MEET THE

Joel Quadracci

Chairman, president and CEO Quad/Graphics SUSSEX

Fifteen years after joining the company his father founded, Joel Quadracci took over Sussex-based Quad/Graphics as its president and chief executive officer in 2006. 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. 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. 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.”

What are some of your favorite destinations or 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.”

What’s your hobby or 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 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.”

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 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.”

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. 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 has you most excited about the future?

“I’m excited about Quad’s future because of the commitment we’ve always had to figuring it out, no matter how tough. 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.”