Patrick “Pat” McGovern, the man who founded International Data Corp. (IDC) in 1964 and launched Computerworld in 1967, effectively spearheading the IT press industry, passed away Wednesday at the age of 76. This was announced by IDC offshoot International Data Group (IDG), a startup company that had eventually amassed $3.55 billion in revenue as of 2013. The cause of death was not announced by IDG, as per McGovern’s request to keep all details regarding his health private and within his family.
Aside from Computerworld, International Data Group had been the parent company of many a tech-related publication, including InfoWorld, PCWorld CIO, CSO, NetworkWorld, CiteWorld, and the IDG News Service. All in all, approximately 300 publications, 460 websites, and 700 events are under the IDG umbrella as of this year, 50 years after McGovern founded IDC with friend Fred Kirch. In addition, IDG was also one of the first American companies to tie up with a Chinese company, a milestone that had undoubtedly helped IDG establish a presence in close to 100 countries. McGovern’s original company, IDC, remains a leader in the IT research space, and currently has about 600 employees in its workforce. The company also has yet to go public, a decision McGovern had proudly defended despite staunch criticism.
Co-workers past and present remember McGovern as a generous man who been active in charitable causes and someone who would take the effort to personally deliver checks for Christmas bonuses to his employees. McGovern would remain benevolent and generous towards his employees, even as IDG had moved to a larger home base in Framingham, Mass., and opened offices in California. He would also send ace reporters postcards should they come up with a standout article or report. All this helped IDG retain the feel of a small, tightly-knit community despite its actually being a multibillion-dollar enterprise. As for charitable contributions, McGovern and wife Lore Harp McGovern had helped fund the McGovern Institute for Brain Research in his alma mater of MIT, offering an especially sizable contribution of $350 billion.
In addition to the above accomplishments, McGovern and IDG had also kicked off the popular “For Dummies” series of books, launching “DOS for Dummies” in 1991. These books sought to explain seemingly high-end concepts to the common person, and similar titles, such as Windows for Dummies, would debut in the years to follow. Though the For Dummies series is still heavily geared towards software and tech, the series also includes several books about sports and other general interests.
McGovern is survived by his second wife Lore, four children, two stepdaughters, and nine grandchildren.