It is my privilege to honor Senior Forbes contributor Gordon Kelly, who has tragically passed away following a five-month battle with cancer.
During nearly a decade writing for Forbes, Gordon became pivotal to the success of the contributor network. As one of its longest-standing members, he made his influence felt both on the page and behind the scenes while building up an impressive following of loyal readers.
Gordon has consistently penned some of the most popular articles on Forbes.com. His feats include authoring 2,511 articles in sum and accumulating over 174 million page views in just one year, 33 million of which were gained within a single month. So popular was his writing that the site would, on occasion, find itself pushed to the limit in keeping up with the traffic he generated—a fact of which he was rightly most proud.
The contributor network launched in 2010. “Although Gordon wasn’t among the first in, he quickly became a leader,” says Executive Editor Caroline Howard. “He was singular in his creativity, work ethic, digital prowess and ability to hone a specialized beat mostly focused on Apple updates and insider stories. He thoroughly embraced the Forbes ethos of entrepreneurship and generosity—he built what you could call his own newsroom and welcomed and trained a new generation of other contributors. Gordon’s passion was clear every time I spoke with him and believe those who knew him or read his work know exactly what I’m talking about.”
Still, the body of work he leaves behind encompasses much more than this.
Gordon began his career back in 2001 as a reporter for the UK-based Computer Reseller News magazine, where he received industry recognition as one of the UK’s top four most influential IT journalists. He then went on to set up and run the news section at TrustedReviews.com before joining Forbes as a contributor just under ten years ago in December 2013.
Beyond Forbes, his impact on the world of technology journalism is not to be underestimated. In addition to becoming a highly successful journalist in his own right, Gordon served as a trusted mentor and friend to many others in the technology space, myself included, offering valuable help and advice to several of the writers whose work you will continue to read today here at Forbes and elsewhere.
Gordon will be remembered for his brilliant, fierce, witty, and often very lengthy conversation, while those who met him in person will have his broad grin imprinted permanently on their minds.
During his career, Gordon branched out into successful freelance media training and consultancy projects, including hosting an on-stage discussion between heads of state in Finland, the country that was to become his second home.
In May 2023, Gordon was diagnosed with a rare form of non-Hodgkin’s Lymphoma, a cancer he fought with unshakable optimism and one he had all but beaten by the end of September.
Undeterred, Gordon continued to write and mentor during this tough time, hiding his condition from all but his closest friends and family until, during the final phase of his treatment, he unexpectedly contracted a chest infection that would prove too much for his weakened immune system to fend off.
Gordon passed away peacefully shortly after midnight on October 1 at the age of just 46.
Forbes won’t be the same without Gordon, and his loss will surely be felt throughout the wider technology industry.
In 2016, I photographed Gordon’s wedding and, just over two weeks ago, I was lucky enough to have Gordon serve as best man at my own. Although unable to attend in person, he was still expected at that time to make a full recovery. His passing has come as a shock to us all.
Beloved husband and father of two, Gordon is survived by his wife of seven years, Eeva and his two daughters, Asta, aged five and their two-year-old, Alma. My condolences go out to his family and to all who loved him.
If you would like to help others like Gordon, please consider making a donation to support research into Lymphoma, either directly or via Gordon’s charity page at gordon-kelly.muchloved.com. All proceeds go to Lymphoma Action.
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