Boal & Co founder Gary Boal, who died last year aged 52, has been honoured with a lifetime contribution award at the International Adviser Product & Service Awards 2016.

Gary won the International Adviser Award for Outstanding Individual Contribution, a special award presented to someone who has made a ‘sustained significant contribution to developing the sector, its products and services to clients’.

Boal & Co CEO Mark Kiernan received the award on Gary’s behalf and paid tribute to his colleague, mentor and close friend of 20 years.

‘Gary’s sudden death in October was a huge loss, not just to everyone within Boal & Co, but to the wider actuarial and pensions community,’ Mark said. ‘It was his drive and passion that saw the company develop into one of the largest offshore actuarial and pension trustee firms.

‘Gary was a great leader and mentor, who wrote extensively for the international media, and it was a real honour to receive this award on his behalf.’

Dylan Emery, Group editorial director & co-founder of Last Word Media, said: ‘Gary was one of the best known and most respected figures in the world of cross-border financial services. When we launched International Adviser in 2005 he was incredibly generous with his time and expertise, giving us both commentary on industry issues as well as editorial guidance on the strategic direction of the magazine.

‘The cross-border world is known for housing a wide array of characters: the scrupulous and the serious but also occasional charlatans and chancers. Gary stood out for his absolute honesty and integrity; his superlative technical knowledge; and his fearlessness in both publicising and defending his opinions. It was a joy to have known him, both professionally and personally and he is greatly missed.’

Photo - Boal & Co CEO Mark Kiernan collected the International Adviser Award for Outstanding Individual Contribution, awarded to his friend and mentor Gary Boal, who died in October last year.