The Edinburgh Reporter March 2023

10 OBITUARY

THE HIBERNIAN family are in mourning following the

death of owner Ron Gordon.

Ronald J Gordon was born and raised in Peru, but was

also proud of his Scottish heritage.

He studied at Markham College, the British school in

Lima, and emigrated to the United States at the

age of 15.

He completed his studies at Shore in Sydney, Australia

and received a B.A. in International Relations with a

minor in economics from Syracuse University.

Throughout his professional life he supported

numerous community-based organisations.

He was the founder and majority shareholder of ZGS

Communications, Inc., one of the leading independent

broadcasting and media companies serving the

Spanish-speaking community in the United States.

His strategic thinking, market insight and

entrepreneurial outlook allowed ZGS to post steady and

consistent growth for over 30 years.

The company became the largest independent

affiliate group of the Telemundo Network, earning a

reputation for operational excellence, creativity,

integrity, and community engagement. ZGS was sold to

Comcast/NBC Universal in 2017.

In April 2009, taking a leave from ZGS for three years,

Ron was named President of the Telemundo Station

Group at NBC Universal, responsible for the strategic

direction and day to day management of the largest

Spanish television stations in the country.

Over his many years in the media industry, he received

numerous accolades including five Emmy Awards,

two Telly Awards, and a White House Media

Achievement Award.

He was founder and director of John Marshall Bank,

one of the leading community banks serving the

Washington, D.C. metropolitan area.

The bank posted steady profits and growth for over 10

years with assets of over $1.4 billion and today is

considered one of the best managed and most

innovative small business banks in the region.

He was also on the board of trustees of WETA in

Washington, D.C. one of the leading public television

stations in the country.

Gordon served on the board of the Arlington

Community Foundation, and actively supported various

critical service organisations serving people and

communities in need.

In 2019 he formed Bydand Sports LLC to acquire the

majority shares in Hibernian. Bydand is the motto of

Clan Gordon, derived from “Bide and Fecht” meaning

“stay and fight” as a tribute to his Scottish roots and his

love for the game.

On taking over from Sir Tom Farmer and Rod Petrie,

he vowed to build on their legacy and take the

club forward.

Under Gordon’s watch, Hibs finished third in the cinch

Premiership in the 2020/21 campaign and also reached

the Scottish Cup final in the same season.

He successfully guided the club through the Covid-

pandemic and oversaw change behind the scenes at

Easter Road which included the high-profile departure

of then chief executive Leeann Dempster, and significant

investment in hospitality at Easter Road.

Managers Jack Ross and Shaun Maloney were

appointed and fired during his stewardship, with the

current head coach Lee Johnson earning his support

during a recent turbulent spell.

The ownership of Hibs is now set to pass on to his

family, with his son Ian currently employed as head

of recruitment.

Ben Kensell, Chief Executive of Hibernian, said:

“Everyone at the Club is deeply saddened at the news.

Our thoughts are with Ron’s wife Kit, his sons Ian and

Colin, and the rest of the Gordon family. Ron may have

been our chairman and owner, but he was first and

foremost a devoted family man with a close and

loving family.

“We would ask that at this difficult time, the family’s

privacy is respected as they mourn their loss.”

John Hislop

RONALD J GORDON 1954 - 2023

Corstorphine/Murrayfield – what are the candidates saying?

FIONA BENNETT

Scottish Liberal Democrats

At the time of going to press - we have yet to

meet Fiona. She is a former NHS nurse and

lives in Edinburgh with her family. She works

as a senior caseworker for LibDem MSP, Wendy

Chamberlain.

RICHARD FETTES

Scottish Family Party

Richard Fettes stood as a candidate previously

in the Pentland Hills Ward where he got 159

votes. We continue to try to meet up with him.

HUGH FINDLAY

Scottish Conservative Party

Hugh Findlay is Chair of the Edinburgh

Conservatives.. He said: "The key thing is

giving people a sense of ownership back

about their area, whether that is that people

don't think they have been consulted, they

don't know about the changes, either in

Corstorphine where people complain they

haven't been given a say about the road

arrangements, or in Ravelston where the

council is potentially considering running

trams down the Blackhall pathway. “

ELAINE MILLER

Independent

Elaine Miller is the person who “exposed”

herself at The Scottish Parliament during a

debate on the Gender Recognition Reform Bill.

She claims to be an expert on matters of

women’s health as a physiotherapist, but

having submitted evidence to the Holyrood

committee she “wasn’t listened to”.

RICHARD PARKER

Scottish Labour Party

Richard Parker hopes to win the seat for the

party in administration. As a teacher he is keen

on education He said: “We need to make sure

that the workers of tomorrow have the skills

that they need to get the job done. If we are

not empowering our young people to survive

and thrive in the world of work then our local

businesses will suffer for it.” He supports

compensation for traders thought that was

not the party line when the matter was

decided in December.

DONALD RUTHERFORD

Scottish National Party

Donald Rutherford is looking to recover the

seat for the SNP. He is a new candidate who

lives in the ward working as a full time carer

for a member of his family.

PETE GREGSON

Independent

Pete Gregson was involved in both a campaign

against the new cycling infrastructure and also

one to obtain compensation for loss of

business for the Roseburn traders. He repeated

at a hustings his view (initially that of a former

SEPA employee delivered at a Government

Inquiry) that removing parking spaces outside

the shops has increased pollution there.

He said: “They’ve taken away a line of

parking – parking reduces pollution at the

door front by 30 per cent. All the traffic moves

that much closer to the people living in

tenemental properties.”

GARY SMITH

Scottish Libertarian Party

Gary Smith (Scottish Libertarian Party) is firmly

against road works and in particular the 20

minute neighbourhood concept which the

council has already adopted. He said: "This 20

minute city thing. I think it is diabolical. It is

none of the business of the council to tell me

where and when I can drive my car."

CHRIS YOUNG

Scottish Green Party

Chris Young is an active travel campaigner and

landscape gardener. Standing on "good old

-fashioned green principles”, he said: “I’m very

involved in climate campaigning and

interested in air pollution and air quality

particularly here where St John's Road is

consistently categorised in the top three most

polluted streets in Scotland.