For 12 years Paul and I worked together at Sennheiser. In these years a lot happened that left memories of him which are not just those photo opportunities that end up in a news report.
The process of working together started at the Old Farmhouse meeting on” useless buttons and lights”. Alfred, Andy, Claude, Hans, Jean, Swee and Paul showed my what is important in the audio business.
The relationship continued in many meetings about “the importance of intercom”. Or at the Miami “fishing trip and plastic show” meeting. Then there was the London “birthday pizza and kidney stone” event. Some remember the “goodbye and birthday party for a colleague” that got me a speeding ticket and Paul a picture on a German speed camera.
This performance led to the “Salzburg race event with US 9-11 sales support”. Which got him a 280km/h drive from Cologne to the Nuerburgring. And me a new set of brakes.
His live appearances at the “Suedbahnhof events” almost got him an artist’s contract, fortunately only almost. His relentless pursuit of the superiority “of British pop culture over German pop culture” helped some unknown musicians, or better fellow team members, onto a stage in Germany.
We made it through “horror shows in Singapore” to “suspicious restaurants” in Moscow. And we should not forget the “fear of horseback riding” in the Rocky Mountains and the “Last Christmas dinner” in Hannover.
Some now may think that Paul did not get any business done. Well, Paul got a lot of business done. All of you know how successful he was as a key member of the Sennheiser team. Paul always felt responsible and never stepped back when things had to be done. But he also worked as a member of the team as anyone else. As MD of Sennheiser UK or later as VP for Western Europe he led by example and by trust. He was there to become a board member for Sennheiser Communications in Copenhagen and led Sennheiser Russia to get working. Paul managed our contacts to LIPA and gave many young talents an opportunity to prove themselves.
While Paul was a key member of the best team the audio industry ever had he also made sure that life was not forgotten. And that led to all the great events and many more that still remain in my memory of him.
Farewell Paul Whiting
Thanks for sharing that Rolf, and some amazing pictures as well. I think the reason any company becomes a special place to work is down to the people, and at Sennheiser we had some amazing people, people like Paul and yourself, that worked hard, but also knew the value of blowing off steam and enjoying yourself. Hope retirement is agreeing with you, I think I may head that way at the end of this year as well, Stay safe and stay in touch. x