Phillip Wade, co-founder of the International Car Distribution Programme (ICDP), died on May 18 following a fight with leukaemia.

Wade played a major part in the development of ICDP which grew to become an international research programme on car marketing and distribution.

Wade was involved in international automotive marketing for nearly 40 years. A graduate of York University and Bradford Business School, he was a member of the Chartered Institute of Marketing, the Institute of Management and ESOMAR (European Society for Opinion and Marketing Research).

He moved to Jaguar as marketing director prior to moving to the USA where, from 1985 to 1989, he was a director and senior consultant at J. D. Power & Associates, the California-based automotive research and consulting company.

During this period he carried out consultancy projects with many of the major US, European and Asian car manufacturers, as well as with leading US dealer groups and advertising agencies.

He also took a leading role in developing major consumer research studies such as the J.D.Power CSI survey, sales satisfaction index, luxury marque image survey and a range of new car buyer studies.

After returning to the UK in 1989, he played a pivotal role in the establishment of the ICDP. He was also a partner in Harbour Wade Brown - later HWB International - an automotive consulting business.

An inhabitant of Warwick for many years, he was captain of Warwick Boat Club at the time of his death. An enthusiastic amateur singer, he organized the “Art of Song” workshops for many years. He was unmarried.