IDG Founder and Chairman Patrick J. McGovern dies at 76

International Data Group (IDG)  announced  with great sadness that its Founder and Chairman, Patrick J. McGovern, died March 19, 2014, at Stanford Hospital in Palo Alto, California. CPI Media Group’s technology division is the regional franchise partner of IDG.

“IDG has lost a true visionary, and the IT community has lost one of its most exceptional citizens,” said newly elected IDG Board Chairman, Walter Boyd. “Pat’s foremost desire was for IDG to make the world a better place through the medium of information technology. He created a unique workplace where we have the outstanding leadership team in place to ensure that the company he created will continue to grow and prosper.”

A Career Dedicated to Information on Information Technology

Patrick Joseph McGovern, known as “Pat,” was born August 11, 1937, in Queens, New York, and spent the majority of his childhood in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. His career in publishing began while he was a student at MIT, when he applied for a part-time editorial job at Computers and Automation – the first U.S. computer magazine. After his graduation from MIT in 1959 with a degree in biophysics, he was promptly named Associate Editor and became Associate Publisher.

In 1964, with the computer industry still in its infancy, McGovern founded International Data Corporation (IDC®), now an IDG subsidiary, to provide the industry with timely and reliable statistics on information technology markets. Three years later, McGovern launchedComputerworld, a weekly print publication dedicated to keeping computer buyers apprised of industry and product news. Computerworld became IDG’s flagship publication, and in 1972, McGovern began exporting the Computerworld concept, launching Shukan Computer in Japan.

By “thinking globally but acting locally,” a strategy that continues to guide IDG’s worldwide expansion, McGovern ensured that the Japanese publication would not be a Computerworldclone. From the start, it was edited and managed by a Japanese staff whose mission was to inform readers through a superior editorial product tailored to local market needs. “Thinking globally” is at the heart of McGovern’s growth strategy for IDG and accounts for his remarkable track record in identifying and opening new markets.

Over a span of 50 years, McGovern oversaw IDG’s launch of more than 300 magazines and newspapers and championed the expansion of IDG’s network to include more than 460 websites, 200 mobile apps and 700 events worldwide. Today, IDG brands are found in 97 countries and include CIO, CSO, Computerworld, GamePro, IDC, IDG Connect, IDG TechNetwork, IDG World Expo, InfoWorld, Macworld, Network World, PC World and TechHive.