PR guru dies aged 66
Public relations guru and long-time league supporter Malcolm Boyle has died. He was 66.
Boyle, known as Midge or Big Bird to his friends, previously co-owned the Warriors league team with Graham Lowe and was a major player in New Zealand’s public relations sector.
Growing up in Glen Innes in the 1960s, Boyle lived in a state house and attended Tamaki College.
He started out as a journalist at the Auckland Star, working in the general, sports and court rounds before moving into PR.
He worked with several com- panies including Rothman’s Sports Foundation and Air New Zealand before launching Baldwin Boyle Group (BBG) with Brenda Baldwin in 1981.
One of his most well-known successes was the company’s coup in winning the Singapore Airlines account which saw Boyle move to Singapore for 18 months.
This was a major deal for a New Zealand company, although friends say this wasn’t a surprise.
“He had a magnetic kind of personality, he was just very personable and had a great rapport with everyone he knew,” said Warriors communications manager Richard Becht, who had known Boyle for almost 45 years.
“He was exceptionally quick witted and knew a lot about everything. Just a very clever man and a wonderfully warm human being,” he said.
“I can’t value him highly enough as a friend, just the greatest mate I could have.”
Following his time with BBG, Boyle took up the role as managing director at PR firm Porter Novelli for four years. When his contract at the company ended, he and chairman Cedric Allan founded Star PR.
Over more than 40 years in the industry, Boyle founded three highly successful consultancies.
He spent numerous years playing league for different teams at senior and premier level, including in Australia, with his passion ultimately leading to him buying the Warriors with Graham Lowe in 1998.
Boyle was diagnosed with Lewy Body Dementia several years ago, eventually forcing him to retire from his last role at Star PR in April 2012.