Life & Work with R. Boyd Quinnell

Today we’d like to introduce you to R. Boyd Quinnell.

Alright, so thank you so much for sharing your story and insight with our readers. To kick things off, can you tell us a bit about how you got started?
My story begins in Napa, California, a 3rd generation Californian, where I was educated in the public schools. I was lucky enough to attend the University of Hawaii where I majored in business (with a minor in surfing and SCUBA!) It was a great place for a young man from a small town to learn of and acclimate to all of the diversity that exists in Hawaii. I learned to appreciate all of the beautiful differences that make our lives so interesting and enriched. I fell in the love with the islands and the people and that passion remains. After graduation, I had the opportunity to work as a consultant, opening new hotels and training newly hired staff. It was a great chance to travel around the world for several years, with a few months in each location, getting to know the culture and the people. I loved finding “the hidden”. The not obvious location, experience, or object that is out of the ordinary and takes some digging to find! My favorite memory was a random meeting with Queen Elizabeth and a tour of Buckingham Palace. Right place, right time!

I decided I wanted to accelerate my career and the best way was for me to obtain an MBA and I did so at Cornell University. Upon graduation, I went back to Hawaii to work on the development of the “Gold Coast” located on the Big Island. All of those beautiful hotels, homes, condos, and shops were once just black lava in a very lonely place. The term “high tech” came into existence in the 90s and the companies that made semiconductors were making enormous profits and I was drawn to the excitement and opportunity. I spent over 10 years working in “high tech” and it was an education in continual change and improvement. The tremendous innovation that was occurring everywhere in Silicon Valley was exciting. In 2000 the party came to an end with the burst of the “dot com” bubble and many great companies were wiped out as carnage.

I moved to Los Angeles for a new job in 2001 to work with a medical technology company. It was a completely different environment where I learned the science, disease states, and the R&D behind new products! As I was in good health and have a very inquisitive mind, I volunteered for every product in testing. Every week I’d be testing something new and it was exciting to tell everyone about it. Through explosive growth and 5 management changes, I survived to become a senior leader of the organization.

Then the “big offer” came to be the head of a competing company. I would have to leave LA for another city, but I decided it was the right move and spent six years in the Portland area, leading the organization’s US operations and finances. I missed LA and wanted to return home, so in the middle of the COVID crisis, I came home to a very different LA.

It was also at this time that I looked at my life and finances and determined that I had reached a point where I could retire from the daily working world and devote my time and passion towards organizations that are making a real difference for people in Los Angeles. I have not looked back since.

Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
I came from a modest background in a small town. Diversity was whether you were Catholic or Methodist. From an early age, I knew that I was different and that differences are not discussed and a secret. I didn’t have a name for it until much later when I learned the word homosexual. I wish that was the only word I had learned, but growing up it was queer, fag, freak, and worse. There was no tolerance for anything different, and the best way to keep up the proper appearance was to overachieve at everything so that suspicion was never directed toward me. I was good at it and able to maintain the façade until my mid-thirties. I broke. The feelings wouldn’t go away and I was tired of excuses that amounted to lying. I had worked my way up to financial success but I was alone and scared. I sought out a therapist to “fix this once and for all”. I am forever grateful to him for telling me he “can’t fix what isn’t broken”. That was the first time I ever heard that I wasn’t wrong, sick, or demented. It took a while to sink in, but I started to accept myself for who I was and not what others told me I should be.

When my family found out, they erased me from their lives as if I had died. At the same time, the company I worked for cited poor sales performance resulting from “too many women and gays working for them” and asked me to leave. This was a low point in my life and I was devastated. It’s hard to maintain self-esteem or confidence when your family has rejected you completely and your job has reinforced that by telling you you’re “less than”.

It is true that you grow stronger through adversity. I found a much better company and job that actually supported me and offered my partner the same benefits as married people (since we were not able to legally marry). I felt equal and valued for the first time.

These experiences created one strong man!

In true Hollywood style, my story has a happy ending. I conquered my dragons and demons (or at least came to peace with them), married the most patient and loving man on the planet, became successful despite those who kicked me down and am living happily ever after tucked away in our house in the Hollywood Hills, surrounded by my chosen family and friends, trying every day to make myself, my community and my city better. One of the most substantial lessons I learned was from the legendary record producer Clive Davis who said, “The game of life is not won by the fastest, it is won by those who get kicked in the gut yet get up every time and keep trying.” That has inspired me for many years.

Alright, so let’s switch gears a bit and talk business. What should we know about your work?
I spent the majority of my career in Finance and Operations, with the last 15 years as the Chief Financial Officer (CFO). I was fortunate enough to work for several excellent companies and had some fantastic mentors who advised me and encouraged me to continually improve. As a result of the financial turmoil in the 2000s, I was encouraged to earn my CPA credential while working full-time. I always followed the opportunity. I moved when there was a clear and compelling career advancement. I think that my willingness to change for greater opportunity and challenge and to accept the discomfort of those changes was a key behind my achievements. Also, the ability to fit in and adapt to a company‘s culture quickly is an important skill. I liken it to being a chameleon. It’s not that you’re changing who you are, but rather changing some “colors” to adapt into the culture you’ve entered. Each company has its own vocabulary and the quicker you learned that the more successful you will be.

Throughout my career, I was known for being a driven yet fair and supportive manager, encouraging the career development and well-being of my team, with a sense of humor and always producing exceptional outcomes. Now that I am no longer working for a profit, I spend my time volunteering for organizations that I find to be worthwhile and benefiting the local community. I have belonged to the Food on Foot organization for over 15 years. Our mission is to help people experiencing homelessness into permanent jobs and housing. I devote a piece of my heart and soul to this organization. I remember the face of every person I’ve helped into permanent housing and a full-time job. It’s one solution to the homeless problem that works and I encourage everyone to learn about and support this organization (foodonfoot.org) to be part of a solution. There is hope and this organization is it.

I also found a new group to work with called K4. It is an honor-based men’s organization committed towards growth, service and vitality. It continues to be one of the greatest experiences of my life and is immensely rewarding and challenging. Before a man can join the organization, they must go through a 12 weeks orientation. This experience is different for everyone, but most commonly men examine where they are in life and where they’d like to go, and we as a group help them achieve their goals and ambitions through a guided program. I became a captain to lead men through this orientation and have found that helping men with their individual journeys is profoundly rewarding. It’s also very cathartic! I think the most substantial thing I’ve learned through this experience is that none of us are alone and our problems aren’t unique. We all have felt “not good enough” or like we’re an imposter at our role in life yet men have been trained to “suck it up”. We’ve been so good at this that our suicide rates are rocketing. K4 offers a safe space for men to say what is on their minds, examine where they’re at in life, decide where they want or need to go and are then supported by other men at various stages of their own journeys. I’ve seen tremendous success in men willing to take a look in the mirror and decide what they want and do the work to get achieve it.

An exciting new opportunity has just arisen for me at Trethera, a start-up company working on a new drug for the treatment of cancer and autoimmune diseases. The CEO, Ken Schultz, and I had worked together previously and he has invited me onto his Board of Directors. I’m excited to be working with such talented and dedicated people on such a promising new drug that has the potential to help so many people! What I am most proud of in my career is watching the people I mentored advance in their careers. Knowing that I played a small part in that is very gratifying and the part of work that really does live on past you. I had many opportunities in my life and helping others find theirs makes me very happy.

We love surprises, fun facts and unexpected stories. Is there something you can share that might surprise us?
At a company event, we were playing volleyball on the beach in Santa Monica when one of my younger employees literally dropped dead onto the sand. I ran over to him and found no pulse. Having worked for medical companies for a decade, I’ve picked up some skills and training so I began CPR. After what seemed like hours, but was only minutes, the beach patrol showed up and took us over to an ambulance while I continued resuscitation. Inside the ambulance, they found a pulse and took over resuscitation. I went with him to the hospital where he was immediately taken to the cardiac lab for stents. He was up and talking later that day and is alive and well today! It’s not often that you have a chance to literally save someone’s life and I am humbled by those who do it every day.

Contact Info:

• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/RBQuinnell
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/rbquinnell/

Image Credits
Lynn Millspaugh