The North American promo marketplace was saddened to learn of the passing of industry veteran Fred Oesen on Monday, Oct. 30. He leaves behind his twin daughters, Amanda and Amber, his grandson, Theo, and his stepdaughter, Tamasin.

Fred Oesen, a beloved member of the promo industry in both Canada and the U.S., passed away on Monday, Oct. 30.

A former president of Promotional Products Professionals of Canada (PPPC), a proud member of its Hall of Fame and a former vice president of ASI Canada, Oesen spent 42 years in the promo business until he retired in 2017. But that didn’t stop Oesen from doing what he did best – supporting industry friends and mentoring those new to the promo world, giving crucial business advice or often just lending an ear over one of his beloved Scotches.

“Fred, first and foremost, was a mentor to me when I moved to Toronto in 1986 and guided me through the early stages of my career in this challenging but rewarding business,” says Iain Spencer, owner of Etobicoke, ON-based Tartan Promotions and one of Oesen’s closest friends. “He was a charismatic legend of the Canadian industry who was loved and respected by everyone he met and conducted business with. His infectious and outgoing personality always drew people toward him, and he was always delighted to share his knowledge and expertise with anyone who requested it.”

Spencer acknowledges the “huge hole” Oesen’s passing will leave in countless people’s lives – “As we say back home in Scotland: May the wind be always at your back. May the sun shine warm upon your face, the rains fall soft upon your fields and until we meet again, may God hold you in the hollow of his hand.”

Steve Levschuk, president & CEO of London, ON-based Talbot Promo (asi/341500), had known Oesen for 40 years and noted that their business relationship morphed into a personal friendship somewhere throughout those four decades. “Fred tirelessly traveled across Canada exposing distributors to new suppliers, and he had a significant impact on the growth of the promotional products industry in Canada,” says Levschuk. “He always took the time to share his experiences and offer sage advice to everyone and anyone who asked.”

A Future Legend Gets His Start

Born in Germany, Oesen emigrated to Manhattan with his family when he was 3 years old, and then crossed the border into Canada the following year. They moved around Canada often, living in Toronto, Calgary, Vancouver and back again – so much so that Oesen attended 12 different grade schools. When you change your surroundings and all you’re familiar with so frequently at a young age, you sharpen skills to adapt – skills that would help Oesen later in life: the ability to make people feel at ease, to forge connections, to build loyalty.

Oesen put down roots when he moved to Toronto in his early 20s, becoming an independent sales agent in the burgeoning Canadian promo market in 1972. He had numerous lines, including Parker Pen – the success of which led the company president to offer him the position of Canadian manager of the premium division. “In 1974, I became manager of Parker Pen’s promo business in Canada, and automatically became a member of the Ontario chapter of SAAC (Specialty Advertising Association of Canada) at 26 years of age,” Oesen recalled in 2022, during an interview when he was named Counselor’s Lifetime Achievement Award recipient. “I was the first person in our industry to call on distributors in person in Canada. Previously, personal contact was limited to the annual hotel room shows.”

Titans of their respective markets – the Canadian and U.S. promo businesses – few people mentored and motivated more industry pros than Fred Oesen and the late Fran Ford, also a Counselor Lifetime Achievement Award recipient.

Having been elected to the Ontario chapter of SAAC in 1975, Oesen became president of the chapter in 1978. “I was elected to the national board of SAAC but had to resign my position in 1979 when David Campbell and I started Canada’s first national rep organization: Can-Am Reps,” Oesen said during the 2022 interview. “For five consecutive years I drove from Toronto to Vancouver and back calling on distributors.”

Oesen later had the pioneering idea of country-wide, multiline representation and was co-founder of Task Force Marketing/Team Task Force, the first organization to offer U.S. suppliers a chance to visit major markets in Canada through biannual seminar tours and networking events. “All Task Force suppliers shared their confidential distributor sales with us,” Oesen pointed out. “That enabled us to accurately rank all distributors and create our Annual Awards Reception to honor distributors by sales volume exclusively with Task Force suppliers. This was usually the largest single event at every PPPC show.” So robust was the business that Oesen built, ASI purchased it in 2007, retaining Oesen to run it as vice president of ASI Canada.

With his lifelong “best buddies” from the Canadian promo market – PPPC Hall of Fame members all – Oesen holds court with Ian Ward (left), Dan Daniels (right) and Brad Milne (far right).

“Fred Oesen was a critical architect of success in the Canadian promotional industry, embodying the visionary spirit that fuels our industry’s growth,” says ASI President & CEO Tim Andrews. “Over his 40-plus years in the industry, and as the former vice president of ASI Canada, Fred mentored, advised and befriended a countless number of people, including me. He was committed to excellence and driven to grow the Canadian promo industry. Mission accomplished. A true pioneer, he shaped the landscape while inspiring everyone who followed, and his receptions and dinners at industry events across the continent were legendary, connecting people he knew should be connected and growing their businesses in the process. Canada will miss him. ASI will miss him. I will miss him. Rest in peace, Fred.”

Rob Spector, owner of Montreal-based Top 40 supplier Spector & Co. (asi/88660) and who himself has been in the industry for more than 30 years, referred to Oesen as a “trailblazer in Canadian promo – calling him ‘the Godfather of our promo industry’ is pretty apt.”

A Life Well Lived

Having been asked by Oesen earlier this year to contribute to a book of remembrances of his life, it was a request I was honored to accept – especially for a person I’ve known for 25 years whose warmth was so searing it put the sun to shame.

When thinking of Oesen as I sat down to write, the first thing one noticed about him, of course, was the twinkle in his eye. The glint that said, “Here, sit next to me while I order you the first of many cocktails and regale you with the most colorful stories about the funniest people at their absolute best.”

And so it was to meet Fred Oesen – “Freddy,” as he was known to his legion of friends, fans, misfits and miscreants. A man whose circle of comrades-in-arms was so vast because he radiated charisma like a high-powered magnet, attracting any eccentric, eclectic bon vivant within a 20-mile circumference.

But here’s the critical thing to remember: When one thinks of him, icon that he was, the over-arching truth is that Oesen had the enviable ability to make anyone – old friend to new acquaintance to total stranger – feel welcome, valued and accepted. What a gift.

“My dear Freddy, from a 30+ year friendship that seems like yesterday, to your personality lighting up a room, followed by your unconditional love for everyone and sealed with that wonderful smile, you are already missed,” said Carol de Ville, owner of Brantford, ON-based distributor The Branding Company (asi/145376). “As a mentor, leader, instigator, pioneer, father, husband, and darn good euchre player, we raise a glass of the best Scotch and toast your legacy. Our paths will cross again as we listen to Carole King – ‘you’ve got a friend.’”

A Man of the People

The list of folks Oesen helped and showed up for to offer a kind, supportive word is as long and voluminous as his Rolling-Stones-on-their-1972-world-tour bar bills – unfurling like the Canadian flag in a strong wind.

Greg Livings, the Peterborough, ON-based owner of Bravo Awards (asi/41638), counts Oesen as a mentor and points to his never-ending ability to give back to others. “He was one of those gems – always smiling, always welcoming and always eager to help on any level, from encouraging peers to collaborate, to showing you which bartenders would look after you the best,” Livings says. “Fred was always interested in your story, and what you had to say… and had a half-dozen amazing stories to share if you had the time. He had such a good heart, and I loved the guy.”

Taken during a 1991 trip to Aikens Fishing Lodge in Manitoba, Canada, Oesen and some of his closest industry friends – Garry Moore, Promotional Products Inc.; Dean Nicolson of Kayjet; Dan Nadon, Inland Advertising; Brian Shippam and Norm Dalman from Shippam Inc., and distributors Neil Meacham and Jacques Plante – gathered for a weekend to remember.

Kathy Cheng, president of Scarborough, ON-based Redwood Classics Apparel (asi/81627), names Oesen as one of the first people to give her guidance in the promo business. “Fred’s unwavering belief in Redwood Classics from our inception was truly remarkable,” Cheng recalls. “His mentorship and inclusivity paved the way for us, showing the power of foresight and fostering enduring relationships.”

Longtime friend Steve Levschuk gives his dear pal Fred Oesen an enthusiastic hug as Levschuk had the honor of presenting Oesen with his Counselor Lifetime Achievement Award in 2022 at the ASI Chicago Show.

And that brings us to the second thing everyone knew about Oesen: his exuberant, raucous, contagious laugh – the siren song for good times incoming. And buckle up, because when he and his cohorts were on a roll, they came in hot.

Florida-based, Canadian-born industry veteran Dave Saracino, also a past Counselor Lifetime Achievement Award recipient, met Oesen decades ago and knows a thing or two about being an industry connector, uber-networker and iconic bon vivant. “Fred was a legend in both Canada and the U.S.,” Saracino says. “He was an inspiration to many and was instrumental in helping me in my early years in the industry. I will miss my friend dearly.”

For Oesen, his ebullience, endless optimism and perpetual capacity for joy were his calling cards, and his true talent was making everyone in his orbit feel immediately better, happier, more hopeful and the best versions of themselves. That was his superpower: the ability to spread his considerable joie de vivre so if you were lucky enough to be with him, you absorbed it by osmosis.

Oesen with his twin daughters, Amanda (left) and Amber, cracking into some lobster.

Paul Wieleba, owner of London, ON-based {WE} Promotional Advertising and current chairperson of PPPC, is unequivocal in his assessment of Oesen’s stratospheric influence. “Fred was the definition of trailblazer,” Wieleba says. “While he’ll be remembered professionally for his TaskForce initiative and the impact it had on suppliers, distributors and MLRs, he will equally be remembered for his ability as a raconteur and how he left a smile on anyone’s face with every interaction.”

Something that strikes one most about Oesen is the breadth of people he helped with his time, talent, creativity and considerable business acumen. From Gen Zers and millennials to those who are easing out of their careers, he was always there, selflessly offering advice, a kind word, a sounding board and a fresh cocktail.

ASI President & CEO Tim Andrews has a fun moment with Fred Oesen, who had just delivered his thank you remarks after being presented with Counselor’s 2022 Lifetime Achievement Award.

“Fred Oesen was not just an industry co-worker; he was a mentor, a friend and the heartbeat of our industry,” says Sergio Munoz, the Canada-based vice president of business development for Top 40 supplier HPG (asi/61966). “With wisdom as his tool and humor as his medium, he guided us through the labyrinth of the industry. His uncanny ability to identify our strengths and channel them into business success was nothing short of extraordinary. Fred’s deep belly laughs still echo in my mind, a reminder of a spirit that can never be replaced. He will be profoundly missed, but forever cherished.”

And Oesen, the most prodigious storyteller who always viewed a glass of water as a waste of a perfectly good vessel for a stiff Scotch, carved out an enviable life and career that touched so many with his glimmer, giggle, sizzle and spark.

I tend to think of Oesen as the real Prime Minister of Canada because of the enormous goodwill he emanated, the sense of community he built and his desire to uplift everyone around him – family, friends and countless colleagues.

So for the man who idled at sheer glee for the life he was lucky enough to lead, and made every hour you were with him a happy one, cheers to you, Freddy. I’ve got a tab open…

In lieu of flowers, the family requests donations be made to the RVH Foundation’s Keep Life Wild campaign in thanks for the loving care Fred received from his entire cancer team. A Celebration of Life will take place in Toronto on Fred’s birthday, Saturday, April 13, 2024.