• by Ray Schultz , January 22, 2020

Ralph Drybrough, founder and retired CEO of direct marketing list and service provider MeritDirect, has died, the company announced on Facebook.

Drybrough, a B2B specialist, had served at Direct Media, then left that company to start Merit Direct roughly 20 years ago.

Among other things, he was known for the political polls he did at both of those firms’ annual events. His surveys were an accurate barometer of who was going to win the election, as when Bill Clinton and George W. Bush won the polls.

Drybrough was known as a tough competitor and at the same time as a mentor to many in the business.

“From the start, Ralph was selling Merit, to the professionals he was recruiting, to the clients and potential clients we would serve, to anyone who would have a listen!” writes MeritDirect CEO Rob Sanchez.

Sanchez adds that Drybrough "talked of MeritDirect as the 'big tent' and even amidst the fiercest disputes and rivalries always tried to keep folks working together."

Drybrough, who was born in 1947, is survived by his wife Molly, and children Ralph Jr., Drew, Chris and Sarah.