(ATR)(ATR) Donald Keough helped lead Coke, a worldwide partner of the Olympic Games, for decades.
The former executive joined the Coca-Cola Co. in 1964, and was president and chief operating officer from 1981 to 1993. Keough died on Tuesday in Atlanta. He was 88.
"Mr. Keough was a big proponent of our Olympic Games partnership," Peter Franklin, Coke group director, worldwide sports and event management, told Around the Rings.
Franklin recalled a visit to the Olympic Museum in Lausanne when Keough, alongside the Board of Directors, reflected on the values shared between Coke and the Olympic Games.
"It seemed that he was everywhere in Atlanta during the 1996 Olympics," Franklin added. "He continued to frequently attend the Olympic Games up until London 2012."
Born in Iowa, Keough moved to Omaha, Nebraska in the 1940s where he began a brief stint as a TV talk show host. While in Omaha, Keough became neighbors with Warren Buffett.
In the 1960s, Buffett took control of Berkshire Hathaway. The firm would later become Coke's largest shareholder.
"You can sum up Don Keough's life in three words: Everybody loved him," Buffett told the Wall Street Journal.
Keough took a job with Butter-Nut Coffee, the sponsor of his TV show, in 1950 before the company was acquired by Atlanta-based Coke. He launched his career with Coke as top deputy for chief executive Roberto C. Goizueta.
One of Keough's most famous moments at Coke came in 1985 following the launch of the experimental "New Coke." After consumers demanded the old recipe, Keough delivered an apology on the company's behalf during both a presser and TV commercial spot.
Coke sales dramatically increased after the company brought back the original formula.
"Some critics will say Coca-Cola made a marketing mistake," Keough said at the time. "Some cynics will say that we planned the whole thing. The truth is we are not that dumb, and we are not that smart."
Soon after his retirement from Coke in 1993, Keough became an adviser to Coke Chief Executive Douglas Daft and the company's board. Keough was named an official member of the Coke board in 2004 and retired in 2013.
A close friend tells the Wall Street Journal that prior to his passing on Tuesday, the Coke mogul was hospitalized for pneumonia. He is survived by his wife Marilyn, six children, 18 grandchildren and two great grandchildren.
Written byNicole Bennett
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