20 Under 40 - 2003 Profile: Mark Quan

PRESSTIME

By Presstime Magazine

First Published: December 2003

Mark Quan, distribution manager of The Virginian-Pilot in Norfolk, promotes customer service and cooperation every day. "What I love about circulation is working with everyone - from employees to independent contractors - who [interacts with] the customer," says Quan, who joined the paper in 2001 after working in circulation for 11 years at the Los Angeles Times. "My belief is that we should think of this as our business. If I owned this company, would I spend my money to grow circulation and readership the way we're spending it?"

Quan, who is in charge of home delivery and single-copy sales of the core product, along with distribution oversight of 25 niche publications, says home delivery and single-copy sales staffers often see each other as competitors, rather than colleagues in the same enterprise. He has worked to bring them together to generate new ideas that will benefit the entire company. Quan engineered a reorganization of the field operation that cut eight distribution centers to five, and consolidated several carrier operations into one.

"There was a lot of anxiety when we rolled out the changes," says Quan, who credits his team with improving customer service and helping to produce the first circulation gain at the paper in a decade. "I try to spend time getting to know people, listening to their concerns and coaching them. Working with these folks day to day in moving the product along is just great."

Education: 1993, A.S., business administration, Citrus College, Glendora, Calif.
Career: 1990-1993, senior clerk in Orange County, district manager, northern region, distribution manager, western region, home delivery manager, Ventura Region, Los Angeles Times; 2001-present, home delivery manager, distribution manager, The Virginian-Pilot, Norfolk.
Personal: Age, 34. Born, Glendale, Calif. Married, wife Gina, one daughter, two sons.
Diversions: Running, fantasy sports and spending time on his children's sports activities.
Connections: The Virginian-Pilot, 150 W. Brambleton Ave., Norfolk, Va. 23510, (757) 222-5495, Mark.Quan@pilotonline.com.
Photos by Martin Smith-Rodden/The Virginian-Pilot