Innovation | Branding | Customer Experience

Reflections on Our Founder Ray Perszyk

11 Nov 2019
Reflections on Our Founder Ray Perszyk
More From

Jerry Kathman

Ray Perszyk
March 16, 1944—November 7, 2019​

Last Thursday we lost one of our founders, Ray Perszyk. In this time of great sorrow, many great memories of working with Ray have been sweeping back over us.
 

Ray was a larger-than-life personality with a quick smile and jovial attitude that filled our halls and meeting rooms with fun and laughter. He truly understood how to make work fun and he believed that it was vitally important. Every day was an adventure, and he kept everyone laughing while we rushed to meet deadlines.

However, Ray was first and foremost a talented and successful designer. He started his career at Studio Arts Associates, where he worked on the original Easy Bake Oven (by Kenner) packaging. After a successful career in the US and Europe with Cato Johnson, a division of Y&R, he joined a few of his fellow colleagues and organized a buyout in 1983 to launch LPK.

Ray Perszyk & Mort Libby

Yes, he is the “P” in LPK.

When I joined the company as a co-op student, all the key assignments went to our creative director Ray. It was exciting to witness the great work he would create every day, giving me real insight into our profession. Ray created some of the core business relationships, such as Hasbro, that helped our company get started. Over the following decades he added many more, including Kroger, Coors, Bordens and Archway Cookies.

One of my favorite memories is the day Ray came back from Hasbro in the 70s and announced new major project. He said it was sort of a cowboy movie, except it takes place in space, and George Lucas had just signed a major contract with Hasbro to make all the toys. About a year later, the first Star Wars film was released, and all the toys were in store for the holiday rush. An iconic global cultural phenomenon was born.

Ray retired from LPK in 2003, but he still stopped by from time to time to say hi, reminisce and inspire us all over again. His passion for our company, his love of design, and the affection that so many of his clients held for him are things we still hold dear.

Thank you, Ray, for all that you did for us and for showing us what really matters in a career well lived.

Published On Nov 11, 2019
Culture

More of Our Thinking

Life Beyond 2020
POV

Life Beyond 2020

Explore the trends for 2021 and glimpse life beyond 2020, learning how to strategize for your business despite the uncertainty of 2020.
More
A brand & innovation consultancy
Work with us
Josh Bokelman
josh.bokelman@lpk.com
+1 513 241 6401
© 2023 LPK, Inc. Global Brand Design Agency
Linkedin Instagram Twitter Facebook-f

Get LPK in Your Inbox

 

FIND YOURSELF HERE.

We are a coveted brand and innovation consultancy. A collective of curious minds and creative souls. But this is not simply a place. It’s a direction; a movement pointed ever forward. Here, each of us leads by doing. We inspire our fellow specialists, but also our clients and industry colleagues. The work we create means something and makes something: makes minds change. Makes needles move. Makes watershed moments.

You are different here, and you’ll keep on changing. You will grow here. You will be smart, brave, closer to the truth.

And your transformation will also be ours—a progression paved by following your deepest passions and wildest ideas.

Because here, you own a piece of what happens next. Here, we’re united in the belief that LPK is never finished. We are ravenous for the new, the emerging, the uncharted. We know what we hold sacred. And clinging to that, we charge ahead.

Return to Careers page
Subscribe

    • CPG Brand Workshops

     

    Desires Workshop

     

    Desires Canvas

     

    Innovation Platforms

     

    Have a challenge? We’re all ears.
    Let’s talk about how we can partner.

     

    Have a challenge? We’re all ears.
    Let’s talk about how we can partner.

     

    Have a challenge? We’re all ears.
    Let’s talk about how we can partner.

     

    Have a challenge? We’re all ears.
    Let’s talk about how we can partner.

     

    We use cookies. By continuing we’ll assume you accept the terms of our privacy policy.