C. Jay Lambe

My heartfelt condolences to Jay's family and friends. Death ends a life, not a relationship, and Jay's spirit will still be around to inspire us to co-create on common ideas, friendship first, and that life is more than work! I first met Jay while I was a visiting professor at Texas Tech in 1998. Jay became the first professor and co-founder of the Texas Tech faculty-led summer program in Norway, starting in 1999, and is still the most successful international student exchange program! When he moved to Virginia Tech, we collaborated and won the prestigious Best overall paper award at the 2003 American Marketing Association Winter Conference. Jay was the true perfectionist that knew how to co-create research publications in a productive and friendly manner. We met regularly, either in Norway or in the US. In 2015, I brought my son Conrad to Seattle and Bainbridge, and they immediately found the tone, and Uncle Jay arose. Jay organized a unique tour at the Boeing factory. Later, other meetings and arrangements demonstrated Jay's extensive network of contacts and friends built during his time in Seattle. His interaction with students and business leaders led to mutual trust and commitment that I considered a unique trait of Jay's humble personality despite his immense expertise. Jay stayed as a visiting professor at our university in Norway from September 2019 through April 2020. The Fall semester was successful, productive, and full of great experiences. However, the Spring semester created challenges where he got some infections that coincided with the emergence of the Covid 19 pandemic. Thus, he experienced that a minor health issue took longer to cure than otherwise. Jay recovered from his infections after getting back to Seattle and Bainbridge. He was full of optimism about the research project. The most recent publication was released in mid-September, entitled "Linking Market Orientation Capabilities to Organizational Performance: A Research Framework and Empirical Test," in Review of Marketing Research, Vol. 18, Emerald Publishing Limited. Despite Jay's remarkable intellectual capabilities, he was a good and close friend. His (and my) own life experience made our discussions and reflections unfiltered and constructive. Real and empathetic friends are rare to find. Rest in peace, Jay!