Honoring the Iconic Malcolm Fry: — ITSM Pioneer, ITIL Author, Beloved Storyteller. With profound sadness, I share that our Service Management community lost one of its most iconic leaders.
Industry Recognition: Awards That Tell a Story
- Ron Muns Lifetime Achievement Award (2009) — honoring his profound impact on service and support leadership. ThinkHDI
- Pink Elephant ITSM Hall of Fame — President’s Distinction Award — celebrating his essential role in shaping the ITSM industry. pinkelephant.com
- HDI Hall of Fame Inductee (2017) — recognizing enduring service to our profession. PR Newswire
His ideas, humor, and humanity shaped how so many of us practice IT Service Management (ITSM) and ITIL® every day. As Vice President of the itSMF Chicago Chapter. He was honored in Ron Mun’s Lifetime Achievement Award. In 2014, he was inducted into the Pink Elephant ITSM Hall of Fame, President’s Distinction Award by David Ratcliffe.
As Vice President of the Chicago Chapter of IT Service Management Forum, please allow me to honor Malcom Fry. Please feel free to share your thoughts and memories of Malcom, in the comments. I am forever thankful for the IT Leaders that have shaped my career, and Malcolm was so very influential worldwide. He had a passion for making a difference!
Why Malcolm Fry Still Shapes ITSM & ITIL Best Practices
Across four-plus decades, Malcolm did more than teach processes—he changed how we think about service, value, and culture. He helped practitioners translate ITIL best practices into practical roadmaps, from help desk marketing and service desk excellence to CMDB strategy and continuous service improvement (CSI). He also served on the ITIL v3 Advisory Group, guiding how the framework evolved for real-world use. ThinkHDI
When I was trying to market the value of our Help Desk, Malcom Fry’s thought leadership gave me a solid foundation to learn, apply and grow from. When I was trying to influence the right level strategy for CMDB, it was this piece that helped unite stalled teams on a shared vision with value, and a roadmap with continuous improvement, to continue the journey.
From Help Desk Marketing to CMDB Strategy — Lessons I Applied
- Marketing the Help Desk to executives and customers gave me a playbook to communicate value, not just tickets closed. the-resource-center.com
- CMDB: the heart of service management helped me unite stalled teams around a shared vision, a value-focused roadmap, and measurable outcomes. www.slideshare.net
With more than 40 years of industry experience Malcolm was far more than a thought Service Management leader and treasured global keynote speaker. He was the pulse of Technology Journalists trying to interpret strategies for current industry trends.
Must-Watch: “The Corporate Slapper” — OCM Humor with a Point
When meetings stall or social theater replaces decision-making, I still hear Malcolm’s playful nudge from his classic clip: “The Corporate Slapper.” It’s a lighthearted lesson in organizational change management (OCM) and accountability—and yes, it will make you laugh. Watch here:
Some of the publications Malcom Authored:
- A Step-by-Step Guide to Building a CMDB
- How to Build a Service Management Department
- ITIL Lite a Road Map to Partial or Full ITIL Implementation
- Protocol Guide to the I.T. service Culture
- Problem and Change Management
- Marketing the Help Desk to Senior Managers and Customers – Google Books
Some of his inspirational leadership pieces:
- CIO Talk Network: Is ITIL Delivering on Its Promises
- CMDB: The Heart of Service Management ViewPoint Magazine
- Don’t get rid of ITIL: Streamline and automate it! | HPE
- Bringing Value to the Business through Continuous Service Improvement CSI (slideshare.net)
- Malcolm Fry: Inspiration from The “Never Do” List – YouTube
HDI: Implementing Service and Support Management Processes: A Practical Guide is such useful body of work, in my mind, full of timeless wisdom.
Malcolm Fry, Troy DuMoulin, and Char LaBounty are in my top three most iconic leaders, that I am forever grateful for their influence and incredible contributions to the community of Service Management Best Practices, with Help Desk Institute, itSMF, and ITIL Standards.
I had the honor of working with them and learning from them and other luminaries in our industry, in the publication of Implementing Service and Support.
We teach best what we most need to learn. I was continue to appreciate my humble beginnings in ThinkHDI, in Colorado, and around the world!
