The industrial supply sector lost an industry and editorial icon last week, as John (Jack) Keough died on Aug. 5. He was 76 years old.

Keough is renowned throughout the industrial supply sector as the longtime editor of Industrial Distribution Magazine, which he led as Editor-in-Chief and Associate Publisher from 1984 until 2010 before semi-retiring. He went on to provide industry consulting from Keough Business Communications while continuing to contribute a regular column to ID, including a piece in the publication’s July/August print issue. He additionally contributed editorial to MDM during the 2010s.

Before ID, Keough was a reporter at The Patriot Ledger for 15 years, covering a variety of major events, but his biggest achievement there was his one-on-one interview with President George H.W. Bush in 1980.

I didn’t know Jack personally, but he was directly responsible for helping me get up to speed on wholesale distribution when I entered the industry as a young journalist who knew nothing about it.

I joined ID as its Associate Editor in 2014. My first week on the job was when we were filming the countdown for our annual Big 50 List feature — which Jack started in the 1980s. For the feature’s 2013-2017 countdown videos, we flew Jack out to the ID office in Madison, WI to film it with him. (see Jack and I counting down the 2016 list here)

Those filming weeks were critical learning experiences for me — especially that first one — as they gave me the opportunity to have in-person conversations with Jack. He was happy to walk me through distribution’s key trends, challenges and need-to-know issues — providing me a valuable industry crash course from someone who made a career out of covering it.

I served as ID’s Editor through 2022, and Jack remained a key rolodex resource for me when I needed to find an industry contact, as he seemed to know everyone.

My experience with Keough was not unique.

Victoria Kickham — Senior Editor at DC Velocity — was at ID from 1996 to 2010, going from Associate Editor to Managing Editor under Keough when it was published by Cahners/Reed Business Information. Like me, Kickham joined the publication as a newspaper reporter.

“Jack took a chance on me. I had no idea what industrial distribution was when I sat down for the job interview, but Jack quickly sold me on the position with his extensive industry knowledge and easy manner,” Kickham told me. “I liked him right away. Twenty-eight years later, I am still working in business-to-business publishing and writing about supply chain issues and trends. I wouldn’t be where I am today if Jack hadn’t given me a start and helped me every step of the way.”

“Jack helped many aspiring writers and editors — and so many others — during his career,” Kickham continued. He was always willing to share his knowledge, helping others and supporting the industry that he loved so much. He did it all with a smile, a laugh, and a genuine interest in those who worked for and with him.”

Throughout his ID tenure and beyond, Jack was particularly effective at articulating the manufacturer’s perspective for the distribution channel — providing updates on product trends and selling relationships that an audience of distributors found vital to stay updated on. He forged decades-long relationships with contacts on the manufacturing side that kept him informed on that side of the channel.

Keough’s prestige as an editor was matched by the reverence for him as a person by those who knew him best. Jack lived in Foxboro, MA since 1978 — evidenced by his Boston accent — with his wife Mary Ellen, and they celebrated their 50th wedding anniversary earlier this year.

One of Keough’s longtime colleagues was Craig Riley, who spent 30 years as a publisher in wholesale distribution, with five of them at ID before serving as MDM’s Associate Publisher for 10, retiring in 2018.

“I never liked the phrase larger than life, but within the industry, he was,” Riley told me in the days after Keough’s passing. “He was there for so long and so well recognized that it didn’t matter where you went — whether it was a distribution function, a big association function, a competitor’s event — everybody knew Jack. He was gracious but at the same time a jovial, fun guy.”

As noted earlier, one of Keough’s legacies will be ID’s Big 50 List, which originally was the Big 100 until industry consolidation in the 1980s and 1990s led him to pair it down to its current length. That list enabled the industry to see an annual revenue snapshot of industrial distribution’s largest market movers.

“He knew his stuff,” Riley added. “He knew the industry — the companies and the pecking order with them, and the people.”

Another longtime colleague of Keough’s was Kevin Boyle, a friend for nearly 40 years and said he had spoken with Keough once or twice per week for the past six months, including a chat just a couple of days before his passing. Boyle was a 24-year veteran of Henkel-owned adhesives maker Loctite before starting an industrial distribution consultancy.

“He was an icon in the industry, because whenever anybody said Industrial Distribution Magazine, they immediately thought of Jack,” Boyle told me. “He was so instrumental in bringing people together and having genuine, good conversations about the industry.”

Boyle recounted that he and Keough met at a conference of the then-Southern Industrial Distributors Association (SIDA) — which later became IDA and then today’s ISA — in Miami in the mid-1980s and remained good friends and industry resources ever since.

“Whenever I needed information about the industry, he was one of the first people I would think of,” Boyle said. “And we got to the point where if he wanted to get opinions from manufacturers, he’d call me. Everyone respected him for his knowledge and involvement in so many different aspects of the industry.”

Boyle acknowledged that his support of distributors didn’t always sit well with his manufacturer colleagues, and he recounted a time at a National Association of Wholesaler-Distributors (NAW) meeting where he and Keough sat in a meeting room when two distributor members approached them and stated how the meeting was only meant for distributors — manufacturers not allowed. But Keough and two other distributor members vouched for Boyle in saying he was more aligned with distributors, which was good enough that he was allowed to stay.

Peter Helston — the former publisher of Canada-based Machinery & Equipment MRO — came to know Keough as a fellow industry journalist around 1989 or 1990, and the two bonded while attending industry conventions. Helston noted that media members often felt on the outside looking in at those events as media members weren’t allowed to attend many of the agenda items.

“Jack and I had a special friendship. We would show up to the BSA, PTDA or Electrical Manufacturers Association convention and cover the same turf, but we were never competitors,” Helston told me. “We mainly went to take pictures, because the business was very private. So there’d be some downtime, and Jack and I would always get together. I couldn’t respect a person more than Jack. He was a very good listener, smart, friendly and really incisive. He would ask all the right questions. He was a terrific person and I’m sorry to see him go.”

More Industry Voices

“We have lost a great one!! I met Jack more than 25 years ago when I was with Baldor Electric Company as the VP of Marketing. He was good friends with Baldor’s Communications Director Charlie Hubbard. Jack and I got to know each other pretty well and over the course of years, I did several interviews with Jack over a 15-year span, and he wrote a number of articles on Baldor Electric Company. What a professional! Jack had a passion to understand the business, the products, the manufacturing, the applications and the processes that the products were used in. He was passionate about journalism…real journalism. He was also one of the most personable guys you could ever meet and always enjoyed spending time with those who took the time to spend with him. While I’ve been out of the industrial manufacturing world for a while, Jack made an impression on me and I hope that I have lived up to the values that Jack presented in his own career. Rest in peace Jack…One of a kind!” — Randy Breaux, Group President of Genuine Parts Company North America Automotive and Industrial

“He was very knowledgeable about the world of industrial distribution, and he shared his wisdom with wit. He was a giant in the industry and it’s our loss that he’s gone.” — Bill McCleave, renowned distribution industry speaker, trainer, consultant and a contributing author to MDM, associations and trade publications

“It was my pleasure and honor to know and work with Jack for many years. His keen business insights, coupled with his caring manner and great sense of humor always made our interactions memorable. A great guy who positively impacted his industry and all those who were lucky to know him.” — former NAHAD Executive Vice President Joe Thompson.

“He was such an amazing person. A mentor and pivotal in my career and for many others’. A joy with a dry sense of humor. Everyone loved his Boston accent and jokes. Just a gem!” — Diane Houghton, NAW/MDM Senior Director of Partnership & Sponsorship and a former sales manager for ID from 1996-2010.

“Regis! (Gilbert’s wife Ginny affectionately referred to Keough as Regis after noting he resembled former talk show host Regis Philben.) A great guy for the industry. Genuine, patient, listened to others, knew when to compromise, when to follow, when to lead, and knew to keep smiling.” — Alan Gilbert, Past President of IDA (now ISA) and Chairman of Quality Mill Supply.

“Jack hired me to handle the development of custom publishing supplements for Industrial Distribution. He was so gracious (and funny!) with his editorial advice as I knew very little about hand tools, fasteners and distribution in general. He empowered each of us on his staff to make decisions and to take chances, always willing to introduce us to distributors at trade shows. Outside of the 9 to 5 world, he would always ask about my kids, their paths and offer consult on just about anything in life (from parenting, to car insurance deals, to freelance opportunities, to the best diner out in metro west). A wealth of information, and a mentor that I will never forget.” — Alison Lutes, Program Manager at Strategic Communications who served the ID audience from 1994-2010.

“As with my former Industrial Distribution colleague, Victoria Kickham, Jack also hired me despite my not having any business journalism experience. I couldn’t have had a better mentor and editor. I don’t know how many times, especially early on, I’d ask him a question such as, “Who could I call about my HVAC article?” And he’d immediately give me a couple of names who would invariably turn out to be solid sources of information. And, like me, Jack was a longtime Boston sports fan. On almost a daily basis, the workday wouldn’t officially start until Jack held court in his office, talking about the latest Red Sox, Patriots et al games and results. It’s not often that you find someone who is a combination of mentor, editor and friend, but Jack was all of those.” — Joe Nowlan, Freelance Business Writer/Author and former ID Associate Editor from 2003-2009.

“Jack Keough was a good friend and a remarkable person who made a significant impact on those around him, such as myself. It’s clear from what everyone has shared that everyone got to experience what I did since meeting him in 1987, which not only was he smart and funny man, but also a mentor and very respected figure in our industry. He was such a dear friend who brought a lot of joy and laughter into my life as we spent hours together each year at the FPDA, NAHAD, and other trade show, just laughing and sharing stories. The memories I have of our times will undoubtedly stay with me forever. Losing someone like him is not easy, and I wished I had a chance to say goodbye. He will be sorely missed and I hope he is resting in peace because he was truly a special person!” — Bill Horrigan, VP of Sales & Marketing at Tribute, Inc.

Have a Comment to Add?

If you knew Jack Keough and would like to add a comment about him, feel free to do so either in the comments section below, or email me at mike@mdm.com and I’ll be happy to add it above.