Wally Olins, the man who rebranded British Telecom as BT, dies aged 83

Branding guru Wally Olins, chairman of Saffron Brand Consultants and former chairman of Wolff Olins, has died aged 83.

Olins, a former head of Ogilvy and Mather in India, advised many of the world's leading companies and was described as "the world's leading practitioner of branding and identity".

He died on Monday after a short illness, his family said.

Olins had written several books including his latest, Brand New, about the shape of brands to come, which has just been published.

Rufus Olins, chief executive of Newsworks and one of Olins' four children, said: "He adored his family and was adored by his family.

"Although many people knew the public side of him, which was someone of huge intelligence and energy who was always prepared to say what he thought, not everyone knew the more private side of him, which was a very loving and generous family man.

"The great thing was he wanted to finish his book. It was a short illness, and he was active until the last. His attitude was, 'let's get on with it'. He was travelling abroad up until two months ago. He said he was not going to retire, and he never did."

In a long and illustrious career, Olins rebranded British Telecom into BT and was an integral part of another major telecoms company launch, Orange.

Other clients included 3i, Renault and Volkswagen, and he was an adviser to management consultants' McKinsey and Bain.

More recently, he worked with former BBC Radio 4 controller Mark Damazer, now the head of St Peter's College, Oxford, where Olins studied history and was made an honorary fellow.

Olins, who spent five years as head of marketing, advertising and PR agency Ogilvy & Mather, based in Mumbai, founded Wolff Olins with Michael Wolff in 1965, selling it in 1997, before setting up Saffron Brand Consultants in 2001.

Made a CBE in 1999 with numerous fellowships, professorships and awards, Olins said in an interview in 2001: "I have not consciously branded myself at all. It is true that I wear a bow tie and funny spectacles but it is not conscious branding.

"I am what I am. I am outspoken and abrasive. I can be difficult. It is what I am like. I do not try to cultivate it but I do not hide it either. I tell people what I think and I do not mince anything. It is what people pay for."

On his website, Olins said: "I read a lot, especially modern history. I like travelling, seeing new places and meeting new people – which is fortunate because that's what a lot of my work is about. If you want to be less polite, you could say I like sticking my nose into other people's business.

"For recreation I like walking. Mostly with my dog, sometimes with my wife, occasionally with both. I also like cinema, the opera, theatre and lunch or dinner parties where everyone talks. I've just stopped being interested in fast, expensive cars."

Olins, who was married twice, had four children and three grandchildren.

A small service will be held for family and friends in Oxfordshire, with a celebration of his life expected to be held in London in the early summer.

To contact the MediaGuardian news desk email editor@mediatheguardian.com or phone 020 3353 3857. For all other inquiries please call the main Guardian switchboard on 020 3353 2000. If you are writing a comment for publication, please mark clearly "for publication".