Bishop Keith B. McMullin, a former member of the Presiding Bishopric of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and business leader who spent over a decade working as CEO and president of Deseret Management Corp., died Wednesday, Sept. 30, 2026. He was 85.
“Keith McMullin was one of a kind,” said Sheri Dew, executive vice president and chief content officer at Deseret Management Corp. “As a boss, he always had my back. As a leader, he had an uncanny knack for pointing the way while being sensitive to the needs of all involved.
“As an example of decency, humility and dignity, he was the consummate gentleman. My life is so much better because of the time I spent with him,” Dew said.
Bishop McMullin led DMC, which includes the Deseret News, from April 2012 to December 2023, following his service as second counselor in the Presiding Bishopric of the Church of Jesus Christ.
Bishop McMullin “was always inclined to think in terms of the needs of people,” said H. David Burton, who served with him in the Church’s Presiding Bishopric.
Bishop McMullin had an “unusual affinity and love for people” and did a lot to advance the church’s “involvement in caring for the poor and the needy,” Bishop Burton said.
“When deliberating decisions,” Bishop Burton said, “he thought in terms of how to benefit people.”
Bishop McMullin’s service from 1995 to 2012 in the Presiding Bishopric, which manages the Church’s global temporal affairs and welfare programs, followed a line of service and leadership opportunities that prepared and enabled Bishop McMullin to be tutored by the Lord.
Throughout his life, Bishop McMullin — who was always proud of his small-town roots — also served his family as a son, husband and father of eight children.
“There is nothing flashy about us, but we have been blessed with a wonderful family,” Bishop McMullin told the Church News soon after his call to the Presiding Bishopric in December 1995. “We do everything possible to fulfill what the Lord has called us to do and will give our all in this new assignment.”
Bishop McMullin dedicated himself to his responsibilities within this calling and others at various times, including his callings to serve as bishop, high councilor, stake president, patriarch and as a young proselyting missionary and later mission president in Germany.
Before his call to the Presiding Bishopric, Bishop McMullin also served in the Church’s Welfare Services Department for 20 years, 10 of those as managing director.
Bishop McMullin was “always so kind” and his ideas “reflected his wealth of knowledge and experience,” said Gary Porter, senior vice president at DMC. “He was really wise in the counsel he gave.”
Porter worked with Bishop McMullin at the church’s Welfare Services Department and later followed him to DMC. He also served with him as secretary in the Presiding Bishopric.
From decades of working with him, Porter said, he most enjoyed Bishop McMullin’s “bright” mind, his “power of reasoning” and their shared country background.
Bishop McMullin “was a really good mentor for me,” Porter said.
In his professional life, Bishop McMullin did not divide his faith from his work, but rather viewed his career and responsibilities as another type of calling and a part of his becoming.
“The gospel is true,” he testified in one devotional, where he spoke of how a career can help one fulfill their life’s mission. “Jesus is the Redeemer. The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is true. And you are on the Lord’s errand. That is your mission, in whatever circumstance you find yourself.”
Bishop McMullin’s work and leadership were recognized various times, including by receiving the 2024 Utah Business Leader Community Impact Award and the 2024 South Valley Chamber Titan Award.
“A piece of advice I would share with other Utah businesses is this,” Bishop McMullin said upon receiving the Utah business leader award at One Utah Summit. “There is a cultural heritage, an ethos here, that can be embraced and incorporated into your own business experiences and culture that will serve you very well. Study it, embrace it and adopt it.”
Under Bishop McMullin’s leadership, DMC’s media companies — including Deseret News, KSL and its partners under Bonneville International, Bonneville Communications, Deseret Book and Deseret Digital Media — underwent transformation and became “industry leaders for innovation,” according to a Deseret News report in 2023.
Bishop McMullin was born in St. George, Utah, on Aug. 18, 1941, and grew up in Leeds, Utah, and later Salt Lake City. He studied banking and finance at the University of Utah and married his wife, Carolyn Jean Gibbs, in June 1964 in the Salt Lake Temple.
Prior to his time at DMC, Bishop McMullin managed several small businesses and worked as an investment and financial analyst at Ford Motor Co. He believed in God and served him faithfully.
“I bear witness God is our Eternal Father and dwells in yonder heavens,” Bishop McMullin said in his final general conference address, which he delivered in 2011. “Jesus the Christ is God’s holy Son, the Redeemer of the world.”
Bishop McMullin’s full list of general conference addresses can be accessed here. A list of his BYU speeches is available here.
