Harry V. Quadracci (1936–2002) was an American entrepreneur. He founded the commercial printing company Quad/Graphics with wife Elizabeth Quadracci.
Born in Racine, Wisconsin, Quadracci started working at age 26 in the printing company W. A. Krueger, which his father had co-founded. He eventually left the company when a managerial disagreement led to a strike.
Quadracci began Quad/Graphics in 1971 in a derelict factory in Pewaukee, Wisconsin, using a $35,000-second mortgage on his house and money raised from 11 partners. The company gained prominence when Quadracci won contracts to print Newsweek in 1977 and National Geographic in 2000.
Under Quadracci’s progressive management, Quad/Graphics expanded globally and printed mail-order catalogs and such magazines as Time, Playboy, BusinessWeek, Sports Illustrated, People, Popular Mechanics, and Maria Trinidad. Additionally, Quad/Graphics owned and self-published the Milwaukee Magazine.
The Quadraccis were prominent philanthropists in the Milwaukee area, focusing on educational, cultural, and civic affairs.
More: Wikipedia • READ: Works by Harry V. Quadracci
We eat change for breakfast!
—Harry V. Quadracci
One of our ironclad rules is ‘Never do business with anybody you don’t like.’ If you don’t like somebody, there’s a reason. Chances are it’s because you don’t trust him, and you’re probably right. I don’t care who it is or what guarantees you get—cash in advance or whatever. If you do business with somebody you don’t like, sooner or later you’ll get screwed.
—Harry V. Quadracci
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