacific after I returned home from living and working in London in 1987. He was my mentor and we stayed in touch since that day. After I left Qantas in 1992, Michael gave me my start in business in helping me to set up my own Event Management Company in 1992, Paramor Productions Australia. He asked me to organise an international Conference for him – Lafferty Group Financial Services Conference in NZ – and my little company went on to move from Event Management into Tourism Marketing and has become what it is today, The Unique Tourism Collection. Michael was always so kind to me – supportive, passionate, energetic, decisive, stubborn, visionary, insightful and slight crazy… and we always laughed so much along the way. It is a sad day to know Michael is no longer with us and at the end of the phone with another new business idea for me. He will be missed by…

As with so many others, Michael gave me my very first start in my career, I will be forever grateful for his mentorship and encouragement. His energy, drive and kindness were an inspiration. Thank you for making my world brighter Michael. Rest in peace …