Remembering my Father, David Finn

My father was a pioneer: he built Ruder Finn from the ground up, renting out what used to be a linen closet at the Lombardy Hotel in 1948. He maintained that independence was important, and today Ruder Finn remains one of the largest independently owned, global communications and creative agencies, a legacy we are proud to continue. In thinking about his life, I wanted to take a moment to reflect on and honor his accomplishments.?

?“Time is elastic.” This is a saying my father always told me, meaning you can do anything. It’s what you want to hear from your father, from your boss, from a leader. He was an unusual person, and I’ll share with you a few stories to give you a glimpse into his extraordinary life.?

My father was an incredibly passionate person: when JFK was assassinated, I remember him packing my siblings and I into the car and driving us to Washington to attend the funeral. He believed being present meant something, and he exemplified this on 9/11. As the community came together following the events of 9/11, my father was inspired to take photographs, and called acclaimed author E. L. Doctorow out of the blue to ask him if he’d write the captions for the photos. My father also reached out to his very close friend, Kofi Annan, who at the time was the UN Secretary General, to write the foreword for what became Lamentation 9/11.?The importance of being present has remained a key value of mine.

My father always taught me learning is a lifelong journey. He carried that with him even into his old age. I was stunned when he corralled his friend, an Italian professor at Columbia, to have weekly sessions reading and discussing Dante’s Inferno in Italian. My father loved Dante, but he was convinced reading his work in English wasn’t enough.?

My dad’s passion for photography gave him many communications insights. He used his camera lens to explore a beautiful sculpture, taking photos from every angle. You see, he would tell me, you have to look at things from every vantage point to really understand – only then do you find unexpected things. His ability to explore another view gave him the gift of being able to bring people together. It’s a way of viewing the world that we sorely need in an era of tribal identity.

My father was 100 years old and lived a full life: his PR work, his contribution as a photographer and author, his foresight on the importance of ethics in PR and in business, his reputation and portfolio of life's work – including the counsel he provided to three presidential administrations, major organizations and governments – will all be well remembered. He had an early influence in shaping the communications landscape which helped lay the groundwork for authentic leadership and stakeholder capitalism, cementing the role of communications in the C-suite. His clients spanned from corporate giants such as Novartis and Coca Cola to organizations such as the United Nations and the World Bank. He famously said, “our job is to help people define their character and establish their identity, to help them be themselves both privately and publicly.” This wisdom and vision leads me every day both personally and professionally.

I hope that you will join me in commemorating my father’s prolific legacy by visiting the website we have created in celebration of his achievements over the past century: https://www.rememberingdavidfinn.com/

I’ll leave you with a favorite quote of my father by Ralph Waldo Emerson:

“Do not go where the path may lead, go instead where there is no path and leave a trail.” It has truly become my life motto.

Kathy Bloomgarden, CEO, Ruder Finn

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