Mike McQuary | |
|---|---|
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| Born | October 26, 1959 Washington DC, U.S. |
| Alma mater | University of Virginia Pepperdine University |
| Occupation | Entrepreneur |
| Years active | 1981–present |
| Known for | MindSpring (with Charles Brewer) Earthlink Brash Music Wheego/Autonomous Fusion JTEC Energy |
| Spouse(s) | Sheryl Rudloff (m. 1993; div. 2012) |
| Children | 4 |
| Parent(s) | Harry Otho McQuary III Mary Elizabeth Hackney |
Mike McQuary is an American entrepreneur. He has founded and led a diverse portfolio of companies.[citation needed]
McQuary is the CEO of JTEC Energy, Inc. JTEC Energy is a spin-off of Johnson R&D, an Atlanta research company founded and led by former NASA scientist and Super Soaker inventor Dr. Lonnie Johnson. JTEC Energy was formed to complete the development and commercialization of the Johnson Thermo-Electrochemical Converter (JTEC), a machine that converts temperature differentials into electricity at very high efficiency rates.
McQuary is the former CEO of Autonomous Fusion and Wheego Technologies, former President and COO of EarthLink and MindSpring and the former CEO of Brash Music. He began his career with nearly a decade of work at Mobil, followed by eight years as an entrepreneur at the start-up ISP MindSpring Enterprises. As President of MindSpring, he took the company from a fledgling startup through a successful IPO to a publicly held NASDAQ-listed $1.5 billion company.
Michael Sean McQuary was born in Washington, DC, on October 26, 1959, and as a child lived in Arlington, VA; Holliston, MA; Rochester, NY; and Richmond, VA.[citation needed] McQuary received a Bachelor of Arts degree in Psychology from the University of Virginia in 1981. After graduation, he moved to Los Angeles, did part-time construction work, and performed at a few open mic nights at The Comedy Store. McQuary's first full-time job was selling paper cups for Lily-Tulip Inc. in Southern California. While doing this, he attended Pepperdine University nights and weekends to get his Masters of Business Administration degree in 1985. Also in 1985, he went to work for Mobil as a sales rep in the Plastic Packaging Division of the Chemical Division and was subsequently promoted through a progression of management jobs in sales, marketing, new product development, and operations, with moves from Los Angeles to San Francisco to Rochester, NY, to Atlanta.
In 1992, McQuary helped develop the concept behind the Internet Service Provider MindSpring with his friend Charles Brewer, who launched the company.[citation needed] McQuary joined the company as Executive Vice President of Sales and Marketing in 1994, when they had service only in Atlanta with 20 employees and 1000 customers. A few months later, he was named president and COO of MindSpring, and in that position, everyone in the company (except Charles) reported to him. He also served on MindSpring's board of directors. McQuary helped lead MindSpring through four public offerings and established MindSpring as the second largest ISP in the world, behind AOL, and ahead of noteworthy competitors such as Microsoft, Prodigy, AT&T, and all of the Regional Bell Operating Companies (RBOCs). In 1999 MindSpring merged with EarthLink, and McQuary continued as president and COO and served on the board of the combined company. McQuary left EarthLink in May 2002. At the time of his resignation, EarthLink (NASDAQ:ELNK) was a $1.5 billion company.
McQuary was the CEO of Ruff and Tuff Electric Vehicles (RTEV) from April 2007 until June 2009. Wheego Electric Cars Inc. was formed as a spin out from RTEV in June 2009 with McQuary as Founder & CEO. The company was headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia, and was focused on designing, manufacturing, and selling affordable electric vehicles.
In 2003, McQuary formed Ellis, McQuary & Stanley (EMS), an affiliation with Bert Ellis and Bahnson Stanley. EMS is a private equity investment and consulting firm based in Atlanta. They also have owned several real estate properties in West Atlanta.
In February 2004, McQuary formed a music services company called Brash Music, which was originally formed as Sixthman in October 2002. Brash Music is an independent record label with distribution through ADA (Warner Music Group). Managed by Steve Jones, who has been the CEO since 2010, artists on Brash Music have included Jump Little Children, Aaron Shust, Rubyhorse, Anthony David, Brian Vander Ark, and Michael Gungor. Brash has sold over 1 million album equivalents (digital and CD), been Grammy nominated, and won a Dove Award.[citation needed]
McQuary was the CEO of UNS (Usenetserver), an Internet Usenet News Service that EMS bought in July 2004, grew 300%, and was sold to Highwinds in May 2006.
McQuary was the owner of the Madison Grill restaurant in Midtown Atlanta from 2001 to 2008. The Madison Grill was located on the first floor of the EarthLink Building at 1375 Peachtree St NE.
McQuary is the son of Harry O. McQuary III and Mary Hackney McQuary. He has a younger sister Katherine Elizabeth. He married Sheryl Rudloff in 1993, they divorced in 2012. He has four children.
McQuary has served on the board of directors of the Atlanta Chapter of NARAS (Grammys), Novient Inc., and Inner Strength (Atlanta at-risk teen support). He served on the board of managers of the University of Virginia Alumni Association from 2000 to 2008. He serves on the Chastain Park advisory board.
Along with John McGrath and Fred Kemp, he was one of the founders and coaches of the Pittsford NY Youth Wrestling Club in the late 1980s. He was a youth soccer and basketball coach at the Ashford Dunwoody YMCA from 2005–2012. McQuary was an assistant high school wrestling coach at Marist School from 2009 to 2018. His wrestlers included Kenneth Brinson, who was a three-time National (NHSCA) champion and four-time All-American. McQuary was the president of the Riverwood High School Athletic Association from 2017–2020. He was also an assistant wrestling and girls soccer coach at Riverwood, where his kids attended high school.
McQuary has spoken at two Ted conferences.