The Royal Society of NSW records with great regret the passing of one of its valued Fellows, Emeritus Professor Roger A. Layton AM FRSN on 5 June 2021.
Professor Layton was the father of modern marketing in our region, starting in 1967 with his appointment as the first Chair of Marketing at UNSW. He was Head of the School, of Marketing at UNSW from 1967 to 1992 and Dean of the Faculty from 1992 to 2002. Over the years he has played a major role in the development of marketing research, education and practice in our region and in establishing its place on the world stage. He has also established a worldwide reputation for his research, especially in the areas of marketing systems theory and macromarketing. His research has been published in leading international journals in marketing including the Journal of Marketing, Journal of Marketing Research and Journal of Macromarketing.
His contributions have been recognised and celebrated in many ways. For his services to marketing research and education he was made a Member of the Order of Australia in June 1998. He was a Fellow of all the major business related research institutes in Australia, as well as the Royal Society of NSW. At a dinner celebrating 50 years at UNSW, Bob Hawke, the ex-Prime Minister of Australia came to pay his respects and give a speech in his honour. In 1997 ANZMAC gave him the inaugural award of Distinguished Marketing Educator.