Many years before we bumped into each other in a BBC lift, Andy and I had worked together at Thomson-Reuters. As a woman in my 20s working in a particularly male-dominated industry, Andy was a breath of fresh air - always welcoming, friendly and jovially calm, with time for others and genuinely interested in the people around him.

When I took voluntary redundancy from Thomson, having discussed my South America travel hopes with Andy he extremely generously offered me a huge chunk of air miles that he had accumulated through travelling for work. He hadn't wanted to use them himself as he said he much preferred to spend his free time walking with Sara and his dogs - why would he need to fly abroad when his dream day out was at home with family? His gift not only funded me spending 3 months travelling around South America, but he even gave some to my partner at the time so that he could visit me for a Mexican Christmas. Andy had never met Ciaran, but in no way did that stop him making a generous gift that was hugely appreciated by us both.

It was a very welcome surprise to then bump into Andy years later once I'd joined the BBC, and although we didn't work directly together we frequently chatted in passing about the nuances of working in the BBC, and - of course - about his canine companions. 

I'm deeply saddened that Andy is suddenly no longer with us, and my thoughts are with Sara and his four-legged family.

Holly