MEET THE TEAM: John Quick
Agency life is best suited to individuals who thrive in fast-paced environments. Meet Jeff Winton Associates (JWA) consultant John Quick, who built an impressive career specializing in health care at some of the largest communications agencies in the world.
A go-getter at a young age, John had his first glimpse into the workings of the healthcare industry at age 14 when volunteering at a local hospital where his mother worked as a telephone operator. “I advanced to working the night shift as an orderly during my summer breaks from college,” says John. “I cleaned bedpans, took vitals and on many occasions wheeled deceased patients to the morgue. It definitely was a unique learning experience.”
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John has an amazing view of the Manhattan skyline from the rooftop of his co-op.
After obtaining his bachelor’s degree in communications from the State University of New York at Plattsburgh, John encountered a soft job market. He decided to move back into his parents’ Yonkers, New York home while studying at Iona University in New Rochelle for his master’s degree. John recalls, “I waited tables when not in class and had to handle all sorts of customers. What started as a way to earn a few dollars turned into a fantastic opportunity to learn how to manage clients, meet their needs and keep them happy.”
John’s first communications job was with the New York chapter of the American Heart Association. He saw firsthand the important role that educational information plays in helping people manage their health. Even though John loved the patient-focused work, he yearned to break into the agency world – something that he found challenging with a nonprofit background.
Finally, a headhunter lined up the perfect opportunity with agency powerhouse Porter Novelli, and she had a strategy for making an impression. “The recruiter advised me to wear blue and green – the agency’s branded colors,” says John. “I didn’t realize at the time that was her reasoning, but my blue and green striped tie must have helped seal the deal.”
John got the job on the spot on a Friday and was sent home with two shopping bags filled with reading material to absorb over the weekend, with his first day that Monday. John laughs, “Be careful what you wish for!”
After making an impression in lower-level and mid-level positions at Porter Novelli and later at Ruder Finn, a rival agency – Ogilvy Adams and Rhinehart – came calling. “I had lunch with a woman from Ogilvy who said the agency wanted to hire me as a vice president,” says John. “My body shook, and I couldn’t believe what I was hearing.”
John keeps his mind sharp by doing Wordle and The New York Times crossword puzzle every day.
John stayed at Ogilvy for nine years, working on global Novartis and Wyeth accounts and continuing to climb the ladder. He also briefly took over the technology practice when the agency general manager recognized John’s natural curiosity and desire to do new things. However, John acknowledges that while it was great to promote a rapidly evolving industry, his true love was health care.
In all of John’s subsequent leadership roles with renowned agencies (e.g., Hill & Knowlton, Fleishman Hillard and Edelman), he most enjoyed working on accounts that offered tangible support to patients and advocacy groups, such as in the therapeutic areas of prostate cancer, Parkinson’s disease, schizophrenia, bipolar disorder and blood cancer. John says, “At Edelman, when I co-led the oncology franchise for Janssen, we developed and promoted a program called ‘Victories Over Cancer’ for consumers and doctors to celebrate successes made over the years. And while at Ogilvy, I helped persuade Novartis to commission an A-to-Z Guide on how to manage each phase of Parkinson’s Disease. This valuable resource was distributed to patients and caregivers by the National Parkinson’s Foundation.”
Tailgating at a Grateful Dead show in Wisconsin, circa 2005, after driving non-stop all night.
At one point in John’s career, he worked in-house at AstraZeneca as an independent consultant on the global Seroquel® marketing team at a time when a National Institute of Mental Health study was preparing to present findings of a study comparing all marketed antipsychotic brands. John says, “Though I greatly enjoyed the experience, I realized I preferred the agency side of the business,” says John.
Though John never worked directly with Jeff Winton prior to joining JWA, they met when John was part of an agency team brought in to work on Schering-Plough’s women’s health franchise when Jeff was the company’s group vice president of Global Communications. John also met JWA consultants Mary-Fran Faraji and Rosemarie Yancosek while assigned to Schering-Plough and is happy to be reunited with these collaborative colleagues.
Even when not at work, John’s mind is never at rest. He likes to test his brain on The New York Times crossword puzzle and daily Wordle game.
“I also like to scroll TikTok,” says John. “My feed is rife with political insights, world news – and Italian grandmothers cooking! I never know what I am going to learn. And for me, whether working or in my free time, I love learning new things. It keeps life interesting!”