Martin Nunn seemed to do everything passionately and proudly, from emceeing a Kyiv Lions Club charity ball to espousing his views on politics, the news media and Ukraine – his beloved home for more than 25 years.
The British citizen, 66, CEO of Whites Communication and co-owner of the online Ukraine Business Journal, died doing one of the activities that he loved best: Sailing his yacht, the Barbarian, on July 29 in the Kyiv Sea, a reservoir of the Dnipro River. Friends said he suffered a heart attack and fell from the boat.
One only needs to scroll through Nunn’s Facebook page to learn what mattered most to him: His wife of seven years, Elena; his three sons; his two grandchildren; his boat; his father, who also died this year, at age 93; his passion for great food and effective communication; his belief in a brighter future for Ukraine.
His excitement during spring for the coming start of summer boating season was palpable. Posting on April 14, with a picture of his boat, he wrote: “Half a yacht polished and ready for the season. Just hope the rain holds off tomorrow so that I can do the other half. Nice to have her out of the hangar. Summer is almost here.”
His last post came on July 27: “We have a place for one more crew member if you would like to go racing this weekend. You will need to know how to crew a modern racing boat, be reasonably agile and speak a little English.”
And then, after his death, heartfelt tributes started pouring in with emails, posts on his Facebook profile page, in meetings and on a special memorial page set up to announce his funeral at noon on Aug. 3 in Kyiv’s Baikove Cemetery, followed by a wake and lunch at the Hilton Kyiv at 1:30 p.m.
Jack Laurenson, who worked for Nunn, wrote: “He was a friend, a mentor and role model. He always encouraged me to do better, believe in myself and believe in the work I’m doing. His energy, enthusiasm and optimism was infectious and inspiring. It’s not difficult for me, in the slightest, to believe that he was an excellent father to his three sons, all of whom he spoke of so frequently with such pride and enthusiasm. My final memory of Martin is of a wonderful evening last week, sharing a home-cooked dinner of seafood linguine that he’d carefully and meticulously prepared…In everything, attention to the closest detail was paid..A man after my own heart, Martin knew that the finer things in life should be enjoyed properly or not at all!”
Martin Foley, who was a partner with Nunn in a news agency, called his friend “a larger than life character in the Kyiv expat community who also worked tirelessly for Ukraine and its people. He was passionate about disability rights as well as the protection of children, which I had the pleasure of working with him on several cases. I first meet Martin in Kyiv when I was working for the Sunday Times in London and later formed a news agency in Kyiv with him.”
Foley said Nunn was “an accomplished wildlife photographer and often visited Kenya where he also supported a local child. His other ‘hobbies’ were his racing yacht on the Kyiv Sea as well as the Kyiv Lions Club, for whom he served as president twice. Martin was instrumental in raising hundreds of thousands of dollars for charity.”
Another friend, Igor Nakonechnyy, wrote: “To all of us remaining here – we do have one obligation now: To make sure the amount of good in this life this man did is not getting less, but actually increases. Sail in peace, my friend.”
Andy Hunder, president of the American Chamber of Commerce in Ukraine, called Nunn “a great communications professional (who was) always promoting the positive that Ukraine has to offer.”
Marjon Cals, a former Kyiv Lions Club president, called Nunn “a passionate and optimistic man with a huge heart for charity. His creative input, his humor and relentless positive drive have had a great impact on the success of the Kyiv Lions Club over the years. Not only did he see a bright future for his family, our club and Ukraine, he was always ready to fight for it. We all lost a valuable friend. He will be missed dearly.”
Condolences came from such a wide range of people he knew, including Okean Elzy’s Slava Vakarchuk and ex-Prime Minister Arseniy Yatsenyuk to former Ukrainian First Lady Kateryna Yushchenko, who wrote on Nunn’s Facebook memorial page: “Dearest Martin, our family is stunned and deeply saddened by your passing. Only a few months ago we talked of future projects and plans. Your great enthusiasm for your family, for Ukraine, for your charities — Lion’s Club and Special Olympics, for your work, for sailing and other hobbies, was infectious. It will take a while for our community to overcome this great loss. We will miss you immensely, dear friend.”
Nunn was born on March 1, 1952, in the United Kingdom to a father who was in the military and consequently moved a lot to different cities. He graduated from Watford College of Technology in 1972 with a degree in design for printing. He was a member of the Chartered Institute of Public Relations, the Society of Typographic Designers and National Union of Journalists in the U.K.
British citizen and longtime Kyiv expat, Martin Nunn, sails his yacht on the Kyiv Sea in an undated photo. (Courtesy)
He served as CEO of Whites Communication, located in Kyiv’s Podil neighborhood, from 1994 to his death. The agency’s clients included UkraineInvest, the investment promotion arm of Prime Minister Volodymyr Groysman. From 2014-2016, he served as a communications consultant for then-Prime Minister Yatsenyuk, for whom he created a weekly “10 minutes with the prime minister” TV series. He also served as a communications adviser to Ukraine International Airlines from 1996 to 2004 and for Procter & Gamble from 1996 to 2002.
The year after Ukraine regained national independence in 1991, Nunn served as director of the Ukraine Mark Reform Education Program, a U.S. Agency for International Development-funded program to explain how a market economy worked, from 1992-1993.
As a journalist, besides starting up Ukraine Business Journal in 2016 with partners, he previously edited Democracy Watch, a weekly internet magazine, during the era of ex-President Viktor Yanukovych, who was driven from power by the EuroMaidan Revolution on Feb. 22, 2014.
While a communications and public relations professional, journalism never left his blood. He’d call journalists to pass along tips, saying: “Greetings, mate. I think I have a great story for you.” Other times, he wrote the story himself, penning op-eds that he submitted to the Kyiv Post and other publications, or news stories, such as the one that the Kyiv Post published on Dec. 20, 2017, headlined “Wizz Air abandons 120 Ukrainian passengers in London.” Nunn was one of those passengers.
Besides his wife, Elena, he leaves his sons, Daniel Hill, Alex Nunn and Theo Nunn; two grandchildren; and Rita Nunn, the wife of his late father.
