PRESS RELEASE: Marble Founder and Officers Killed in Plane Crash
Matthew Stecker
For Immediate Release
For More Information:
Daniel Kehoe
Marble Associates, Inc.
38 Edge Hill Road
Waltham, MA 02154
617-891-5555
617-891-5226 fax
ke...@marble.com
Founder, Two Officers of Consulting Firm in Plane Crash;
Founder a Leading Figure in Networking Technology
Waltham, MA; March 21, 1994 -- On Wednesday, March 16th, a small
plane carrying senior executives of Marble Associates, Inc., crashed
near Dulce, in northern New Mexico. Raymond S. Bloom II, the company's
Chief Technology Officer, and Kirk A. Elvy, Vice President for
Finance and Administration, were killed. Marc A. Elvy, the President
of Marble Associates, Inc., survived the crash and fought valiantly
for his life for nearly five days. He ultimately succumbed to
devastating injuries on the evening of Sunday, March 20, at the
University of New Mexico Hospital in Albuquerque, New Mexico. He
fought for life for himself, for his family, and for his friends,
with the same spirit with which he created the organization he
loved.
Richard (Rick) J. Chavez, the firm's Chief Operating Officer, now
serves as Acting President of Marble Associates, Inc. The company
anticipates continued growth despite the tragedy.
Marc Elvy and two fellow Harvard University students founded Marble
Associates in 1983, dispensing advice about computers and networks,
writing documentation and books, and developing software. Working
from a Harvard dorm room and the trunk of 1975 Cadillac Fleetwood
limousine, they won contracts with clients as large as AT&T and
Digital Equipment Corporation. An early interest in the UNIX
operating system led Marc Elvy to develop remote connectivity
solutions for TCP/IP, the UNIX network protocol. In co-inventing
the Serial Line Internet Protocol (SLIP), Marc Elvy established
the technological basis for much of today's telecommuting, making
possible low-cost connections to the Internet, and cemented a
reputation as a leading figure in information science and networking
technology.
As President of Marble Associates, Inc., Marc Elvy selected as his
associates students, scientists, and computer professionals who
tackled information systems problems with the same intelligence,
enthusiasm and creativity that embodied Marc Elvy's own approach.
By 1989, clients were asking Marble Associates, Inc., to train
their own software engineering teams in the methodologies of
rapid-cycle application development and joint (technologist and
business user) development that Marc Elvy advocated. With the help
of Marc Elvy's younger brother, Kirk Elvy, who managed the company's
rapidly growing financial and administrative needs; Ray Bloom, who
established relationships with leading technology firms from the
company's San Jose, California office; and Rick Chavez, Chief
Operating Officer and a former Coopers & Lybrand strategic consultant,
by 1993 Marble Associates, Inc. completed a transition from a
software development firm to a position of leadership in the emerging
field of information systems transformation.
As a technology partner with management consulting firms such as
CSC Index, Marble Associates, Inc. has made key contributions to
the business re-engineering projects of the world's largest industrial
and service corporations.
Six months ago, under Marc Elvy's leadership, Marble Associates,
Inc. began a reorganization effort intended to shift authority from
the firm's officers to its most experienced associates, in the
interests of empowering project teams to accommodate client needs
and support the company's continued significant growth. Rick Chavez,
the Acting President of Marble Associates, Inc., comments, "We are
fortunate that Marc had the foresight to encourage our transition
to a stronger and more sustainable operating structure. Though Marc
intended the reorganization to support our company's rapid growth,
we are well served by Marc's intelligence despite our loss." The
company will complete a reorganization as planned.
Chavez states, "Marc Elvy understood that technology never stands
on its own -- despite its intellectual appeal -- if people,
organizations, and the society they belong to do not progress in
values of the spirit. We will continue to execute our mission: to
help our clients and business partners accommodate both radical
flux in technology and wrenching change in the global business
environment. Marc, Ray, and Kirk taught us to always be truthful
about what we can and cannot accomplish. They knew that more
significant than this company's talent, more critical than knowledge
of emerging technologies or relationships with vendors, more valuable
than any single individual or a single project team is our reputation
for honesty and perseverance.
"We acknowledge the emotional, personal pain we feel because of
this tragedy. At the same time, as a company, we know that we can
best honor the spirit of our three friends and colleagues by
continuing on the path we established together.
"Our entire practice, our methodology, our reusable Business Objects,
our architectural precepts, our fast-cycle approaches and tools
are all geared to the work of achieving breakthrough results in
business transformation. This focus has not changed and it will
not change in the face of tragedy. We are saddened by our loss and
we will mourn our friends. But we will honor them best by continuing
this work and reaching the next plateau in transformation thinking
and transformative results."
Marble has significant relationships and a growing reputation in
the Boston business community and beyond. Chavez adds, "We will
meet our commitments to current and future clients and partners
because of the strong foundation that we established in past years.
Our circle of corporate advisors, including the law firm Goodwin,
Proctor & Hoar; the accountants Schwartz & Katz; and our investment
banker, State Street Bank; have told us they have full confidence
in our ability to continue to grow, despite this tragedy. Coupled
with the extraordinary loyalty of our clients and business partners,
we fully expect the future Marble Associates to be a manifest vision
of Marc Elvy's ambition and principles."
Marble Associates, Inc., is a privately-held consulting firm that
works with the world's largest industrial and service corporations,
introducing information technology strategies that accommodate
adaptive change. The firm is headquartered in Waltham, MA and San
Jose, CA and employs 50 people.
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