With great sadness, FESPA today shares the news of the death of FESPA Honorary Board Member and Past President Lascelle ‘Las’ Barrow. Lascelle passed away on 22 May 2025 at the age of 79, after a prolonged illness.
Lascelle has been an indefatigable force behind the growth and development of the FESPA organisation and event brand for more than 30 years, During this time, he drove the organisation forward tirelessly, bringing invaluable insights into the evolution of the retail and out-of-home graphics sectors, of which he had extensive knowledge and experience built over more than 60 years in the industry.
Lascelle served as President of FESPA from 1992 to 1996, and from 2013 to 2015. He also served on the Finance and new Business Committees and made ongoing contributions to FESPA’s business strategy. His contributions were recognised when he was made an Honorary Board Member in 2022.
His spirit of innovation has fundamentally reshaped FESPA over three decades. He was instrumental in the decision to bring the organisation of FESPA exhibitions inhouse in the late 90s, devising a sustainable commercial model to finance FESPA’s operations without diverting funds from its national Member Associations, which now number 37 worldwide. The subsequent success of FESPA’s global events has enabled the creation of FESPA’s global reinvestment programme, which supports hundreds of educational and knowledge-sharing initiatives for print and signage businesses worldwide.
Lascelle’s understanding of the future potential of digital wide format production fuelled the evolution of FESPA to embrace digital technology, culminating in the launch in 2006 of the ‘FESPA Digital’ event. This served to drive the ‘digital revolution’ in wide format printing and opened the eyes of the global screen printing community to the opportunities for short-run production and customisation.
He was also a driving force behind the global expansion of the FESPA event brand, proposing the launch of FESPA Mexico and championing a FESPA presence in other emerging markets such as Brazil.
As a long-standing director of the FESPA UK Association, he was an enthusiastic supporter of the role of FESPA’s member Associations in creating value for print businesses at grass roots level. He also steered the licensing of the FESPA brand to national Associations, increasing visibility of the FESPA brand globally.
Lascelle was an impressive business leader with a deep knowledge of print. Following his technical training at the London College of Printing, he went on to found Augustus Martin Limited at age 19 with his business partner Barrie Dix. From this he built a multiple award-winning business focused on innovative retail POS and OOH, working with a host of prominent brands.
FESPA CEO Neil Felton comments: “With Las’s passing, we say ‘farewell’ to someone who has been the beating heart of FESPA. He had a razor-sharp mind and an unshakeable focus on steering us forward – motivated by his passion for print, his desire to help print entrepreneurs like himself, and his confidence in the transformative potential of technology.
“Working with Las was an object lesson in forthright communication. He never minced his words, and many of us remember strident discussions with him, where he inevitably came out on top, thanks to his unique skill at cutting immediately to the heart of the issue. His commitment, energy and presence will be sorely missed by the global FESPA family. Our sincerest condolences go to Lascelle’s wife Myrtle, his children, their extended family and friends, and his Augustus Martin colleagues.”
FESPA will publish further information regarding tributes to Lascelle Barrow in due course on fespa.com and on FESPA social media channels.
