Manufacturing
Chairman, president and CEO
Quad/Graphics | Sussex
After joining in 1991 the company his father founded, Joel Quadracci took over Sussex-based Quad/Graphics as its president and chief executive officer 15 years later. Today, Quadracci guides the printing company’s strategic growth amid many industry disruptions. Under his leadership, the company has diversified beyond print to offer marketing, content and creative production and integrated media management services for its clients. Quadracci serves on the board of directors for Plexus Corp., Pixability Inc., Road America Inc., the National Association of Manufacturers, and the Metropolitan Milwaukee Association of Commerce, and on the board of trustees for the Milwaukee Art Museum.
Education: Bachelor’s, Skidmore College
What was your first job, and what did you learn from it?
"I got my first job when I was 16, so I could drive myself, and it was with Quad. I worked at our Lomira plant, which is now the largest printing plant in the Western Hemisphere. At the time it was an acquired building that was sitting dormant. I worked with the electrical engineering department to help bring everything up to snuff and turn it into a functioning plant. It was a wonderful summer job because I got to see what it takes to bring a large manufacturing plant online once the building is built. I did everything from helping them rewire the lights to actually installing equipment, which gave me a deep understanding of infrastructure for large manufacturing plants, and that’s been very helpful in my career with Quad."
What piece of advice has had the most significant impact on your career?
“This comes from my father, Harry Quadracci, who founded Quad. He said, ‘Business is pretty logical. If something seems too complicated, it’s probably because it is too complicated, and it needs to be simplified.’ I have found that to be very helpful advice, and it’s been a tenet at Quad, too.”
If you could have dinner with any two business leaders, who would you choose and why?
I would want to have dinner with my father and Dick Burke (co-founder of Trek Bicycle Corp.). My father, who was also the founder of Quad, and Dick, who was one of our first outside members and then became chairman of the board after my father passed away. He was the founder of Trek Bicycle and became a mentor of mine. I would love to talk to them about what the world looks like today versus what they thought it would look like when they looked into the future 20 years ago. Of course, I’d like to explore that in every aspect, but specifically, what it is to run a business. It's significantly harder today than it was when they were around. There are a lot more layers in business today, a lot of different things that business leaders have to think about today."
What are some of your favorite destinations/places to visit?
"We love to travel, and there are so many great places out there that it’s hard to have favorites! It could be anywhere from Iceland to the Amalfi Coast to India to the Middle East. I'm a fan of visiting places that are very different from where we live, so I have a lot of favorites. You get such a different feel and perspective when you travel. You learn so much about people, and the more you travel, the more you realize people all over the world are more the same than you think. They just live in a different context. It's fun to learn the cultural aspect of those contexts. And the geographies are so different, too. There are so many beautiful places in this world to see. If you had the time, you could probably spend the rest of your life going to see interesting places with interesting people."
What is one book you think everyone should read and why?"
I recently read 'The Accidental Superpower' by Peter Zeihan. It's a quick read, and it gives perspective on what the United States has that has made us naturally a superpower. For example, we have strong geographic borders, and we don’t have threats on the borders. Also, the infrastructure of the country, including inland waterways like the Mississippi, played a strong role in making the U.S. a superpower. The book made me reflect and reminded me that we really do have something special in the United States. There's a lot to criticize, but there's also a lot to be grateful for. We've been given such a gift, and we must continually make sure that we do the right thing with it and appreciate what we have."
What’s your hobby/passion?"
I race cars, and I am a pilot. In fact, this summer I was at what’s known as The Greatest Aviation Celebration in the World, right here in Oshkosh, Wisconsin. These are two of my biggest hobbies, but I have a lot of them. I love to mix it up and try lots of different things."
What is your favorite Wisconsin restaurant and what do you order there?
"With my last name, you might guess that I do tilt a little toward Italian, but there are just so many good restaurants in Wisconsin. We go to a wide variety of places, and we eat a lot of different kinds of food – and I generally enjoy the meal and the warm hospitality wherever we are."
What would people be surprised to learn about you (fun fact)?
"I'm not sure it's fun, but you might be surprised to know that I'm more of an introvert than most people think."
What was your first car? How long did you drive it for?
"The first car I bought for myself was an orange 1983 Fiat spider convertible -- which was quite used when I got it. I bought it when I was in college, and I still have it. I want to get it back on the road again. It’s a great car."
If you could take a one-year sabbatical, what would you do?
"I would travel around parts of the world on a sailboat. Especially, I’d like to sail around the whole Mediterranean, and then work my way further astray from there."
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hat’s the toughest business challenge you’ve had to overcome?
"Running a large printing company in a very, very disrupted industry; having to survive the shake out of the industry; and transforming the company for sustainability long-term – including embracing where we’re going now as a marketing experience company. That has been a 10-year challenge, and we’re meeting it, thanks to our clients, our partners, and our people."
What advice would you give to a young professional?
"Never forget that you are your own brand and investing in that brand is super important for the long term. Decisions you make now do matter. Show commitment to your job and to people. Be a good people person. Do what you say you're doing. This is fundamental to the core of your brand. And remember that brands are hard to build and very easy to tear down."
What has been your/your company’s most significant success over the last 12 months?
"Truly moving from being a company that's transforming to one that's scaling, post transformation. That is evidenced by the amount of talent that we've been able to bring on from different parts of the industry that we weren’t previously playing in. For example. Our marketing team has grown from a handful of committed professionals to more than 35 people in just over a year. And these people bring all kinds of diverse talent and experience with them. It’s an exciting time at Quad."
What is one thing you would change about Wisconsin to make it even better?
"I would ask us to significantly improve the segregation in the city (of Milwaukee) with truly holistic approaches to the current challenges. It's a problem that has persisted for a long time, and there are a lot of good efforts, but we should be better than where we are today."
As you enter your office, what would you choose to be your walk-up or theme song and why?
"I wouldn’t choose one because I would just feel plain silly."
Is there a nonprofit cause that has special meaning to you?
"We've made a lot of investments in the communities that Quad is in, and we recently celebrated the 20th anniversary of the Milwaukee Art Museum’s Quadracci Pavillion, which was designed by Santiago Calatrava. Today I’m pivoting towards supporting many different efforts that I hope will help impact the inner city of Milwaukee. As I mentioned earlier, this is an area where I think we can be better."
What is the biggest risk you have ever taken?
"Taking on this job as CEO of such a big company, at a young age, a year before the Great Recession, and just as our industry was about to be really disrupted. That was a watershed moment in my life."
What’s at the top of your bucket list?
"To sail around the world."
What has you most excited about the future?
"I'm excited about Quad’s future because of the commitment our culture has always had to figuring it out, no matter how tough, whatever it is that’s in front of us is. I see us at a tipping point in our journey. Our evolution to a marketing experience company is about thinking around corners and anticipating the needs of tomorrow’s marketers today. I’m very excited to see where we're going to go."
