LONDON — The late Pasquale ‘Paky’ Quadri, who founded Clay Paky in 1976, was honored posthumously with the 2014 Gottelier Award during a ceremony at PLASA 2014 here earlier this month. The award honors members of the industry who have made significant and sustained contributions to the advancement of event, entertainment or installation technology.
A judging panel votes to decide the award’s winner every year. After Quadri’s death on Sept. 6, PLASA announced that the other contenders for the award — Richard Belliveau, David Cunningham and Dr. Christian Heil — unanimously opted to withdraw from the running as a testament to the respect they shared for Quadri.
More details from Clay Paky (www.claypaky.it):
Coming from humble origins the young entrepreneur Pasquale Quadri grew up in an extremely creative environment. The son of a magician, he was raised in a small provincial Italian town. ‘Paky’ established Clay Paky in 1976 and in just under 40 years his contribution to cutting-edge and superior quality lighting has been immense.
Clay Paky’s Chief Commercial Officer, Pio Nahum, graciously accepted the award on behalf of his very close friend and colleague and said this: “Receiving the Gottelier award on behalf of Paky fills me with pride and gratitude. Paky was a charismatic leader we all knew we count on. Under his guidance we achieved significant goals and, above all, we gained the respect and trust of many customers and partners throughout the world. The expressions of admiration and sympathy that we have received following Paky’s passing have been considerable and I would like to thank everyone who has shared their condolences and thoughts.”
PLSN is publishing a feature in the Oct. 2014 issue profiling Quadri’s innovations. It includes a tribute from some of those who worked with — or, in many cases, competed with — Quadri over the decades. For an electronic version of the article, CLICK HERE.
