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Keane attended Clark University in Worcester, Massachusetts and received a degree in economics in 1979. He went on to Emory University getting his MBA immediately after college in 1981.
Keane had a strong interest in marketing and worked at General Mills where he spent eight years. In 1989, he joined National Foods to apply his classi Blue Chip training in a less traditional environment. THis company owned the highly regarded Hebrew National business (now part of ConAgra’s Refrigerated Group). In 1992, Keane was promoted to Vice President of Marketing and Sales for the core $250 million Hebrew National division, about the same time that ConAgra acquired the company. Keane’s last role at National Foods was as Vice President and General Manager for their poultry business where he had a $30 million P&L and a team of 200 people in sales, marketing, manufacturing, R&D, and purchasing.
In 1995, Keane was recruited to Playtex Products Company and managed the P&L responsibility for their Canadian operation with $55 million in revenues, 220 people, and a production operation.
In 1999, Keane joined Minami International, which was a private equity venture that produced, manufactured, and marketed seasonal lighting and décor using the Westinghouse and Sylvania licenses. Keane came in as Chief Operating Officer with full P&L responsibility for this $300 million operation selling to 45 major retailers.
In 2001, Keane was recruited to Schieffelin & Somerset as Executive Vice President of Marketing. Schieffelin & Somerset was a joint venture between Diageo and the spirits operation of LVMH to market and sell premium spirits products. The company has $1.5 billion in revenues and $600 million in operating profit from selling 15 primary brands.
In 2004, Keane joined Nice Pak Products, a $1 billion leader in pre-moistened wipes (the optimum dispensing system for liquids across a broad spectrum of applications including Consumer, Institutional and Healthcare) as President in December 2004. Keane joined Noble Biomaterials, Inc. in September 2005. | 