The Lincoln Journal
July 2, 2002

Quelch tapped to lead Massport

By STEPHEN HAGAN
STAFF WRITER

All that falls at the feet of the head of the Massachusetts Port Authority could soon be the responsibility of a Lincoln resident. John Quelch, acting Gov. Jane Swifts recent appointment to head the beleaguered agency, was picked to be chairman of the board that runs Logan Airport.

Security at the airport came under scrutiny after the terrorist attacks in New York and Washington, D.C. last year. The two jets that crashed into the World Trade Center buildings took off from Logan Airport.

Quelch, who is a Harvard Business School dean, is being seen by Swift as the man to help restore confidence in the airport’s operations. The chairman of the board until June 30 was former Gov. William Weld appointee Mark Robinson.

Quelch was picked for the job on June 19 and a public comment will ensue before a final decision about his appointment is reached. Massport spokesman Jose Juves declined to comment on Swift’s pick Monday, saying he is prohibited from speaking about Quelch until the comment period has been completed.

Juves said Robinson’s seven-year appointment expired Sunday. He added the board currently has no chairman.

In the meantime, Quelch said Friday he did not plan to speak to the media until a decision is made.

" Until such time as that has been completed, and the governor wishes me to be the appointee and the appointment is made, I’m not making any comments to the media, particularly with respect to policy, " said Quelch.

The Quelch’s have lived in Lincoln for more than 10 years. Resident Debbie Dorsey is good friends with Quelch’s wife, Joyce.

" He’s a great guy, " she said. " He’s smart and wise. He’s just a great person. "

Quelch is a British native who was educated at Exeter College, Oxford University, the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania, the Harvard School of Public Health and Harvard Business School. He is known as an expert in international marketing. Quelch is senior associate dean for international development at Harvard and is Lincoln Filene Professor of Business Administration. He left Harvard in the late 1990s to become head of the London Business School, where he worked until 2001.

Quelch has authored 16 books, including Global Marketing Management, Cases in Advertising and Promotion Management and Ethics in Marketing. Some of his writings have appeared in the Harvard Business Review, McKinsey Quarterly and Sloan Management Review.

He has also been quoted in Business Week, The Economist, Financial Times and The Wall Street Journal.

More than 50 firms have been the beneficiaries of Quelch’s consulting expertise, including AT&T, Coca-Cola, Colgate-Palmolive, Gillette, General Electric, IBM, Novartis and Procter & Gamble.

In addition to living in the United States and England, Quelch has also lived in Australia and Canada.

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