We turned to John McDonnell, Chief Operations Officer for Patrón Spirits Company, a lively yet modest Boston native who has spent the better half of his life recognizing the need to manage his own brand. Stemming from very humble beginnings, John attributes much of his success to watching his parents work endless days and tireless nights as a child. McDonnell quotes baseball legend Yogi Berra to describe them, “It just seemed that the harder they worked the luckier they got.” He goes on to say, “Everything we had was a product of how hard they worked. I wanted the same for my family and myself. It has become a large part of the fiber of who I am today.”

The hard work McDonnell witnessed in his parents left him with a strong desire to reproduce the same type of lifestyle. As a result, he perpetually kept himself busy. Impressively, McDonnell held full time jobs in order to pay the steep tuition costs for Catholic Memorial High School as well as Suffolk University. Making it a point to achieve very strong grades, he also managed to involve himself in numerous extra-curricular activities around Suffolk University’s campus. John ensured he was marketable for the next phase of his life. Jokingly, McDonnell says, “In life, there is no such thing as a free lunch; everything you get, you have to earn.”

McDonnell held a position as an administrative aide in Boston’s State House through his college years where he soaked up many of the unique people skills that have paved the road to such a bright and successful career. He references his early work with good friend and Mayor of Boston, Thomas Menino, as having a profound impact on how he treats his brand. McDonnell states, “Anytime I meet anyone, I consider it an interview. It’s important to always be cognizant that you are being watched – how you hold yourself, what you wear, everything you do is being surveyed by someone.”

Testament to the foresight, work ethic and ‘can-do’ attitude McDonnell developed as a young man, he did not allow what some have labeled the ‘greatest economic decline since the Great Depression’ to intimidate him. Rather than cutting costs like a resounding number of his industry competitors at Patrón Spirits, McDonnell understood the importance of his commitment to the ultra-premium brand and to his high-end clientele, expressing that “we exceeded the prior year’s advertising spend, and focused instead on longer-term growth.” In 2008, and under the surveillance of McDonnell, Patrón Spirits exceeded all expectations as it saw its sales grow from 340,000 cases to a whopping 1.72 million cases and expansion across over 100 countries.

In essence, your brand is either going to succeed or not going to succeed based on what you put into it. This is something for each to think about, develop upon and live by. McDonnell provides additional advice: “You should never do anything which would potentially compromise your brand equity, even if it may provide short term success.”

John McDonnell embodies the very model of a successful professional – insightful, determined, exceedingly hardworking – and always dedicated to lasting improvement. McDonnell’s years of experience and proven methods have helped him secure the life he had long imagined. He’s taken Patrón to the top of the ultra-premium spirits industry and will certainly further develop upon an already astounding career.