Full name: John Patrick Quirk Age: 59
Birthplace: Boston, Mass.
Education: Earned a bachelor’s degree in marketing from Northeastern University in 1982.
Tell us about your family: Married to Sarah for 30 years. Three children: Madeline, Meredith and Johnny
What’s your advice for a new tire dealer? Be on the front line. Get involved in your community. Help your employees get ahead.
If you could pick your superpower, what would it would be? Perseverance. Persistence.
Early bird or night owl? Early bird for sure.
What’s the best part of your job? Helping team members get ahead and build a good life.
What’s the worst part of your job? Dealing with regulatory compliance.
If you could change one thing about yourself, what would it be? Being more compassionate and sensitive to non-achievers.
If you could be anything but a tire dealer, what would you be? A boatyard owner.
If there were no financial constraints, what’s one change to your business you’d make immediately? Pay 100% of our health plan.
The best way to spend a day off is: with family boating, skiing or golfing.
What’s your guilty pleasure? Motown music, dancing and singing.
The biggest mistake you’ve made is: Not going for it 100% in my hockey career.
In school you earned your best grades in: marketing.
What would your high school friends say about you now? He’s still slow on the ice.
What’s your life motto? Believe you can. Make it happen. Follow your intuition.
Who would be the best celebrity to portray you in a movie? Clint Eastwood
Something most people don’t know about you is: I have a big green thumb.
What song do you crank up loud and always sing along to? Ain’t No Mountain High Enough by Marvin Gaye
What’s been the best change/evolution you’ve witnessed in the tire industry? The radial tire.
What’s been the worst? National accounts.
Your favorite childhood memory: The hockey team at St. Sebastian School.
Your favorite meal: New York sirloin steak with Maine potatoes
Your favorite TV show: The Brave, Friends, and the New England Sports Network.
If you were in charge of tourism in Maine, what three things would you tell visitors they have to do/see? Acadia National Park, Mount Katahdin, Baxter State Park, and eat lobster in Old Port.
If we took away your cell phone on a Monday morning, how long would you last without it? Five minutes.
What’s something your Dad taught you about the tire business? Watch your margins and invest in your people.
What’s been your biggest success in the tire business? The acquisition of VIP in 2001, and the sale of our parts business to O’Reilly Auto Parts.
