Donald Keough, NFF Director Emeritus and recipient of the 1992 NFF Gold Medal, passed away Feb. 24 in Atlanta. He was 88.
Keough was a staunch friend to the collegiate world since his own undergraduate days at Creighton University and joined the NFF Board of Directors in 1991. He began his career with Coca Cola in 1950, and his 42-year stay with one of the world's most widely recognized business organizations saw him rise from an entry-level position to the presidency.
Born Sept. 4, 1926, in Maurice, Iowa, Keough grew up in Sioux City, Iowa. He served in the U.S. Navy from 1944-46 and married the former Marilyn “Mickie” Mulhall in 1949, a union that lasted until his death.
Keough began his career in broadcasting, hosting a short-lived Omaha, Neb., TV talk show. He went on to work at Butter-Nut Coffee, a sponsor of his TV show, that would eventually be folded into Coke.
Determined to be a success in the business world, Keough worked his way up the ladder in the finest American tradition. In 1971, he was named president of the company's Foods Division. Following that he was named president of Coca-Cola USA and was later given responsibility for the company's business in North and South America. In 1981, he was elected president, chief operating officer and a director of The Coca-Cola Company; and, in 1986 was named Chairman of the Board of Coca-Cola Enterprises, the world's largest soft drink bottling organization.
Keough retired from Coca-Cola in April 1993, and was elected the Chairman of the Board of Allen & Company Incorporated, a New York investment-banking firm. After his retirement from Coca-Cola, Keough remained an adviser to the company and served on its board from 2004-13.
Keough also served on the board of National Service Industries, Inc., the H.J. Heinz Company, The Washington Post, Columbia Pictures, Inc., InterActiveCorp, Yankee Global Enterprises, Berkshire Hathaway, McDonald’s Corporation, Convera Corporation, and The Home Depot. He was a chairman emeritus of the Board of Trustees at the University of Notre Dame, on whose board he sat for 13 years. Five of his six children attended the university.
He was also a member of the Knight Foundation Commission on Intercollegiate Athletics. Always a leader in community service, Keough served on the board of a number of national charitable and civic organizations.
As the result of a lifetime of business and civic leadership, Keough received many honors, including honorary doctorates from Notre Dame, his alma mater Creighton University, Emory University, Trinity College in Dublin, Ireland, and Clark University. The University of Notre Dame’s highest honor, the Laetare Medal, was presented to Keough in May 1993, and he was Irish America magazine's first Irish-American of the Year.
Keough was elected a Fellow of the American Academy of Arts & Sciences in 2002 and was inducted into the Junior Achievement National Business Hall of Fame in 2003. In 2007, he was presented with honorary citizenship by the president of Ireland and was the first honoree inducted into the Irish America Hall of Fame. In March 2013, he received the Presidential Distinguished Service Award from the president of Ireland, honoring members of the Irish diaspora.
