Cover Story
The Farrell File
Smart Business Los Angeles | July 2009
Where were you born?
Santa Monica, Calif.
Where did you get your education?
A bachelor’s degree from Stanford and an MBA from UCLA
What was your very first job?
I was a paperboy for what they called the Green Sheet back in the old days. … The one job I liked a lot where I actually did make some money was I was a forest firefighter one summer in Montana. A friend of mine from college lived in Missoula, Mont., and said, ‘Do you want to do something fun this summer?’ I had sold shoes the prior summer and that was something that gave me a few anecdotes that are best told over beer. … But, boy, a 54-pound backpack in the wilderness of Montana, it was a real growth experience.
Whom do you admire most in business and why?
I learned a lot from Stan Wainer, a deceased family friend. I also learned a lot about business from my father. He ended up as a managing partner at the Century City office at Pricewaterhouse, and my dad really taught me the things that are important. We talked about leading by example. He told me you can do well by doing good, and what I mean by that is you don’t have to be nasty, you don’t have to be dishonest. We have very strong core values here at THQ of integrity, and [by] doing the right thing, you can still be successful.
You have a rare lazy afternoon with some time to kill. Which THQ video game do you play?
It’s funny; it’s changed over the years. And I have to be real careful because I have to love all my children equally. But, to be honest, I do love the ‘Red Faction’ series, now on the (Xbox 360) — ‘Red Faction Guerrilla.’ Like most guys, I like to blow (stuff) up, and after a tough week, there’s nothing like it. … So I find that therapeutic.
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