Jim Poggi says …
Jim Poggi, director of vendor relations for AV MEDICAL, first met Gary Keeler when Poggi joined McKesson Medical-Surgical as a “rookie” lab category manager. Keeler was president of Primary Care. “Lab was just becoming recognized as an under-penetrated customer opportunity, and no one knew at that time whether we would succeed or not. Gary was in charge of the ‘pilot program’ to see what we could accomplish.”
- “Gary’s reputation as a leader and a ‘mover and shaker’ within McKesson was intimidating. And the pressure was on to prove that I could help McKesson build a lab business in primary care. I was nervous the first time I spoke to him and wanted to make a good first impression. I quickly realized he was down to earth, open, funny, humble and not overbearing or intimidating, as long as you respected his questions and told him the truth as you understood it. The longer I knew Gary, the more confident I was that I understood the type of leader and person he was.”
- “As a leader, Gary asks the right questions to help you see the question, problem or issue from multiple angles to help you make your OWN well-thought-out decision. I cannot think of a single time Gary said, ‘Pog, do this or else.’ It was more like, Pog, you need to think about how busy the reps are and make your message easy to understand and tell to their customers.’”
- “Few leaders like Gary come along in a lifetime. Don’t try to become Gary Keeler, but try to understand the characteristics of thoughtful, practical and humble leadership he represents, and ask how you can incorporate some of these qualities in yourself and your daily life. Try to lead by inspiring thought as you mentor people rather than providing them your solution.”
- “You meet the real Gary Keeler the first time you encounter him. He does not put on a façade, and you don’t have to guess who he is or what he stands for. And he has a scary memory for detail, especially revenue and margin numbers. Those of us who have worked with Gary have grown personally and professionally from our interactions with him.”
Joan Eliasek says …
Joan Eliasek is president of extended care sales for McKesson Medical-Surgical. She met Gary Keeler in 1998 when McKessonHBOC acquired Red Line. Keeler was in charge of sales, Eliasek was in charge of the acute care supply chain consulting group. “He was a very straightforward communicator,” she recalls of their first meetings. “He was also great at making complex things very simple. He also seemed pretty down to earth.”
- “Gary tells it like it is. For me that is one of his best qualities. He is also a regular guy from pretty humble beginnings, and he never forgets that, despite the fact that he has risen to such a high level within the organization and the industry.”
- “Gary has such unbelievable depth of experience that he can add value in any business situation. He’s also very good at understanding customer perspectives and translating them into win/win opportunities.”
- [One thing about Gary Keeler and his career that young reps should take away]: “Take the time to learn the business and don’t forget the people you have worked with along the way. Those relationships matter.”
Rick Frey says …
Now retired, Rick Frey was president of primary care for McKesson in 1998 when the company acquired Red Line. His early impressions of Gary Keeler? “He was inquisitive, somewhat quiet, and focused on understanding the emerging culture at McKesson Medical-Surgical, his role going forward, and how success was measured at McKesson Medical-Surgical.”
- “Gary understood the customer and the challenges they were faced with, and was instrumental in championing the customer requirements for IT to develop the solutions.”
- “One of Gary’s strengths is building relationships with both internal and external customers. Gary also placed a value on talented people. He hired and promoted well.”
Stanton McComb says …
McKesson Medical-Surgical President Stanton McComb met Gary Keeler briefly in 2002, when McComb was just two weeks into his new job as a director of McKesson Corporate Strategy and Business Development. “I was there investigating how our physician office reps pick up and promote new product categories, and Gary was president of physician office sales.”
- “At that first meeting, I knew nothing and nobody. I did not have much to contribute at the time, and I honestly do not remember what we discussed. But I have always vividly remembered that Gary was extremely down to earth, very friendly and welcoming to me. The truth is that he has always been a very kind and friendly person.”
- “The next time I met Gary was in Costa Rica, at my first sales award trip, as president of McKesson Pharmacy Systems. I literally bumped into him and his wife, Debbie, on a zip line platform. They were laughing at my wife, who was in front of all of us. I wondered what was so funny and then, when Molly turned around, I saw that her face was completely covered in zip line grease. We all shared a laugh about it, and the Keelers really put us at ease.”
- “[One thing about Gary Keeler and his career that young reps should take away]: “You should care deeply about what you do, because it matters. I will forever quote Gary when speaking with new reps and tell them that a wise and wildly successful sales leader once told me, ‘Wake up and give a crap!’”