Daniel Keegan – A Rugby Player and a Historian

Daniel Keegan has an extensive resume as a writer and historian, serving as top markets executive at Citigroup Inc and playing professional rugby for South African club The Sharks on five separate occasions – earning five national caps along the way.

Although tuberculosis prevented him from experiencing soldiering first-hand, Keegan studied military history at Oxford’s Balliol College and later taught at Sandhurst Royal Military Academy.

Early Life and Education

Daniel Keegan grew up in a rural farming community in South Africa. He attended school at Gonubie before later attending one of South Africa’s best known rugby nurseries, Dale College.

His interest in military history first blossomed as a young man during World War II when air raids from Germany forced his family out of London due to frequent air raids by them and tales told by his father and grandfather of experiences of men in battle. Later he studied this topic further as an educator at Royal Military Academy Sandhurst before venturing further with it himself in 1985 with his book Soldiers which deviated from traditional accounts of military history by studying rather the experience of common soldiers rather than traditional accounts which focus solely on tactics analysis or blow by blow reports of battles.

Professional Career

He was co-head of Citigroup’s global equities trading group for over 15 years and had experience in private equity, debt capital markets and venture capital investments as well as early stage fundraising transactions.

He also has extensive experience advising clients on the Irish aspects of international business transactions, and has provided advice for an array of acquisitions/disposals/joint ventures and investments in energy parks.

Keegan served in the US Army, being deployed twice to Afghanistan. An avid reader and fencer, he helped create a library on his base and is survived by both parents and brother; his home address was Rock Spring in Maryland.

Achievement and Honors

Keegan rose to become one of the leading military historians of modern warfare due to his tuberculosis; nonetheless he gained international renown for his engaging narratives and insightful analyses about warfare history.

He has written books spanning from Alexander the Great to American Admiral Chester Nimitz. These works delve into causes and outcomes of battles as well as exploring their effects on human spirit development and warfare development.

He achieved significant achievements during his eight-year tenure as director at the Milwaukee Art Museum, such as securing a hard-fought management and funding deal for its facilities, increasing endowments from about 26 million dollars to 65 million, as well as spearheading its capital campaign for Santiago Calatrava-designed expansion.

Personal Life

Daniel Keegan is an influential member of Citigroup’s Board of Directors and serves as co-head of global equities markets. Over 15 years he helped grow their equities trading business while simultaneously overseeing Americas Equities trading as Head of Equities Americas and sitting on their Executive Committee of Electronic Execution services business.

He was also an avid reader and Notre Dame fan. Leaving behind his wife, two daughters and son. When not reading or watching Notre Dame basketball games, he enjoyed golfing, playing basketball and visiting local wineries and breweries in his free time. Additionally, he is an active philanthropist donating $500,000 in 2015 to UW-Green Bay College of Engineering and Science as well as active fundraising with United Way of Upper Green Bay Area.

Net Worth

Keegan has amassed an estimated net worth between $1 – $5 Million dollars due to his career as a Rugby Player.

Keegan brings extensive expertise in private share and business acquisitions and disposals, venture capital investments and early stage fundraising, corporate restructurings and multi-million dollar transactions such as the sale of Corlytics to EI Electronics and the acquisition of Ameresco by Davies Group.

At the Milwaukee Art Museum, he achieved notable successes: an agreement on management and funding of its facilities; raising funds to renovate existing buildings and construct a lake-facing atrium; expanding endowments by over 30%; author of three books related to ceramics.